We're taking back our kids!!
Are you in?
The Ethics Project is launching its first capital campaign! With your help, we'll continue changing the lives of children, families and communities impacted by crime, incarcerations and injustice. Your donation will make a difference in the lives of thousands of innocent children who wake up each day with a parent in prison, a grandparent taking on the roll of caregiver or their home in foreclosure. Crime, incarceration and injustice hurts.
Are you a donor? Please consider supporting The Ethics Project today. Your tax deductible donation supports life-changing efforts.
The Ethics Project ...
- Creates awareness of the impact crime, incarcerations & injustice
- Seeks to eliminate wrongful prosecutions
- Brings together agencies and ministries in cities across the US
- Addresses the consequences of mass incarcerations
- Produces presentations to encourage achievement in youth through history, participation and presenting accomplished community and national leaders.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 1 in every 100 Americans is behind bars
- Incarceraton of African American men has increased 8 fold in 3 decades
- 1.7 million children have at least one parent in prison with more than 3.3 million exposed to domestic violence
- Children with parents in prison are 6 times more likely to be incarcerated in the future
- Drop out rates in many inner city schools is in excess of 60%
- 1 in 4 African American children has a father in prison by age 14
- 1 in 10 African American men are under some form of supervision by the criminal justice system
- 1 in 3 African American males will be imprisoned in their lifetime, an increase from 1 in 4 in the last decade
- The average annual cost of incarceration is over $24,000, four times that of the average annual tuition at a public college
- More African Americans are in prisoned today than enslaved in the 1800's
- African Americans make up approximately 12% of the U.S. general population yet an average of 72% of the prison populations
- 55 billion dollars are spent each year on incarcerations in America
- 282 innocent people have been exonerated in the US, 17 of those exonerated had been sentenced to death
- 1 person can make a difference
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The right to vote is one of the most powerful rights afforded an American citizen by the United States Constitution. It empowers an individual to chose how they will be governed and who will make the laws that govern them.
The ideals of the15th Amendment, that
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JUDGE JIMMIE EDWARDS CHOSEN
AS A HERO OF THE YEAR
BY PEOPLE MAGAZINE
St. Louis City Family Court Presiding Judge and Ethics Project partner, Judge Jimmie Edwards, was recently chosen as one of People Magazine's Hero's of the Year for 2011. He was among five outstanding recipients chosen by the editors of the national publication.
Judge Edwards was profiled in the October 10, 2011 issue of People, and the announcement appears in the November 7, 2011 issue, now on newsstands. “We chose men and women who reached across boundaries to help strangers or worked within their communities to deepen bonds. From Logan,Utah…to Judge Jimmie Edwards of St. Louis who started a school for wayward teens, the 2011winners never let daunting odds stand in their way,” said Managing Editor Larry Hackett.
Having watched a string of teenage offenders appear in his courtroom, Judge Edwards took action in 2009, to change their course. Edwards brought together 45 community partners, took over an abandoned St. Louis Public School building and opened the Innovative Concept Academy. provides strict discipline, counseling, chess, music, creative writing and other programs to teens who may other wise have ended their educational career.
Judge Edwards' extraordinary accomplishments were also recognized earlier this year when he was awarded The Ethics Project's Ambassador Andrew Young Award for Outstanding Ethics and Service to Family and Community. "Judge Edwards' commitment to the youth in the City of St.Louis dates back decades", said The Ethics Project Founder and President, Christi Griffin, a former law school classmate of Judge Edwards at St. Louis University School of Law. While we were in law school he recruited law students to mentor teens. When we graduated and begin practicing he continued to reach out to us to mentor law students. I've heard he did the same as an undergrad."
The Ethics Project recently partnered with Innovative Concept Academy, along with other area schools, to produce the St. Louis Youth Resource Connection. The publication is being produced by teens for teens and will not only provide the most comprehensive list of resources for St. Louis teens but will also highlight their art, photography, graphics and other creative skills. We are honored to have Judge Edwards participate in this program and join other St. Louis notables as Dr. James, Knight, photographer, Suzy Gorman, magazine publisher, Keith Griffin, law professor, Sarah Jane Forman and others to act as consultants to the students.
