Kat Brady is Coordinator of the Community Alliance on Prisons and Life of the Land`s Vice President for Social Justice. Life of the Land is fiscal sponsor for Community Alliance on Prisons.

 

Dr. Marilyn Brown introduced Kat Brady:

Kat Brady, many love and admire her, many will say she saved their freedom and even their lives.  And, a few who’ve been on the wrong side of an issue from her may still be nursing their wounds.  I met Kat some decades ago now and saw her for what she is: born trouble!

Any spring day at the Hawaii State Legislature, you’ll find Kat strutting her stuff at the Capitol, buttonholing representatives and cajoling them to support some sanity in the “injustice” system we’ve created here in Hawaii.

Kat’s mission to lobby and educate in the pursuit of justice and reason spans generations. She’s seen decision and policy makers come and go, some of them just kids when she started with their parents’ generation. Nearly every session brings in new representatives whose knowledge of correctional policy is no deeper than the concept of “you do the crime, you do the time.”  It takes a lot to dislodge those simple and wrong-headed ideas – but Kat’s relentless.  And, decades later, she’s still at it.

Injustice has a lot of moving parts. It’s not simple. Our Kat tries to get us to understand the real determinants of crime, forces beyond the individual: poverty, racism, colonialism, disengaged bureaucracies, and all the other mechanics of inequality. For years, Kat has argued that incarceration cannot be our first resort in solving social problems. She tries to get us to see how we are all bound to one another, inside or outside of prisons, with ties of blood, history, and community.  She gets us to realize that the supposed bright line between so-called criminals and the rest of us is not much more than an invention.

Time and my ever-diminishing memory prevent me from itemizing all of Kat’s successes and contributions to justice reform in Hawaii, from the Gender Parity in Correctional Programming bill that became law in 1999 (it actually become law in 2006), to the more recent Reentry Bill, and her continuing efforts to address bail reform and solitary confinement.  And, whether it’s a frantic phone call from a family member turned away from visitation, unfairness to an incarcerated person, or an ACO disturbed by facility conditions, Kat tries really hard to help.

Now, let’s get down to it.  Who is the real Kat Brady?  Like myself, Kat is actually CIA – Catholic Irish American from the East Coast. We’re a gentle, patient, kind, forgiving people – as long as you follow our rules.

I’ll share a few things that not many in this room know about Kat.  Years ago, she ran the Screen Actors Guild in New York City. She was once a member of an all woman pit-crew for a corvette racing team. Sporting teased hair and makeup, they were quite the spectacle next to the greasy male pit crews.  Kat always does things in style.  And, after these jobs, Kat will stand up to anyone.  In fact, Kat is afraid of nothing – except kale.

Kat’s also a great cook. In fact, her cookbook, “Onoliscious!: How to Roast  and Carve the Hawaii Department of Public Safety,” will be released in 2024. But they’re good sports. The Department has arranged a book signing when it comes out – to be held at the Red Hills Fuel Storage Facility. Local bottled water will be served.

Working to reform the system isn’t an easy job. In her continuing sparring with the powers that be, Kat has become an excellent athlete, holding a gold medal in the Olympic sport of eye rolling, tongue biting, and banging your head against the wall.

Kat can’t forgive injustice but she’ll forgive her friends anything. Kat is an animal lover!  On one of Kat’s visits to my place in Volcano, in a moment of excitement, my dog Jenny managed to knock Kat into the side of my house. But all was forgiven, even that business with the broken arm.  Jenny’s still sorry.

Well, lots of us are thinking about retirement.  But, where do social justice activists go to retire?  The Hawaii Department of Public Safety has chosen to honor the hard work of justice advocates in Hawaii by establishing the Kat Brady 55-plus community for retired justice reformers. There, they will enjoy such amenities as early morning head count, pickle ball and chain courts, and a whole new wardrobe of tasteful fashion. This will be a gated community.

Well, we’re getting down to award time. We wish Kat many more years of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable in Hawaii. We’re better for having her among us. Kat Brady, you’re truly worthy of this Going Home Award for Contribution to Justice in our Community.

 

 

Kat Brady`s Acceptance Speech

 

Good Evening,

I am humbled to stand before all of you this evening – the caring community that embraces the incarcerated and assists those coming home to heal from the trauma of incarceration. I stand here representing Community Alliance on Prisons, a community initiative that works daily to promote human dignity, empathy and research on better alternatives to punishment.

Mahalo to my teachers over the last 25 years – those incarcerated, their families – the invisibly incarcerated, the incredible groups that provide services to help people transition to the community, the activists, and the advocates who never give up – but instead give voice to those silenced by incarceration.

I want to recognize Christin Johnson, Hawai`iʻs first Correctional Oversight Coordinator, who has been diligently working to untangle our broken correctional system. The Correctional Oversight Commission issues reports of their trips to all facilities.

They are the most transparent and accessible agency in Hawai`i. They are severely underfunded and have been hamstringed by the legislature from fulfilling the mission the legislature set for them.  Go to their website: www.hcsoc@hawaii.gov to find out what is going on in our jails and prisons. This commission is a great example of community engagement, something the state avoids at every turn!  Mahalo for bringing professional oversight to Hawai`i, Christin! You are loved and appreciated!

Angela Davis asks, “How can we imagine a society in which race and class are not primary determinants of punishment? Or one in which punishment itself is no longer the central concern in the making of justice? 

An abolitionist approach that seeks to answer questions such as these would require us to imagine a constellation of alternative strategies and institutions, with the ultimate aim of removing the prison from the social and ideological landscapes of our society.”

WE CAN DO THIS.

WE ARE HAWAI`I.

WE LOVE AND CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER.

Donʻt believe the rhetoric of the punitives.

So “WHAT REALLY KEEPS US SAFE? IN LARGE PART, IT’S DIGNITY AND OPPORTUNITY…” 

We are so fortunate in Hawai`i to have Hawaiian culture as our foundation. Hawaiian values are values that everyone should embrace for they are surely values elemental to peace.

bell hooks said, “Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.”- bell hooks 

The cultural practices that we engage in have a direct relationship to the values we hold. When our communities lean into values that honor ourselves, each other, and the natural world around us, we see that the punishment culture only deepens harm. Over the decades, our communities have made much progress in unlearning and untangling from the snares of oppressive systems like machismo, colonialism, and punishment culture. Now we must amplify our practices of reciprocity and indigenous values, and support our collective healing towards achieving intentional, purposeful, and meaningful lives for EVERYONE!

Mahalo piha!