Unlocked Voices Announces Third Livestream Fundrasing Event

Calling All Crows, with the MultiFaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration & The Securus Foundation, has announced the third Unlocked Voices livestream fundraising event, taking place next Friday, November 27 at On The Levee in Dallas, Texas, 8pm EST. The event will feature performances by Texas artists Saul Paul, Myron Williams, Robert Ellis, Chadney Christle, ShySpeaks, Skinny Cooks and Poppy Xander of The Polyphonic Spree, along with speakers Jock McMilland, Pastor James Reed, and hosted by Dawn Freeman, President & CEO of The Securus Foundation + Toska Medlock Lee of The Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Way Back + Dallas Leadership Foundation.

Watch via Calling All Crows Facebook Live, free with suggested donation.

Unlocked Voices looks to use the power of the music and faith communities to shine a spotlight on the issues of mass incarceration here in the U.S., where 1 in 2 adults has an immediate family member in the prison system, 1 in 3 women have experienced housing insecurity because of family incarceration, and 1 in 5 Americans have had a previously incarcerated parent.

Following benefit events in Nashville in September, which featured Julien Baker, Maddie Medley, San Franklin, Lydia Luca and Austin Grimm, raising funds for the local Tennessee community organizations Unheard Voices Outreach and Free Hearts, and Boston in October, featuring Anjimile, Hawthorn, Will Dailey, Ripe, Brandie Blaze and Chadwick Stokes, raising funds for Black & Pink Boston, the campaign heads to Texas, to continue its mission of raising awareness and assist the folks at the Dallas Leadership Foundation, who focus on systematic leadership development and sustainable, collaborative community transformation. Along with The Way Back, who for 47 years has been serving returning citizens and veterans in North Texas by providing a myriad of reentry services to support successful transition back into society. The Way Back provides holistic, wrap-around case management services including: clothing, food, hygiene, transportation assistance, transitional housing assistance, healthcare referrals, job readiness, career training, employment assistance, and mentorship, creating pathways to economic mobility that empowers individuals to become stable, restores families, and creates safer communities.

Along with the live events, the campaign looks to amplify the stories of people, especially womxn, impacted by incarceration, while acting in partnership with existing movement leaders and community organizations. Through the 8-part concert series Unlocked Voices looks to educate and grow new supporters, to drive action and celebrate the movement.

"We recognize the power of music and how it is one thing that centers all of us, music brings joy to our soul," said Toska Medlock Lee, who will be co-hosting on behalf of the Ending Mass Incarceration Network. "This collaboration and partnership with Calling All Crows have widened our scope to help community groups on the ground who are reaching inside prisons and helping returning citizens in a tangible way. It is this type of work that aid in our mission to end the grind of mass incarceration."

Dawn Freeman, President & CEO of The Securus Foundation, added, "Today, more than ever it is imperative that all sectors and walks of life actively demonstrate the importance of community and collaboration to prepare incarcerated people for their return home."

With the spread of COVID-19 across the U.S. in 2020 one of the organizations greatest focus has been on getting hygiene kits inside prisons and assisting incarcerated people who are being released early from prisons due to coronavirus. Americas prison population is at even greater risk than the general public. As of last month, nearly 160,000 incarcerated people and staff had been infected with COVID-19 and over 1000 had died.

Details on next month's performance in Boston, Massachusetts will be announced in the coming weeks. For additional information on Unlocked Voices, please check out the website at: http://www.callingallcrows.org/unlocked-voices About The Organizations: Calling All Crows is a national nonprofit based in Boston, Massachusetts that partners with musicians and fans to create change for women through service and activism. Founded by musician Chadwick Stokes and former tour manager Sybil Gallagher, the organization builds campaigns with issue-based local organizations to add capacity and momentum to their work through the platforms, community, and creativity that the music industry provides.

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