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Celebrating and commending Martha Williams for her commitment to her communities, family and people across Philadelphia, and for her insistence on seeing the humanity of people who are incarcerated, on the occasion of Black History Month.
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WHEREAS, Martha Williams has been a Philadelphian all her life. She was born and raised here, went to school here and has worked to better her community here. She has two children she raised here, and her son is serving a life-plus sentence. When Martha first walked into a Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration (CADBI) meeting, she saw a mom she knew and another friend from outside that space. It struck her, as she did not know what to expect, and it opened her eyes to how important this work is; and
WHEREAS, Martha comes from a community where she was not a stranger to folks being incarcerated, but it was that moment that touched a nerve. She knew then that it was necessary to participate and make her voice heard. She has supported individuals who are incarcerated, educated and learned about the impact incarceration has on communities and families, and lived in community with others who could relate to what she was feeling as a mother; and
WHEREAS, Translating that experience into conversations with legislators and officeholders, Martha has worked to turn her story into change. She has worked on issues from second-look laws to oversentencing to the need for holistic programming that reduces recidivism to creating avenues for people with life sentences to return to their communities, especially when they have changed; and
WHEREAS, Martha knows that people who are incarcerated come from a community, and with support can be a part of and help change those communities. She understands the need to look at every person as a human being, and to consider the ways people are crushed by an imperfect system - so that people are not locked up and thrown away, let alone through a wrongful conviction; and
WHEREAS, She wishes she had known more about the system itself, about its intricacies and the way to navigate it to obtain a just outcome. People are taken, families are left clueless and unsupported. Someone who can contribute on some level, has a responsibility to prevent people from becoming victims or offenders. She knows our City needs to do better, that our residents, brothers, sisters, children need us to do better; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby celebrates and commends Martha Williams for her commitment to her communities, family and people across Philadelphia, and for her insistence on seeing the humanity of people who are incarcerated, on the occasion of Black History Month.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That two Engrossed copies of this Resolution be presented to Martha Williams, and to the Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration, as an expression of the gratitude and admiration of the Council of the City of Philadelphia.
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