[hr-media] Books Not Bars Video

"Books Not Bars" is now online at www.witness.org! Hosted by Hip Hop
artist Q-Tip, this video documents the inspiring youth-led movement for
juvenile justice reform in the US and features music by Dead Prez and
Sweet Honey in the Rock.

As investment in public schools diminishes and government spending on
prisons skyrockets, young people across the country are mobilizing to
change a system that over-incarcerates working class people and people
of color.

Watch the video at www.witness.org. Read background information about
these issues in the 'Story' section of www.witness.org, explore the
'Links' to find out more about the work of youth activists, and then
click to the 'Act Now' section in order to find out what you can do to
support juvenile justice reform.

Directed by Mark Landsman and produced in collaboration with the Ella
Baker Center for Human Rights and the "Rights Now" campaign of Columbia
University's Human Rights Institute, Books Not Bars is a powerful tool
for young leaders, teachers, community organizers and others who want to
educate rather than incarcerate America's youth. The video is available
online and in VHS format along with a lesson plan as well as an "action
pack" for those who want to join the movement.

Co-founded in 1992 by Peter Gabriel in the wake of the Rodney King
beating, WITNESS has provided 150 human rights groups in 50 countries
with video cameras, enabling them to expose human rights abuses while
increasing international awareness for their causes. WITNESS videos
have been used before courts and the United Nations, as a tool for
public education, and as a deterrent for further abuse.

WITNESS 'Rights Alert' (http://.witness.org) is a monthly series of
human rights videos, introduced by celebrities and produced with human
rights advocates around the world. Other recent Rights Alert features
include "Rise: Revolutionary Women Re-envisioning Afghanistan,"
featuring hidden camera footage of the devastation caused by
American-led bombings and candid interviews with Afghan refugees, and
"Operation Fine Girl," describing rape as an instrument of war in Sierra
Leone. The WITNESS site was awarded "The Best of the Net" by About.com,
and receives over 1,000,000 hits a month.

For more information about WITNESS or the "Books Not Bars" video and
accompanying materials, please contact Ronit Avni at 212-274.1664 ext201
or ronit@witness.org. For information about the "Books Not Bars"
campaign, visit the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights website at
www.ellabakercenter.org