Day in the life of a formerly incarcerated mother. My name is Selena Lopez and I am formerly incarcerated. I am also a mother to a wonderful seven year old boy named Nathan. I am also currently 37 weeks pregnant expecting my second child. This article will be highlighting the mama section voicing my experience as a mother then and now To begin I want to write about my experience…
Pauline Binam, a 30-year-old former detainee at Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, had been in custody for about two years when she started having irregular menstrual bleeding. She feared that confinement was taking its toll on her body. Binam, who came to the US from Cameroon when she was 2 years old, was being held at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center while awaiting deportation. According…
Alberder Gillespie sat on a bench outside of the Minnesota State Capitol and told me how she left the South to experience a new kind of racism here. An Aberdeen, Miss., native, Gillespie’s parents thrived in an era of segregation and Jim Crow Laws. Family and friends instilled strong values that she draws on today – like integrity, a duty for civic engagement and education. Gillespie felt she could be anything…
We all love to sing along to India Irie’s “ I am not my hair” and it holds true, we are not just our hair, but the reality is, a black woman’s hair tells a story. It is interconnected to who we are, and what we’ve been through. It’s no secret that racism has existed in the United States since our country’s inception; along with that came race-based hair discrimination…
We the People….the first three words of the Constitution are the arc of the covenant between the government and the people its beholden to. However, there are so many of us that were not part of the We and for Black community we were not even considered people. In as much the Constitution has spent its lifespan adjusting to fit in those of us previously disregarded. It is a logistical…
The city Louisville, Kentucky, announced Tuesday they had come to a 12 million dollar settlement with Breonna Taylor’s murder. While this is one of the largest settlements in Louisville history, it does not hold the officers involved accountable for their actions in killing Breonna Taylor. Last Sunday marked six months since Breonna Taylor’s death, and we have still yet to hear any news on the next steps for the police…
There is a situation that is tearing apart the racial justice movement in Indianapolis currently. It is becoming a circus of “I told you so” and a jump off point for those with vendiatas. However, as a person that is affected by this, I feel compelled to speak up. I’m referring to the recent outing of an activist for lying about their racial makeup. On Monday, I logged onto social…
By the time a case reaches a defense attorney’s hands, every person who has touched it is an elected official. Statewide legislators in the House and Senate pass bills that become the laws the community must abide by. In many cities, including New Orleans, Louisiana, it’s part of the Mayor’s duties to appoint the police chief who prioritizes who and how people are arrested. Once in custody, the accused must…
In the first month of selling lemonade Cartier Carey was successfully able to raise over $4,500 dollars with his stand, all to support families with their essential needs during the COVID-19. However this isn’t Cartier first, he has also organized another community initiative called “Carti packs” care packages for the homeless that contained such essentials such as deodorant, soap, tissue, and even hand-warmers for when the weather got cold. In…
Colorado residents Curtis Elliott Jr. and Dani Elliott get a call most parents never want to receive. A police officer was on the way to her house — all because her son had played with a toy gun during his virtual art class. “I never thought: ‘You can’t play with a Nerf gun in your own home because somebody may perceive it as a threat and call the police on you,’”…
