ICUJP Receives Grant for RECKONING WITH TORTURE Performances

 
In late September, ICUJP received notification of a $2000 grant from the Diane Middleton Foundation in San Pedro. The grant will be used to support the development of, and at least three performances of professionally staged readings of Reckoning With Torture, in collaboration with our project partners, Dramastage-Qumran and The Veterans Project's John Needham Media Center. The first performance will be on International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011, at the United University Church on the USC campus.

 
Reckoning with Torture is created from a script provided by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), juxtaposing official government documents with contradictory eyewitness accounts regarding torture, and making it undeniably clear that prisoners have been tortured, abused, and in some cases even killed while in U.S. custody. The ACLU/NRCAT script is supplemented with letters collected by The Veterans Project from the late veteran John Needham, describing torture he not only witnessed but was coerced to participate in while serving in the U.S. Military.
“We are thrilled to be given this support by the Middleton Foundation,” says  Melvin Johnson, Artistic Director of Dramastage-Qumran,  “in that it will give us the opportunity to share this important work with underserved populations, educate them about US use of torture, and encourage them to become active in opposing it.”
ICUJP has been an outspoken voice against torture abroad and at home, working closely with NRCAT and other groups to educate the public about the outrages that take place. This spring, we co-sponsored a reading of Reckoning With Torture with the local chapter of NRCAT at St. Michaels and All Angels Episcopal Church in Studio City.
Dramastage-Qumran is a recovery theater workshop located in Los Angeles’ Skid Row area and provides affordable theater to the downtown community relating to issues such as homelessness, substance abuse, and the needs of veterans, women, children and families. The Veterans Project, through its John Needham Media Center, publishes stories about the plight of military veterans, produces dramatic content created by veterans, and connects veterans seeking a career in the entertainment/media industry with experienced professionals.
The Diane Middleton Foundation seeks to support individuals and organizations working to:
- Build strong community and labor organizations
- Promote and expand civil and human rights with a special emphasis on protecting civil liberties in times of growing repression
- Strengthen the effort and celebrate the history of labor unions and the role of immigrant workers
- Train a new generation of leaders
- Create economic justice
For more information or to schedule a Reading in your organization or congregation, please contact icujp@pacbell.net.
If you would like to donate to support this continued effort, please click here.
The Reckoning with Torture Project of ICUJP is made possible by a grant from the Diane Middleton Foundation.