Attorney General Eric Holder Holds Public Hearing at UM Carey Law
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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, to gather expert and community testimony on the epidemic of children’s exposure to violence. The Task Force is a key part of the Attorney General’s Defending Childhood Initiative. Click here to watch a live stream of this hearing.
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law was selected as the site of the first in a series of four task force hearings and meetings around the country. In addition to the City of Baltimore, the Task Force will hear testimony in Albuquerque, N.M., Miami, and Detroit in the coming months to learn from practitioners, policymakers, advocates, academics, and community members about the extent and nature of the problem of children’s exposure to violence, both as victims and as witnesses.
In addition to the public hearing, the Task Force will hold a meeting of its members on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at UM Carey Law. The Task Force is charged with preparing and issuing a final report in 2012 to the Attorney General, presenting its findings and comprehensive policy recommendations.
Scheduled speakers for the Baltimore hearing include Sonja Sohn, founder and CEO of ReWired for Change and star of HBO’s “The Wire;” Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation; Nigel Cox, chair of the SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) National Advisory Board; and Baltimore and area residents who have experienced family, community, and other types of violence.
Below is the list of National Task Force members:
- Co-chair Joe Torre, Chairman, Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation
- Co-chair Robert Listenbee, Jr., J.D., Chief, Juvenile Unit, Defender Association of Philadelphia
- Father Gregory Boyle, S.J., Founder, Homeboy Industries
- Sharon W. Cooper, M.D., CEO, Developmental & Forensic Pediatrics, P.A.
- Sarah Deer, Citizen, Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma
- Deanne Tilton Durfee, Executive Director, Los Angeles County Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect
- Thea James, M.D., Director, Boston Medical Center Massachusetts Violence Intervention Advocacy Program
- Alicia Lieberman, Ph.D., Director, Early Trauma Treatment Network
- Robert Macy, Ph.D., Founder, Director, and President, International Center for Disaster Resilience–Boston
- Steven Marans, Ph.D., Director, National Center for Children Exposed to Violence
- Jim McDonnell, Chief of Police, Long Beach Police Department, California
- Georgina Mendoza, J.D., Senior Deputy Attorney and Community Safety Director, City of Salinas, Calif.
- Major General Antonio Taguba (ret.), President, TDLS Consulting, LLC, and Chairman, Pan Pacific American Leaders and Mentors (PPALM)
Special Soapstone Sculpture Exhibit During Hearing and Meeting
During the proceedings of the Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence, the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law is pleased to showcase a series of soapstone sculptures depicting domestic violence and its impact on a family, including three children. These sculptures, created by Baltimore sculptor Jill Lion in 2003, tell the story of a Baltimore City woman and her 15-year-old daughter who were slain in 2001 at the hands of a violent husband and stepfather, who was subsequently convicted of murder.
Ms. Lion was inspired to create this series in part because the woman worked in her building. Like many of her creations, these sculptures are based on events that evoke strong emotions.
The six sculptures are housed in the law school’s Thurgood Marshall Law Library as part of its permanent collections. The pieces illustrate the circumstances of the murders chronologically:
- "Family Portrait"
- "After Arguments, He Grabs the Bat"
- "Fight, part 1"
- "Fight, part 2"
- "Double Funeral"
- "Three Who Remain"
Jill Lion, who has carved stone sculptures for 25 years, learned her craft at the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore. She has also studied clay at the Myerberg Senior Center in Baltimore.
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