Dear Friends,

NRCAT is gearing up for an impactful Torture Awareness Month this June with resources to get your faith community ready!

Screen a NRCAT Film
If you are hosting an adult education series for Torture Awareness Month, NRCAT’s recently released 35-minute documentary film on solitary confinement, Torture in Our Name, is perfect for a congregational or community screening. NRCAT has prepared a discussion guide with questions and background to assist you. We have also produced three short films excerpted from the full film that specifically tell the story of campaigns to end solitary led by survivors and faith allies in New Jersey (20 minutes run time), New York (10 minutes), and Louisiana (10 minutes) - access the full film, discussion guide, the three state-specific excerpts, and two short previews here. NRCAT also has a promotions kit if you host a screening of the full film or of some of the state film excerpts.

NRCAT also has DVDs of our full 35-minute film, Torture in Our Name, available for shipping.  Please contact Rev. T.C. Morrow at [email protected] in order to receive a DVD, indicating your mailing address, where you will be screening the film, and quantity of DVDs needed.

Be a Part of the Narrative Change on Torture
NRCAT’s media series, Humans Out of Solitary, features short 3–5-minute interviews with solitary survivors – one of which was recently highlighted by John Oliver on HBO’s Last Week Tonight. These filmed interviews are available here to use for opening or closing a meeting or to build an entire event around. The short films present a powerful opportunity to bring the voices of torture survivors into your gathering, to inform and challenge narratives that dehumanize those who have faced these conditions. 

Hold a Monthly Vigil
NRCAT is joining others including Amnesty International and Witness Against Torture in monthly Close Guantanamo vigils on the second Wednesday of each month. We invite you to plan a vigil in your community on Wednesday, June 7. With just three people you can have two hold a banner, and one take some pictures to share with your local newspaper and on social media. We have a litany and prayers you can use, and you can contact Rev. T.C. Morrow at [email protected] to receive a “Close Guantanamo” banner.

Display Banners and Stickers
NRCAT has banners and stickers available by contacting Rev. T.C. Morrow at [email protected]. 

Let Us Know What You Are Planning
Torture Awareness Month is an opportunity to inform and energize our collective moral call for an end to torture. We are grateful for all the creative ways you engage in this work, and we’d love to hear from you and assist in your planning. Please reach out to Laura Markle Downton at [email protected] with photos or updates about your TAM events.

For more information and more resources, go to www.nrcat.org/TAM2023.

With gratitude for your on-going witness,
The NRCAT Team