Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) and A24 partnered with the New York State Legislature to host a special screening of the critically acclaimed SING SING on Monday, Jan. 13th. The event featured a discussion with RTA alums Clarence Maclin, Sean “Dino” Johnson, John ‘Divine G” Whitfield, Charles Moore and RTA friend Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velasquez.
The SING SING New York State Legislature Screening was hosted by Assemblymembers Phara Souffrant Forrest, Emily Gallagher, Dana Levenberg, Zohran Mamdani and Gabriella Romero; Senators Julia Salazar and Patricia Fahy.
With this screening, NY lawmakers seek to highlight the film’s central message about the potential of rehabilitation and artistic expression as tools for change inside the prison system. The lawmakers who organized the event are pushing for an increase of the availability of programs such as Rehabilitation Through the Arts, as well as policies like Treatment Not Jail which would provide alternatives to incarceration. The film was screened at the Spectrum 8 Theater in Albany, NY, to a full house of lawmakers and their staff members.
Earlier in the day, RTA leadership and film cast members, Clarence Maclin, Sean, ‘Dino’ Johnson, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield, and Jon-Adrian ‘JJ’ Velazquez visited the State Capitol – where the actors and RTA were given special proclamations for their contributions to the arts and social justice by Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest and acknowledged on the Senate floor by Senator Julia Salazar.
Read the feature in the Times Union about the political importance of this screening and see photos from the event below.
Photography credits: New York State Assembly and John Shea
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