Michael Allen's Promise of Justice Fundraiser

About a month ago, I ran in a 10k/charity event called the Crescent City Classic (CCC). Typically somebody would create a donation page dedicated solely for the race, but I wanted to save my ask for GiveNOLA day. As a reader, I invite you to pretend that you are reading this before the 10k which was on April 4...

I am very fortunate to do the work that I do, though it is unfortunate such works needs to be done. With this fundraiser, similar to my work in general, it is always interesting—though sometimes surreal—to juxtapose such serious and sobering work with the lightheartedness and joy of my coworkers and New Orleanians at large. I guess we need to a lighthearted and joyous bunch. Otherwise there would just be a lot of things to be sad about.

With that in mind, let me tell you a little about the 10k, which is unlike any other race I have ever run: The CCC is a race that you can make as serious as you like. While I know of people that will try to set their own PR on the course, there are plenty of opportunities to take the scenic route through the Crescent City, with race sponsors (and mostly random civilians) offering all sorts of fun distractions for racers throughout the course. There are many live DJs scattered along the route, and quite a few people offering cups of beer for runners. Some people offer shots of champagne or wine, some straight shots of liquor (I saw, and partook of a shot of Malört in a past race). You can also get sustenance along the course, with offerings of bacon, doughnuts, orange slices, and lots of candy. The mixture of food, drink, and music along the race makes it seem kind of like a party, but a party where everybody is sweating and breathing heavily and not talking to each other. I love parties, especially weird ones, and I plan to race it again next year. Maybe I will join the group of runners that dress up in costumes for the race (think Easter Bunnies, aliens, or tuxedos).

Again, I will contrast the race with Louisiana more broadly, which is known as The Incarceration Capital of the World. Under the noses of the tourists that flow in and out of New Orleans, the State continues to sentence people to death, and at the same time that I ask my friends and family for humble donations to help fund my work, Louisiana continues to burn over $15 million per year on their death penalty program. They do so amidst claims of corruption and racism in their system, and in spite of the +80% reversal rate for past death penalties by the state. Louisiana is riddled with injustices that are sitting there, waiting for somebody to take up a fight over them. Without funding for these sorts of fights, the injustices will remain buried and lost to history.

My organization takes up these fights.

Additionally, a sizeable portion of our funding comes from individual donations. We do a lot with the little bit of money that we run off of, and so I hope you know that donations to PJI will go far for our causes. I am grateful for all of my friends and family members that have historically contributed to these causes, and I hope y'all will continue to do so into the future.

Please consider whether you are able to donate, and please send this fundraiser to folks you think might be interested. Also, thank you for reading!