Events
» Action Items, Events, News
Join the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and Asian Prisoner Support Commitee (APSC) to discuss this groundbreaking film and mark the anniversary of harmful immigration laws that eliminated second chances for people like Eddy Zheng. The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) resulted in the rise of mass deportations that have separated millions of families.
SEARAC will release a report, “Prosecutorial Discretion in the Southeast Asian American Community,†to highlight the issue of unjust deportations. This event will be in conjunction with their annual “Leadership, Empowerment, and Advocacy Fellowship†(LEAF) Training. Panelists will talk about their personal stories and highlight the local work they are doing to support AAPI prisoner reentry. The event is hosted by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).
Speakers:
Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27)
Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13)
Formerly Incarcerated Panel:
Eddy Zheng, Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC), Oakland, CA
Kristopher Larsen, Formerly Incarcerated Group Healing Together (FIGHT), Seattle, WA
Tung Nguyen, Santa Ana, CA
Date/Time:Â Wednesday, September 28, 4:30-7:00pm
Location:Â Rayburn House Office Building, Judiciary Hearing Room 2226
For the Facebook invite, click here.
To register for the event, click here.
» Events, Media, Photos, Reflections
Happy new breath! Feeling so honored to premiere Breathin’ with so much community support at CAAMFest 2016.
Photos from CAAMFest 2016 at the Alamo Drafthouse at New Mission
Eddy Zheng and Director Ben Wang before the screening
Composer Scott “Chops” Jung signing the Breathin’ poster during our pre-screening meet-up/dinner
Cast and crew during Q&A
Eddy during Q&A post-premiere
Eddy poses with filmmaker Ben Wang, SF Police Commissioner Victor Hwang, SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi, and fellow activist Harrison Suega.
Breathin’ is given an Honorable Mention by CAAMFEST’s esteemed doc jury
» Action Items, Events, Media
CAAMFest Press Conference 2016 at Alamo Drafthouse San Francisco
Description:
Arrested at 16 and tried as an adult for kidnapping and robbery, Eddy Zheng served over 20 years in state prison. Ben Wang’s BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY paints an intimate portrait of Eddy — the prisoner, the immigrant, the son, the activist — on his journey to freedom, rehabilitation and redemption.
BREATHIN’ moves with a deep, critical love, unafraid in confronting the hard truths of Eddy’s crime, the harsh realities of mass incarceration and the intertwined emotional hardships experienced by all involved. The film finds Eddy at many crossroads — in and out of parole hearings, organizing in the community, othered and at risk of deportation — his resilience and astounding compassion resounding throughout. In chronicling Eddy’s decades-long struggle for freedom, the film interrogates the complexities and hypocrisies of crime and punishment in the United States, raising the greater question: For whom are prisons for?
— Andrew Yeung
Co-presented by: Chinese for Affirmative Action & Asian Prisoner Support Committee
Credits
Director: Ben Wang
Producer: Christine Kwon, Ben Wang
Executive Producer: Deann Borshay Liem
Cinematographer: R.J. Lozada
Editor: Ken Schneider and Tina Nguyen
To purchase tickets, click here.
Dates & Times
March 11, 2016 6:30 pm at Alamo Drafthouse
March 19, 2016 8:10 pm at New Parkway Theater
» Articles, Events, Photos
My second trip of the year takes me to receive the Justice, Peace and Freedom Award from the 2016 AFL-CIO Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference. ‪#‎1uMLK‬ I feel humble and honor to sharing the stage with Dorsey Nunn, Rachel Bryan and the ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ Co-Founders Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, Patrisse Marie Cullors-Brignac and different labor leaders. I couldn’t have be in this space without my Asian Prisoner Support Committee family and ‪#‎AAPIsBeyondBars‬ Coalition. Thank you for your leadership and support.
Eddy with Co-Founder of #BlackLivesMatter, Alicia Garza
Eddy, Executive Director of All of Us or None Dorsey Nunn, Community Liaison and International Representative of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Rachel Bryan and Executive Board Member and President of Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)Â Johanna Hester
Membership & Chapter Coordinator/Policy Analyst of APALA William Chiang, Eddy, Johanna Hester, and Executive Director of APALA Gregory Cendana
Eddy with Dorsey Nunn and Executive Vice President of AFL-CIO Teferi Gebre
Eddy with APALA crew
Eddy and William Chiang
Eddy and Johanna Hester
» Events, Reflections
Breathin’ to show in San Francisco and Oakland in March 2016
Thirty year ago today, at the age of sixteen, I played judge and sentenced a family of four to a life sentence of trauma and suffering. As a result, the judge sentenced me to life in prison as an adult. I spent twenty-one years in prison, while my parents did twenty-one years with me in the “free world.†At the same time, I contributed to the violent statistics in the community.
We are never separated from the self, family and community.
I want to apologize to the family that I had harmed. I am sorry for the trauma I had inflicted on you. I had no rights to do so. I am forever grateful for the mother of the family for accepting the written apologies from me, my parents and community members.
It is timely that the film “Breathin’ – The Eddy Zheng Story†is completed as the country is focusing on criminal justice reform and de-carceration. Ben Wang and many people have created this space to highlight that transformation, redemption, and restorative justice are possible. My story is not just about me. It is about the narratives of many “Others†that do not have a voice to articulate the detrimental impact of the migration to the school-to prison-and-deportation pipeline.
I look forward to watching the film and engaging in dialogue with people on investing in solutions to mass criminalization, incarceration, deportation and dispelling the model minority myth.
In the meantime, I will continue to pay forward until the day I inhale my last breath.
