Ossining Native Heads Amnesty International USA

Did you know the new Executive Director of Amnesty International USA cites Sing Sing as the reason he’s in this position?

Steven Hawkins grew up in Ossining and recounts how as a NAACP youth member, he got to visit “the infamous prison” in high school. In an email he sent to supporters, he writes of his fateful trip to Sing Sing:

I had the opportunity to hold deep and personal conversations with inmates — many of them Black Panthers or inmates from Attica who fought inhumane prison conditions. 

Through my conversations, I learned that prison bars are not a barrier to activism, that a life sentence is not a roadblock to compassion or to making a contribution. 

In order to better defend human rights, he went on to get a law degree, lead the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, served as Executive VP of the NAACP..onto his first day of work at Amnesty International last week. 

Youtube of his message above.