CHOICEZ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2009
Contact: Aginah Carter-Shabazz
Cell 267.226.3430
MAKING CHOICES: LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR SHARES LIFE’S LESSONS
WITH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LAW & SOCIOLOGY STUDENTS PHILADELPHIA — To a casual observer, prominent cosmetologist Aginah Carter-Shabazz may appear to be starting a whole new career as she gives lectures about life choices to women, inmates, and college students. Never one to shrink back from a just cause, she has always conveyed strength of purpose to women of all ages. However, the life-long Philadelphian, author and filmmaker is straightforward about her motivation.
“Too many women and young people get caught in the criminal justice system as a result of choices they make about the company they keep, money and materialism. They make bad choices. But people working within the criminal justice system also have choices to make. Is it fair to seek a prosecution of someone based on association?” asks Carter-Shabazz. She has a reason for the question.
In 1998, Carter-Shabazz’s daughter was arrested, imprisoned for a 18 months, for a crime she neither committed nor orchestrated. After a 30 day trial, Carter-Shabazz’s daughter was acquitted, but the 18 months spent fighting the charges was a heartbreaking and depleting experience for Carter-Shabazz, her family, friends and the community.
She closed her lucrative salon business in 2001 to heal from the experience. The results of her two year inner journey are revealed in her award-winning documentary, Justice for Her, which details her daughter’s experience in the criminal justice system, and the publication of her memoir of growing acclaim, CHOICEZ, which shows how the making of poor life choices spans generations.
On April 28, Carter-Shabazz, invited by the university’s Research in African-American Studies, the Department of Sociology, and the Vice-Provost's Office for Diversity Initiatives, will speak with students whose futures may influence the criminal justice system. Will they make the CHOICE to prosecute or persecute?
“This documentary, Justice for Her, tells a story that needs to be heard across the country…,” said Columbia University’s Carla Shedd, Assistant Professor in the
Department of Sociology & African American Studies.
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Carter-Shabazz and her
Team Choicez have already been speaking with inmates at Philadelphia correctional institutions for men and women, and groups in colleges, high schools, churches, and recovery organizations that support women.
For more information about
Team Choicez workshops and discussions call 215.878.1227, Cell 267.226.3430 or email aginahhair@aol.com For the book CHOICEZ and copies of the documentary Justice For Her, call the above numbers or visit
www.thebookchoicez.com or
www.justiceforher.org.
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