The Right2Vote Campaign was born out of 2018’s National Prison Strike where incarcerated citizens led a nationwide demonstration against the abhorrent conditions of United States prisons. The strike was so vast that it spread across 17 states into 3 additional regions outside of the U.S. Prisoners made their demands known worldwide and what seemed to […]
In the past I’ve written about the complexity of being a descendant of enslaved people in the United States while also identifying as a Christian. It’s in interesting paradox for some, as many view Christianity as the tool used to pacify Africans during their enslavement. I used that article to explain how my faith in […]
With our chanting Reparations 2020 and ADOS (American Descendants of Slaves) there’s a revived spirit among Black America that paints a color over this election that I’m invigorated by. We have full sight of our demands in 2020. Now that our generation has reached an age of maturity to not only vote but become well […]
I purposely chose the word facetious, because South Carolina’s Dept. of Correction’s Director Bryan Stirling has absurdly decided to address serious issued in South Carolin’a prisons with impotent legislation. The problem in South Carolina’s prisons is NOT the fact that a few prisoners have obtained access to cell phones. The problem is that South Carolina’s […]
Like every state, New Mexico is a battle ground full of its own complicated layers and complex processes in government. I was shocked by the structure of the New Mexican legislature with a biennium session that last only 60 days! New Mexicans have only two months to draft, promote, advocate for, revise, schedule a hearing […]
At this point there are nine states with active legislation towards the end of felony disenfranchisement in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington and California. In this piece I want to shine a light on the West coast, which is supposedly known as a more ‘liberal’ area of the […]
In yesterday’s article we went over the conditions of voting for former slaves during the 19th century and how voting rights evolved over time in legislation and in practice. As people began to communicate around the barriers restricting their voting rights they became more equipped to organize in the interest of dismantling those barriers. This […]
In 2016 the Ballots of Bars campaign began as an effort to raise awareness about criminal disenfranchisement in Massachusetts, in collaboration with two incarcerated people and the Emancipation Initiative. Incarcerated activists have identified criminal disenfranchisement as one of the most significant injustices that they face. Incarcerated people have been fighting for their voting rights in Massachusetts for more than 40 years. […]
On April 3, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. gave his last speech, pleading with Black America to shift their wealth into Black owned institutions the night before his assassination. It is by no coincidence that his death came shortly after the world renowned speaker gave this radical advice to the millions who had been following […]
The one year mark since the original introduction of the Good Time Bill is right around the corner. February of 2018 was when the bipartisan HB 5666 was first introduced in Michigan’s legislature by Representatives David LeGrand (D) and Martin Howrylak (R). Over the year since the bill was introduced its been stalled in the […]