Facing Race: A National Conference in St. Louis, MO — November 20-22, 2024

Amanda Aguilar-Shank

Senior Organizer | Enlace
Amanda grew up in the Bay Area in a mixed family with roots in El Salvador. She began organizing as a student, campaigning against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. She has worked with communities in El Salvador, low-wage workers with SEIU across the country, and with the Rural Organizing Project where she built a statewide network of small-town Latino leaders. She is a lead trainer for the Women Rise Fellows program and was key in successful university divestment campaigns at the University of California and CSULA.

Presentations from Facing Race 2016

Dismantling Mass Incarceration: Strategies to Fight Back Against Prison Profiteering

The U.S. incarcerates more people than any country in the world. Increasingly the system has created perverse incentives for the incarceration of people of color, including immigrants. This session will address the ways that the state with corporate & financial institutions interact at levels of the revolving door, campaign contributions, drafting legislation, and securing bed quotas. During this session at Facing Race, we will outline the ways the state and corporate interests have played a role in driving incarceration. If we can’t count on elected officials to end mass incarceration, what can we do ourselves to stop its expansion and prevent more people of color from being locked up? We will reflect on the lessons learned from recent fights and plot a course for racial justice advocacy during a new era in Washington. We will also discuss proactive ways to address mass incarceration as both the state and multinational corporations work to undermine communities and identify strategies to win.

Speakers: Danny Cendejas, Amanda Aguilar-Shank