Love in the Era of Mass Incarceration
Over a period of three months, Piper Anderson and Marlon Peterson, two friends, wrote to each other about love. Piper is a writer, educator, juvenile justice advocate, and cultural worker who grew up in a family that struggled with drug addiction and domestic violence. Marlon is a writer, social justice advocate, and community justice strategist who spent the past 15 years of his life in prison and parole. The process of writing these letters included moments of emotional rel
The Complexities of Forgiveness
“50, ya’ll” Those are the words—a number separated by a contraction, of my comrade, Esther Armah. As this stalwart of journalism, known for the radical concept of Emotional Justice, celebrated her fiftieth birthday, with that declaratory Facebook post along with beautiful selfies, that prove that black don’t crack, I sit in a bagel shop where memories of hate and pain reside—by others towards me. I avoided walking into this place because I was responsible, if even partially,
WHY LYING ABOUT RACISM TO MY NEPHEW AND HIS DAUGHTER SOMEHOW SEEMS NECESSARY
Dear Baby Logan, I remember when my nephew, your Daddy, was ready to be born 26 years ago. I vividly recall standing in the small hallway of our 1-bedroom apartment on Nostrand Ave in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where six of us lived, and praying to Jehovah, “I promise that I will be everything to my nephew. I will make sure his life is easier and better than mine.” I lied to God. I was just 9-years old at that time, yet I knew too well how disappointing life could be. I already
Another Reason Why Cases Like Akai Gurley and Eric Garner Should Matter to Us
Every year The Fortune Society welcomes and services over 5,000 returning citizens from incarceration. Some come from decades of incarceration while others seek alternatives to incarceration, and may have only spent a day or two in jail. As is often done in these horrific cases, the criminal history of the person harmed by the act is released to the public before the facts of the immediate incident is known. Both Mr. Gurley and Mr. Garner could have walked through our doors a
