"Poems" at MCC on Feb. 4

CURRENT AMERICAN ISSUES
MCC Student Peace Action Network
Press Contact: Molly McQueen 815-943-6711
For Immediate Release
January 26, 2010

Rescheduled “Poems from Guantanamo” Event on at MCC

Crystal Lake—A controversial program featuring poems by inmates at the Guantanamo prison facility for terrorist suspects that was canceled in December, has been rescheduled at 7 PM, Thursday, February 4 at the McHenry County College Conference Center.

Marc D. Falkoff, Ph.D., a professor of law at Northern Illinois University, and editor of the recently published book, Poems from Guantánamo: The Detainees Speak, will be the speaker.

Citing security concerns college official canceled the program before its schedulable December 3 presentation, which coincided with the funeral of a Crystal Lake Soldier killed in Afghanistan. Commenter’s on local news sites had threatened to disrupt the program and accused program organizers of treason.

The program is part of the long-running Current American Issues Series of forums presented at the college and is sponsored by the MCC Student Peace Action Network (SPAN), Pax Christi, and the McHenry County Peace Coalition.

Since Falkoff 2004 he has been a principal lawyer in the habeas representation of seventeen prisoners being held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of involvement with terrorism. For this work, he was named the Charles F. C. Ruff Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year in 2005. He received the Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award in 2007 from the Southern Center for Human rights and in 2008 was the recipient of the Bill of Rights in Action Award from the Constitutional Rights Foundation in Chicago.

Falkoff writes and speaks frequently about the rule of law in the context of the war on terror. The book of prisoner poetry he edited, "Poems from Guantánamo: The Detainees Speak," was a bestselling anthology translated into a dozen languages. Abused, desperate and isolated, Guantánamo prisoners turned to writing poetry as a way to preserve their humanity. Despite the Pentagon's efforts to suppress the poems, Falkoff and a dedicated group of pro bono lawyers succeeded in giving the detainees a voice.

SPAN organizer Molly McQueen says that two off duty Crystal Lake police officers have been hired for security.

The program will be moderated by MCC instructor Dr. Todd Culp and is free and open to the public.

After the program Falkoff will be available to sign copies of his book.

For more information call 815 943-7611 or e-mail molly_mcq@hotmail.com