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Tacoma Meaningful Movies Presents “Philly D.A.” By Natalie Jude Johnson

by Anne Miller April 8, 2021 0

Philly D.A., presented by the Tacoma Meaningful Movies Project group, takes a look at the issue of mass incarceration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ted Passon, Nicole Salazar, and Yoni Brook were the filmmakers behind the project which explores issues prolonging the life of a warped criminal justice system. Through Larry Krasner, a civil rights attorney turned District Attorney who has a guiding desire to change the system from the inside, the audience is taught about the roots of mass incarceration and the pressures upon those like Krasner attempting to make changes. Throughout the film it is explained that the issues of police brutality, the opioid crisis, gun violence, and mass incarceration feed one another in  a badly built yet sturdy system that won’t change until  the general public demands reform.

After the film the audience was joined by guest speakers Dr. Jashon Banks, Omari Amili, and Jessica Campbell. Each offered a different perspective on our broken criminal justice system. Banks provided experience as a teacher on the subject of Criminal Justice; Amili explained the impacts of the system on inmates from the perspective of having been incarcerated and then entering the worlds of activists and writers; and Campbell discussing the entirety of the system from a legal standpoint as a Defense Attorney herself with the Lawyers Against Systemic Racism. The entire group of speakers were well-versed in the areas of those social issues which plague American society today, and each helped guide an important  conversation about what we can do as individuals and as communities to try and support justice for all people regardless of race, ethnicity or socio-economic status.

The Philly D.A. series of documentaries were provided to Meaningful Movies through the ITVS Independent Lens program.