
Carolyn Hill flanked by supporters as we were gathering on sidewalk in front of DHS with the city’s Christmas Village in the background.
About 20 people, mainly women of color, braved the cold to join Carolyn Hill outside the Department of Human Services in lighting candles for loved ones we are separated from this holiday season due to the foster care system, prison system, immigration policies, poverty, war… Ms Hill’s nieces were taken from her care by DHS because she lacked a GED. This is her second Christmas without them, and they without her. It was announced that Kimberly Rivera has been freed from prison and reunited with her newborn and family for the holidays. But Chelsea Manning, Mumia Abu Jamal, Maroon Shoatz, the Dallas 5 (among them Andre Jacobs, Anthony Locke, Carrington Keys, Duane Peters), the CA Prisoner Hunger Strikers and many other family members who were remembered on this day with the lighting of candles remain separated from us. The candlelight vigil was covered by Channel 10 NBC Local News.
The vigil was sponsored by: DHS Give Us Back Our Children, Every Mother is a Working Mother Network, Global Women’s Strike & Women of Color in the GWS, Human Rights Coalition, and Payday men’s network. It was co-sponsored/endorsed by: AFSC Prison Watch, Pastor Antionette Johnson King Solomon Baptist Church, Artists for Recovery, Brandywine Peace Community, The Center for Returning Citizens, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Mass Incarceration Working Group of Germantown Friends Meeting, Peacehome Campaigns, Saving Our Loved Ones (SOLO), Shandre Delaney mother of Carrington Keys of the Dallas 5, Why Not Prosper, X-Offenders for Community Empowerment, and Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP)

Karen Lee of Human Rights Coalition and Saving Our Loved Ones (SOLO) next to a holiday card that all could sign.