January 27: “Mass Incarceration and Racial Justice.” Howard Tolley, Jr., Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati and a lay leader at St. John’s church, will join us to examine racial justice in the prison system. In four decades since the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the United States has subjected a large and growing sub-caste of African American men to unprecedented rates of incarceration for non-violent drug offenses. Instead of the moratorium on prison construction advocated in the 1960s, state and privately operated prisons have multiplied and become profit centers. In 2002, the UUA adopted a Statement of Conscience “Alternatives to the War on Drugs,” followed by a 2005 SOC on “Criminal Justice and Prison Reform.” What can UUs do to remedy institutional racism in Ohio’s prison system? Linda Amspaugh is service leader. The service begins at 10:30am and is followed by a coffee hour. Children’s Religious Education and Childcare are available.