» Engagements, Events
Feeling honor and excited about sharing my thoughts with the leadership of Alameda Labor Council on the impact of mass incarceration and the importance of labor’s role in dismantling the prison industrial Complex through mass employment and investing in education.
» Events
On Wednesday, November 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, formerly-incarcerated and convicted people, and our allies, from all over the United States will convene to discuss and ratify a National Agenda to restore our civil and human rights. We believe that unity of purpose will allow us to build political power. Many of us are already working on similar campaigns, to achieve the same demands. After November 2, we hope to organize and mobilize other people who have suffered at the hands of the criminal justice system to stand up for our rights around the country. After November 2, we plan to mount unified national campaigns to register voters, to end all forms of discrimination based on arrest or conviction records, to support the human rights of people locked up in cages, and to serve our families and communities.
PLEASE REGISTER NOWÂ to attend the November 2 conference in Los Angeles.
There is no registration fee and no deadline for registering, but please register now so we can plan for food and reserve housing in advance.
Our conference will begin with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 2, and the convening starting at 9 a.m. in Freedom Hall at the Watts Labor Community Action Center (WLAC) in South Central Los Angeles (10850 South Central Avenue).
TRAVEL and HOUSING: The November 2 convening is 100% self-financed. We have received no grant money so far to organize this event, so we hope everyone will be able to fund-raise for expenses, which we are trying to keep low. Unfortunately, there are no scholarships available for travel or housing for the November 2 convening. If you’re coming from out of town, please plan to travel the day before (November 1). Housing for the night of November 1 will be available near WLCAC at rates of $59-$69 for a double room. Rooms for that night will also be available at the the Westin Bonaventure, in downtown Los Angeles at DPA conference rates — $140 per room for double occupancy rooms.
» Events
I am honored to Co-Chair the campaign to support San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. Â Please join us at the grand opening of our campaign office on Saturday, June 25, 2011!
A Message from Our Co-Chairs
We are excited by the outpouring of support that our Run, Ed, Run campaign has received in its first week! And we have much more planned to get the word out and to spread the message: We want Mayor Ed Lee to run in November!
This weekend, we will hold a grand opening of our campaign office. And we would like you to attend:
Run, Ed, Run Campaign Office Opening
Saturday, June 25th
10:30am
1565 Mission Street (at S. Van Ness)
We hope to see you there!
Gear Up for PRIDE
Next Sunday, join your fellow Ed Heads at Gay Pride! We’ll be mobilizing teams of volunteers to pass out Run, Ed, Run stickers and materials during the Pride parade and festival.
Come get your PRIDE on, and show that ‘Ed Head‘ spirit!!!
Meet us at the Run, Ed, Run office at 9:30am (corner of Mission and South Van Ness)!
We’ll have some food and drinks (coffee!) in the morning before we head out.
How Do You Want To Get Involved?
There are so many ways to help out and get involved–that are just a click away…
Sign Our Petition
Go to www.runedrun.org now to sign our petition and send a message to Ed!
Get A House Sign
Show us your support in the most colorful way. Put up a Run Ed Run sign in your home! Click here to request a sign or give us a call at (415) 483-5659.
Smile For Our Photobooth
We love to show off our beautiful Ed Head supporters! Want to be featured in our Mustache Revolution Gallery? Set up a time with our Photobooth volunteers. We’ll come to you!
Donate
Donations small and large are accepted to keep our movement going. Ed needs to see how much support he has in the community. Make a contribution online today or mail in a check to:
Progress for All
110 Pacific Ave #334
San Francisco, CA 94111
Checks should be payable to Progress for All. State law requires that we use our best efforts to collect and report the name, address, occupation and employer for each individual whose contribution exceeds $100 in a calendar year. Also, please indicate if you are retired, homemaker, student, self-employed or unemployed.
» Engagements, Events
Featuring:
- Alexis Agathocleous, Staff Attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights
- Zahra Billoo, Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – San Francisco Bay Area
- Dr. Terry Kupers, M.D.
- Keramet Reiter, JD, PhD Candidate Berkeley Law; and,
- Eddy Zheng, Prisoner Rights Advocate.
Moderated by: Sara Norman, Attorney, Prison Law Office.
Event Details
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
The Women’s Building
Audre Lorde Room
3543 18th Street #8
San Francisco, CA
Co-Sponsored by:
- Civil Liberties Defense Center
- Solitary Watch
- Freedom Archives
- Arab Resource and Organizing Center
- National Lawyers Guild – San Francisco Chapter
- National Lawyers Guild – Boalt Hall Chapter
- California Prison Focus
- Animal Legal Defense Fund-Stanford University
- Chapter and California Coalition for Women Prisoners
- Anti-Racism Committee of the National Lawyers Guild-San Francisco Chapter
- Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and Hastings Prisoner Outreach
- Stanford Criminal Law Society
- ACLU of Northern California
- Prison Legal News
- All of Us or None
- Green is the New Red
» Events
An Evening of Spoken Word and Music
with Eddy Zheng and DOSH
Breathin' Macalester College Event Poster
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Friday Feb 26, 2010
Smail Gallery, Olin-Rice Science Center
Macalester College, St. Paul, MN
About the Event
Facing deportation after 21 years behind bars, Eddy Zheng is grateful just to be breathin’. With music by DOSH and poetry by Paul Dosh, this artistic collaboration brings Eddy Zheng to the stage to tell the remarkable story of the movement he created that freed him from prison and now fights for the rights of Asian prisoners in California. A national advisory board member of the Asian American Law Journal, Eddy Zheng is the recipient of the Asian Law Students Outstanding Leadership Award and the Chinese World Journal Community Hero Award, the editor of Other: An Asian and Pacific Islander Prisoners’ Anthology, and now works for the San Francisco Community Youth Center.
