Thursday, August 27 – Saturday, August 29
Naptown: Mark your calendars! We’re ending this Black August with a special series of events that are sure to tighten our solidarity, forge new links, and extend our networks to take the struggle for liberation to higher levels and new places.
We are excited to announce that artist, author, community organizer, and exoneree Leon Benson is returning to Indianapolis from Detroit once again to spearhead the third installment of Common Unity. But this time, he’s bringing new groups, initiatives, and comrades with him to solidify ties between our two cities—both of which have been keeping tabs on the other as they make moves toward genuine prison reform and liberation. We’ll greet them with our own expanding set of campaigns, coalitions, and concrete ambitions.
Get with the program
Thus far, the programming for Common Unity 3 includes:
The Art of Solitary Survival
“Letters of Gratitude”
Community Concert
The evolution of Common Unity
Leon Benson was the first person exonerated after the formation of the Marion County Conviction Integrity Unit, but he is far from the only innocent person to suffer in our state’s prisons. He is far from the only victim of the injustice system—from corrupt cops and killer officers to prejudiced prosecutors, District Attorneys, and other Department of Corrections Officials and politicians who have anything but justice on their minds and in their hearts.
The Indianapolis Liberation Center was honored When Benson asked us to host and help organize “Common Unity 1: The Re-Birth of Leon Benson” in 2024. Taking place on the one-year anniversary of Benson’s liberation from Pendleton “Correctional Facility” and marking the first time he returned to our city after winning his freedom, we celebrated a people’s victory with a remarkable and diverse panel of speakers, singers, and more, all attracting a wide range of media coverage.
In 2025, we kicked it up a notch with “Common Unity 2: See Us Now,” a one-day event featuring a concert at The Athenaeum following a press conference where, for the first time, Leon Benson and Kolleen Schoen-Bunch spoke publicly about their lawsuit against the City of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Police Department (IMPD), specifically the cops who framed Benson and who knew Kasey Schoen’s real killer was Joseph Webster (whom the state continues to protect).
“Common Unity 3: The Voice of the People”
Like the first two “Common Unity” events, we’ll uplift the struggles and voices of our people still trapped behind enemy lines, comrades like Shaka A. Shakur, Demetrius Banks, Phillip A. Stroud, John Balagoon Cole, Christopher Naeem Trotter, Kwame Beans Shakur, and others.
We’ll foreground those on the outside still fighting for their exoneration, people like Vernon T. Bateman and amplify those currently fighting against wrongful incarceration, most notably Lamonte Thomas. You’ll get updates on the lawsuit against the crooked IMPD officers who set Benson up and the struggle to hold the cops who killed Adam Sykes and arrested Lamonte Thomas while letting the shooter walk free accountable.
Common Unity 3 is going even further, however.
Last year, Benson played a key role in pushing Senate Bill 141 past both houses and the Governor’s desk. The bill, which became Public Law 127 last May 1, fundamentally restricts how the police can use “eyewitness identification” in their “investigations.” While Common Unity 3 will raise awareness about the criminal injustice system and enhance the solidarity of those in struggle, it will also provide tangible reforms and changes we can win with our expanded networks and stronger common-unity.
Featured photo credit: Indianapolis Liberation Center/Solitary Justice Project.