Articles

The most urgent rap album of 2020? Drakeo the Ruler just phoned it in from jail.

Los Angeles rapper Drakeo the Ruler's new album "Thank You for Using GTL" was recorded entirely through the jail phone system. (Deawnne Buckmire) By Chris Richards, Pop music critic for the Washington Post. June 10, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT “This telephone call may be monitored or recorded.” That brain-deadening phrase should sound familiar to anyone who’s … Continue reading The most urgent rap album of 2020? Drakeo the Ruler just phoned it in from jail. →

Music Behind Bars: How BL Shirelle Helps Incarcerated People Craft Their Art

June 16, 2020 ( Courtesy of Dave Jones ) BL Shirelle describes herself in many ways: she is a black woman, a lesbian, and someone who was formerly incarcerated. But her identity and experiences all culminate in her work as an artist. BL is the Deputy Director of Die Jim Crow, the first non-profit record label for formerly and currently … Continue reading Music Behind Bars: How BL Shirelle Helps Incarcerated People Craft Their Art →

Letter from a Region in My Mind

From 1962: “Whatever white people do not know about Negroes reveals, precisely and inexorably, what they do not know about themselves.” By James Baldwin - November 10, 1962 - from The New Yorker James Baldwin, New York, September 17, 1946.Photograph by Richard Avedon / © the Richard Avedon Foundation Take up the White Man’s burden—Ye dare not … Continue reading Letter from a Region in My Mind →

Virus Raged at City Jails, Leaving 1,259 Guards Infected and 6 Dead

Correction officers in New York City live in fear of bringing the virus home to families. They say the city has not protected them. From The New York Times By Jan Ransom May 20, 2020 For one Rikers Island correction officer, the low point came when he and his wife were both extremely sick with the … Continue reading Virus Raged at City Jails, Leaving 1,259 Guards Infected and 6 Dead →

Black female inmates and COVID-19: Medically compromised, vulnerable and neglected

“Women’s needs are obscured in ways that have real consequences … ” An inmate reads a book while in the infirmary at Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility in Santee, Calif., on April 22, 2020.Sandy Huffaker / AFP via Getty Images April 24, 2020 - By Nick Charles for NBCNews.com Coronavirus outbreaks have transformed prisons into hot … Continue reading Black female inmates and COVID-19: Medically compromised, vulnerable and neglected →

Coronavirus Cases Are Spreading Rapidly on Rikers Island

Soap and space are still in short supply as at least 231 incarcerated people and 223 staff members test positive for COVID-19. By JULIA CRAVEN - APRIL 02, 2020 - for SLATE An aerial view of the Rikers Island prison in New York City.Debra L. Rothenberg/WireImage Between Wednesday morning and Thursday morning, 47 more incarcerated people … Continue reading Coronavirus Cases Are Spreading Rapidly on Rikers Island →