I respect and honor November Coalition

By Garry L. Jones, Advocate 4 Justice

The purpose for writing this letter is to humble myself and thank the people of an organization for which I have tremendous respect. This organization, The November Coalition, has integrity and high standards, and has been a registered non-profit organization since it was founded in 1997.
When I first thought about becoming the Advocate 4 Justice, I had no idea about what a grassroots organization or organizer does. I was lost, and didn't know what to do. It was a cold dreary day when I listened to a call on my answering machine from Nora Callahan, executive director of the November Coalition, stating that she had heard about me through many inmates.

After playing phone tag for a week or two, I finally connected with Nora. After that particular conversation, www.Advocate4Justice.org quickly became a 'buzz' around the country. I will never forget when Nora asked me a profound question; "Can you handle and respond to all of the letters you'll be getting in the future?" Little did I know the magnitude of her question.

By building my website, November Coalition has allowed me to create local, national, and international cross-cultural communication with people not familiar with the rigid mandatory minimum sentencing laws our government enforces. The November Coalition's broad criticisms of US drug policy have encouraged and allowed me to teach and learn in various human communities, and to do the same education within different organizations which promote various goals of civil rights.

I'm very grateful for Nora, Tom, Chuck and the rest of the "November family" for taking me under their wings, enabling me to get my message across to so many people.
November Coalition staff members have made me aware of the many organizations currently advocating for justice within the broad international social movement denouncing prohibitionist drug war policies. Coalition staff have not only put www.Advocate4Justice.org on the electronic worldwide web, but they are always involved in giving an experienced hand to others, to any grassroots organization trying to scrap and revise failed drug war policies.

It would be difficult to name all the people the Coalition has connected me to. Whenever I traveled to Washington, DC, in 2004 and the first half of 2005, Nora would put me in contact with people who could answer my questions and send me in the right direction. She introduced me to Eric Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. Eric is a nationally recognized authority on drug policy reform, criminal sentencing, medical marijuana, the effects of the drug war on race, the economy and business, and the confluence of religious faith and drug policy reform.

Sterling introduced me to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). These are current and former members of police agencies who support drug regulation rather than prohibition. I am now a member of LEAP, and a listed participant in their Speakers Bureau. Through this chain of introductions, I also have met and talked with Bill Piper and Kathleen Huffman of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Nora introduced me to Roberta Franklin, Director of Families and Friends of People Incarcerated and the lead organizer of the August 13, 2005 March on Washington, DC: a mass rally of, by, and for incarcerated people. I am now listed as a featured speaker at the March, where I vow to voice the concerns of the men and women I once knew as prisoners of the drug war.

After featuring me and my mission in the winter 2004-2005 edition of the Coalition's Razor Wire newspaper, people have been calling and writing. Barely six months later, the communications to me have continued without letup. I can honestly say I support November Coalition 100%.

Garry L. Jones - The Advocate 4 Justice

(Garry L. Jones retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a Lieutenant. You can reach Garry by phone at 678-358-6587, email at advocate4justice2004@yahoo.com, or by regular mail at Advocate 4 Justice, PO Box 366064, Atlanta, GA 30336.)