Variety and Rolling Stone will co-host their first-ever Criminal Justice Reform Summit next month in Los Angeles.
Featuring CNN host and activist Van Jones, as well as Kim Kardashian West and Meek Mill on Nov. 14. The event will bring together the entertainment, philanthropic, advocacy and policymaking communities to drive criminal justice reform.
Jones will keynote the conference by talking about the failings of the American criminal justice system with Kardashian West, who recently began leveraging her celebrity platform to advocate for prison reform with D.C.’s top policymakers. Notably, she aided in the early release of Alice Marie Johnson, a first-time nonviolent drug offender who spent 21 years in prison, after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
“Not only do we face a mass incarceration problem in the United States, but almost 60 percent of inmates currently in prison or jail are racial and ethnic minorities,” said Jones “Uncovering the roots of this national issue and creating a diverse advocacy community is a huge step toward generating legitimate policy change.”
Joining Variety and Rolling Stone in co-hosting the summit will be the Coalition for Public Safety, the Justice Action Network, #cut50, the Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, ARC, and One Community LLC.
Other panelists at the event include Freddy Brathwaite a.k.a Fab 5 Freddy, Scott Budnick, Daniel Loeb, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils co-owner Michael Rubin, U.S. governors John Bel Edwards, Mary Fallin and Dannel P. Malloy, former New York Times editor and Marshall Project editor-in-chief Bill Keller and “Get Out” actress Allison Williams.
Held at the Jeremy Hotel in West Hollywood, the event is presented by sponsors The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation and The Joan Ganz Cooney and Holly Peterson Foundation.