'We Are All Criminals' exhibit portrays the long reach of our laws
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/we-are-all-criminals-exhibit-portrays-the-long-reach-of-our-laws-b99561560z1-322627951.html
The traveling exhibit features portraits and stories of mostly white, middle-class people who admit they have broken the law, but have suffered no legal consequences. Their identities are protected, but the portraits show their environments and illustrate their privileged lives. Their stories are contrasted with those of people who were caught, prosecuted or imprisoned for similar actions, most of them people of color.
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For example, one man interviewed for the project spent his freshman year of college in Wisconsin, across Lake Superior from his home in Minnesota. For his sophomore year, he transferred to a school back in his hometown, moving in with some high school friends. They quickly realized he was in a perfect position to sell drugs at his former university, since he knew the students personally and would be able to distinguish them from undercover cops.
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Through the conversation, the man, who now is a business owner, realized that if he'd been caught, he wouldn't have graduated, wouldn't have gotten the internship where met his wife, wouldn't have become the father of his two sons. And even if he had somehow managed to meet his wife and have his kids, he never could have volunteered with their hockey team, which asks potential volunteers to check boxes indicating whether they have been convicted of various crimes.
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"We Are All Criminals" will be on display Monday through Thursdayon the third floor of Madison's Central Library, 201 W Mifflin St. Baxter will speak from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednsday at the library as part of Madison's Forward Festival. The presentation is free and open to the public; RSVP by visiting: weareallcriminals.splashthat.com/.