No. 8 - Human Rights Wellness with Derecka Purnell
For his Stir Crazy Festival 11 days after the death of George Floyd, JP Reynolds engaged some of his brilliant friends in wellness conversations. In this episode lawyer, writer, and organizer Derecka Purnell joins JP for an exchange about human rights wellness, police abolition, and joy.
About Derecka Purnell:
Derecka Purnell is a human rights lawyer, writer, and organizer. She works to end police and prison violence by providing legal assistance, research, and trainings to community based organizations through an abolitionist framework. Derecka received her JD from Harvard Law School, her BA from the University of Missouri- Kansas City, and studied public policy and economics at the University of California- Berkeley as a Public Policy and International Affairs Law Fellow. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Appeal, Truthout, Slate, Boston Review, Huffington Post, Vox, and In These Times. She’s been featured on NPR, the Boston Globe, Slate’s What Next, and MSNBC, and is the former Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy. Derecka has lectured, studied, and strategized around social movements across the United States, The Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Derecka is currently a columnist at The Guardian and Deputy Director of Spirit of Justice Center at Union Theological Seminary.
About JP Reynolds:
Called “remarkably special” by AllHipHop, JP Reynolds is an innovative artist, rapper and songwriter with an eclectic sound. The creator of “rap gumbo,” his music is a powerful blend of jazz, funk, gospel and soul. In addition to music JP is an entrepreneur, coach, activist, and minister. In 2012, he created Peace and Power Media, an artistic hub that produces music and multimedia content. Since 2014, JP has supported young people in pursuing passion and purpose through various initiatives and partnerships with organizations and communities within the non-profit sector. JP holds a Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies and a Master of Divinity from Yale University.
Conversation Topics:
Police Abolition v. Police Reform (2:44) • Why It's Different This Time (8:30) • The Prison Industrial Complex (14:12)
Book Choices:
Our Enemies in Blue by Kristian Williams • Black Marxism by Cedric Robinson
Theme Song: "Reset (Hold Your Horse)" - JP Reynolds + BACHTROY
