Real Life Library: Justice for All?

press release: Justice for All? Real People, Real Stories about the Justice System

Real Life Library Volume 5 will feature people's experiences with the criminal justice system: school to prison pipeline, Restorative Justice, incarceration, re-entry, and how the Justice system impact friends and family.Join us for this Real Life Library event, where real people are the "books" you can check out at the library to hear a true story of part of their lives. Doors open 11.30. Join us for lunch, first checkouts at 12. Last checkouts 3.30PM.

https://www.facebook.com/events/471540066590900/

A special edition of Real Life Library hosted by WHOA and Madison Public Library will feature members of the public sharing their personal experiences with the criminal justice system.

Inspired by the Human Library Project, Real Life Library is a unique storytelling and listening event designed to provide the opportunity for community members to listen to and learn from other people’s stories.

Volunteers will act as live “books” that attendees can “read,” taking in each person’s 20-minute real, personal stories. For this Justice for All? theme, “books” will be centered around the theme of criminal justice with stories related to the school to prison pipeline, restorative justice, incarceration, re-entry, and how the justice system impacts friends and family. 

Each of the “books” will be recorded and used to build a digital repository of stories and experiences that can be shared, taught, and passed on from generation to generation. Every Real Life Library event ultimately creates a digital volume of books, or human perspectives that can help educate others on social issues and humanize history.

Real Life Library is grounded in the belief that everyone has a story to tell and those stories can elevate wellbeing for everyone, both the books and the readers. “When we listen, we engage in deep empathy and build relationships which will build community,” says WHOA! founder, Garrett Lee. 

The program is organized by local nonprofit We Help One Another (WHOA!) in partnership with the Madison Public Library.

Real Life Library: Justice for All? will take place at Goodman South Madison Library on Saturday, September 22 from 11:30am-4:30pm. Refreshments will be served.

This event is free and open to the public, kids under 12 with adult supervision.