Faith & Advocacy, Women Behind Bars

Women Behind Bars: Seen, Named and Not Yet Free

This month we have shed light on women. And illuminating, if we are not careful, can become its own way of looking without seeing. When Michelle Alexander sat down to write what would become one of the most important books of our generation, she did so in the shadow of a historic moment. A Black… Continue reading Women Behind Bars: Seen, Named and Not Yet Free

Behind the Case, Systemic Spotlight

The System Didn’t Break; It Was Built This Way

Every February, America dusts off its favorite Black icons, recites a few safe quotes, shows a few movies with popular Black actors and calls it Black History Month. But Black history isn’t something we visit once a year. It’s something we’re still living — in our laws, in our courtrooms, in our jails, and in… Continue reading The System Didn’t Break; It Was Built This Way

Systemic Spotlight

A System Working as Designed

How America Turned Jails Into Psychiatric Facilities — and Called the Deaths Inevitable When the largest psychiatric facility in Texas is a jail, the deaths stop looking like anomalies and start looking like the system working exactly as designed. Another person died in the Harris County Jail this month. Another headline. Another set of familiar… Continue reading A System Working as Designed