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THE ETHICS PROJECT HOSTS
HARVARD LECTURER
The Ethics Project recently hosted Harvard lecturer and international consultant, Andre Norman, for a seminar presentedto 50 non-profit CEOs, college personnel and community agencies. After Mr. Norman insightful lecture at the Grandel Theater (The Black Rep) on speaking the language funders want to hear, those in attendance were invited to a future collaboration of St. Louis agencies to be taught funding nuances by Harvard and MIT professionals. Originally scheduled to take place at the Grand Center Arts Academy, Academy Community Partner Director, Dan Rubright, secured the use of the Grandel Theater to accomodate the registrants. Representatives from The Grand Center, St. Louis University, UMSL, SLAY's Boys and Girls Club, United Way, COLA, Circus Flora and others attended the event.
Norman is a highly sought after international consultant and lecturer to Fortune 500 executives, universities, businesses, government and non-profit agencies. He has lectured at Harvard’s University School of Law, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Northeastern University, London School of Business and MIT among others. He has been a featured speaker at the 2009 Global Leadership Conference, the World Presidents Organization, the Young Presidents Organization and the Technology, Entertainment and Design (TEDx) Summit. (read more)
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CITY of ST. LOUIS LICENSE COLLECTOR,
MIKE MCMILLAN & THE ETHICS PROJECT
RECOGNIZED ON CITYS' WEB SITE
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Graveyard of the Masses
With nearly two million U.S. citizens incarcerated in the United States alone, American prisons have become massive tombs of concrete and bars. Behind impenetrable walls enough talent is housed to start an entire civilization; potential doctors, architects, teachers and craftsmen. Little will we ever know how often the cure to cancer, the answer to AIDS or the solution to world peace died behind prison walls; how many books went unwritten, how many songs unsung, or works of art unpainted. We'll never know how many tears young children cried, how many suicides were committed or how many teens simply gave up.
JOIN THE ETHICS PROJECT TO SPREAD THE WORD AND END THE TRAUMA
U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young Stole the Hearts of Many
On February 28, 2011, former U.S.Ambassador, Andrew Young, addressed a near capacity crowd of high school and college students, parents, educators, and community leaders at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. He stole their hearts. Immediately upon taking the stage, Ambassador Young asked for a chair, lithely turned it around and straddled it as he spoke to the youth in his quiet, gentle manner for over an hour.
The program focused on the diverse and ultimately merging ideologies of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, the personal role of Ambassador Young as an historic figure in the Civil Rights Movement and the relevance of the Civil Rights Movement to today's racial and economic climate. Originally slated to end with a symbolic march led by Ambassador Young, the program ended with the dynamic words of acclaimed speaker, author and CNN contributor, Victor Woods. Both had more to share with the well behaved students than time allowed.
Working in conjunction with the University of Missouri St. Louis' Office of Student Life, The Ethics Project presented “A Morning with U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young – Awakening History” that included the civil rights leader and international icon, Andrew Young, Gentlemen of Vision, soloists from Riverview Gardens High School, an awards ceremony assisted by ROTC students in full dress blues from Roosevelt High School and the enormously gifted speaker, Victor Woods.
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St. Louisans Received Prestigious Award
ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL ROTC STUDENTS HOLDING AWARDS DURING CEREMONY
St. Louis City Family Court Judge, Judge Jimmie Edwards, St. Louis author, playwrite, and community activist, Anthony McDonald and financial family extraordinaire, The Khayyams, were among St. Louis citizens who received The Ethics Project's Ambassador Andrew Young Award for Outstanding Ethics and Service to Family and Community. The awards were presented by Ambassador Young following his keynote address at The Touhill on February 28, 2011.
