Fall 2011 Capital Region Newsletter


Annual Awards Ceremony on Nov. 10 to Honor Champions of Fair Marriage Laws and Criminal Justice Reform
This year, the Capital Region Chapter is honoring two state legislators for their unyeilding (and successful) advocacy of fair marriage laws, as well as the efforts of a grassroots coalition fighting injustice in the state's broken prison system. State Sen. Thomas K. Duane and Assembly Member Daniel J. O'Donnell will be honored for taking courageous stands in support of giving all citizens the freedom to marry. The New York State Prisoner Justice Network will be recognized for challenging pervasive failures and abuses in the state's prisons. Naomi Jaffe, Shoshana Brown and Victorio Reyes will accept the award on behalf of the organization. The awards ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10 at the Polish Community Center, 225 Washington Avenue Extension in Albany.
NY State Sen. Thomas K. DuaneState Sen. Thomas Duane
State Senator Thomas K. Duane: After his election to the State Senate in 1998, Tom Duane became the first openly gay and first openly HIV-positive member of that body. He has been a prime sponsor of the Marriage Equality Act in New York and of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA). He has a long history of commitment to full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender New Yorkers and has also fought to reform our criminal laws, including the successful effort of repeal the draconian Rockefeller drug laws. Assembly Member Daniel J. O'Donnell: Elected in 2002, Daniel O'Donnell is the first openly gay man to serve in the New York State Assembly. He currently serves as chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Procedures. He worked for seven years as a public defender in the Brooklyn office of the Legal Aid Society before opening his own public-interest law firm on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He lives in Morningside Heights in Manhattan with John Banta, his partner of three decades.
NY Assembly Member Daniel J. O'DonnellAssembly Member Daniel J. O'Donnell
Senator Duane and Assembly Member O'Donnell will receive the Ned Pattison Award for their principled -- and often unpopular -- stands as public officials in support of equality for all residents of New York State. The award celebrates the life and values of the late Edward W. "Ned" Pattison who is remembered for his deep concern for the poor and the powerless, even when that concern jeopardized his political ambitions. He represented the 29th Congressional District (Saratoga, Rensselaer, Warren and Washington counties) from 1974 to 1978 and was a consistent voice in opposition to the Vietnam War and in support of civil rights, civil liberties and the environment. He practiced law in Troy and taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He died in 1990. Naomi Jaffe: Naomi Jaffe is a founding member of the New York State Prisoner Justice Network. She has been a regular visitor to New York's maximum security prisons for 25 years and has seen firsthand the abuses and injustice of our prison system. The New York State Prisoner Justice Network seeks to be a statewide voice opposing mass incarceration, disproportionate imprisonment of people of color, abusive prison conditions, punitive parole policies, and long-term solitary confinement. It supports restorative justice, alternatives to incarceration and community-based solutions. Shoshana Brown: Shoshana Brown is a young activist raised in the South Bronx who has been personally affected, through family members and friends, by the "Prison Industrial Complex" and the unjust laws that feed into it. She is a founding member/core organizer of the New York State Prisoner Justice Network, which she sees as a vehicle for larger systemic change and movement building. She, along with many other network members, believes that the possibility of a reformed system in her lifetime is a realistic goal and she will continue to work to achieve a different vision for our prisons. Victorio Reyes: Victorio Reyes is an activist and artist. For more than six years he has been director of The Social Justice Center of Albany (SJC), which works for progressive social change through mutual support and collective action. Reyes has helped to implement many programs including the New York State Prisoner Justice Network. The network started out as the idea of a handful of activists at the SJC and has turned into a statewide alliance representing more 60 organizations. His commitment to social justice is also reflected in his art. Reyes is a poet, musician and author. He is a member of the radical hip-hop group Broadcast Live and the creator of Ghetto Hippie, a current events blog. Brown, Jaffe and Reyes will accept the Carol S. Knox Award. Carol was an associate at Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna and also worked in the New York Attorney General's office under Robert Abrams. She met her husband, Lee Wasserman, when they worked as volunteer attorneys for the Capital Region Chapter. Carol is remembered for her unfailing warmth and good humor, her kindness, wisdom, intelligence, strength, and uncommon persistence and integrity.  
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