“Find your hammer. Find your chisel. And chip away.”
Justice is a hard topic. “Everybody can be angry, everybody can be upset. But who is willing to do the not sexy work, the work behind the scenes?” Austin Justice Coalition founder Chas Moore gets very real about the issues facing our world and the work that needs to be one to see change. Recognizing that none of this work is easy, he puts the challenge forward for everyone to do any little bit that they can. You just need to pick your wall, find your hammer and chisel, and chip away.
About the speaker
Chas Moore is the founder of Austin Justice Coalition, a nonprofit and grassroots, activist-led organization aimed at demanding criminal justice reform and building community at both the local, state, and national level.
His key passions include criminal justice reform, creating spaces for activists, leaders, and organizers of color to lead, and implementing progressive and âbest-practiceâ policies in local entities.
As Austin Justice Coalition Founder/ Executive Director, Chas has continued to leverage his connections within city government, the police department, the DAâs office, community organizations, and a myriad of others in AJCâs extensive network to bring positive change. His work in the upcoming year will focus on the Use of Force policy, police association contract, city budget, progressive disciplinary matrix for police misconduct, and mental health response.
In addition to being a grassroots organizer, Chas can be found throughout Austin at the best spots to eat, while reading memoirs of those who are impacting change.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Every month, Austin features a local artist who helps make Austin the Live Music Capital of the World. This event featured a live performance by Joanna Howerton and Michael Cross. You can support Joanna Howerton and Michael Cross by listening on Spotify or Apple Music. You can also follow Joanna Howerton and Michael Cross the web, Instagram, and Facebook.
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
Justice to me means that we take a step outside of ourselves and try to have some empathy for one another, and not just rely on the systems all the time.
Justice is a hard topic, in my opinion, because it means that we have to check ourselves. We have to check our privilege. We have to look in the mirror and ask, how am I contributing to all these problems.
Justice, to me, means that we live up to who we really say we are.
We have to check our privilege. We have to look in the mirror and be like, how am I contributing to all these problems? Because all of us are.
Itâs about standing up and fighting for whatâs right and making this place better for your neighbor.
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Hosted by
The Contemporary
700 Congress Ave.
Austin, Texas United States 78701
Date
Partners
Kerbey Lane Cafe
Cuvée Coffee
Big Swig
Videographer Marty Robbins
Photographer sandy carson
This is still one of the most important, and difficult, talks we ever hosted. I'm grateful that we have it preserved to remind us of where we were and where we still need to go.
I loved Chas's powerful talk. It was a reminder that justice, or, more importantly, how the lack of justice manifests in so many ways: homelessness, mass incarceration, inequity in healthcare and education, and so much more. They are all connected. We are all connected. It's up to all of us to do what we can. If we stay silent, we enable injustice to continue.