Other awardees were The Honorable Michael McMillan, License Collector for the City of St. Louis, Gentry Trotter, Founder of Heat Up St. Louis, The Honorable April Ford Griffin, Alderwoman for the City of St. Louis, Malik Ahmed, Founder and CEO of Better Family Life, Vanessa Elliott, Past-President Urban League Guild of St. Louis, Jody Squires, Ph.D, Urban Youth Specialist, Rudy Nickens, international speaker and community activist, Amy Hunter, Director of Racial Justice Program for the YWCA, Oshiomogho Atogwe, Rams safety, and Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Caroline Fisher, educator and Mo Dept. of Education 2009 Pioneer in Education. Former Rams player, Aeneas Williams, accepted on behalf of Atogwe.
Originally intended to recognize three or four individuals, the response to the request for nominees was overwhelming. Those selected exhibited such excellence and dedication to the community, the final list of awardees had to be expanded.
We are extremely grateful for the generous support of Southwest Airlines who provided Transportation for Victor Woods, Plaza Motors for providing ground transportation for Ambassador Young, UMSL's Office of Student Life, The Touhill Performing Arts Center, The Moonrise Hotel, Ameren UE and The Chase Park Plaza.
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DAUGHTER OF MALCOLM X INSPIRED STUDENTS AND ADULTS ALIKE
"We witnessed a miracle!"
It was an awesome experience; one that few in attendance at Riverview Gardens Family and Community Resource Center on November 19th, will ever forget. More than four hundred students from Riverview Gardens High School, many considered to be "at-risk", sat for over four hours listening with rapt attention to their fellow classmates and speakers Ilyasah Shabazz and Victor Woods. An hour and a half past their lunch hour, with no break or intermission, students sat, watched and listened as history was recreated. Little did they know, they were themselves a part of history in the making.
Click photo to read Ms. Shabazz's bio
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The Ethics Project is addressing the impact of crime, incarcerations and injustice on children, families and the community through:
- Information on Legal Ethics
- Reference to Rules of Court
- Monitoring Judicial Records
- Referrals to Disciplinary Systems
- Tracking Disciplinary Complaints
- Maintaining Database of Complaints
- Public Awareness
- Consortiums of Agencies and Ministries
- Youth/Gang Summits
- Leadership Workshops
- Student Leadership Corp
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2010 Youth/Gang Summit Great Success
Our Youth Are Dying for Our Attention.
Support Efforts that Support Them.
Nearly two thousand students attended Youth/Gang Summits held at Sumner, Beaumont, Vashon and Roosevelt High Schools in St. Louis. The Summits evolved from a suggestion of Cynthia Wilson, an employee of the Urban League and member of its Public Safety Advisory Council, to give students an opportunity to be heard. “Students today face all kinds of problems; gangs, drugs, killings. They need to be heard by the community.” The two and one-half hour Summits held at each of the four Comprehensive High Schools and attended by more than 70 community leaders, were designed to allow students to be heard. read more
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More Than 70 Attend
Consortium
More than 70 executive directors, CEO s, board members, staff and ministers attended a recent consortium of agencies and ministries that serve various populations affected by crime. Participants braved the early morning hour to engage in the two hour session and networking opportunity. Topics ranging from re-entry to abuse, unemployment,
homelessness, addiction and education produced concrete concerns and ground work for new directions.
"The consortium was a great success" wrote Darryl Burton, an exoneree recently freed by DNA evidence after serving 24 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. He now speaks around the country on the issue of wrongful prosecutions. read more
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Acclaimed author, CNN guest and motivational speaker joins
The Ethics Project
as speaker
As The Ethics Project continues to bring together concerned non-profit CEOs, executive directors, ministers, and staff through consortiums in cities throughout the US, its founder, Attorney Christi Griffin is pleased to announce collaboration with author and motivational speaker, Victor Woods in select cities. Author of the book, A Breed Apart, Woods has appeared on CNN, ABC and other network stations speaking on issues of crime, incarceration and violence. read more
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