When my mom was too poor to make the trip to visit me in prison it meant something to hold every holiday card she sent knowing she held it too. Today the prison banned cards and postcards. They make it so hard and humiliating to stay in touch. More and more isolation. For what?

America’s unseen book bans: the long history of censorship in prisons | US book bans | The Guardian theguardian.com/us-news/articl…

Marco is a currently incarcerated activist who has been resentenced and is about to be released. He will be deported back to Mexico upon his release. Please consider showing Marco support and helping ease his transition.

gofundme.com/f/support-marc…

I'm excited to see our new mentor Kwaneta Harris and her mentees put out their first piece with the writers development program. Lots more to come from these brilliant women currently living in solitary in Texas. Deborah Zalesne

theappeal.org/kwaneta-harris…

Two writers from my writers development program just got a piece in the Guardian. Really proud of Antoine Davis and Kevin Light-Roth

theguardian.com/us-news/articl…

It's difficult for us incarcerated folks to obtain an equitable education when prison officials can arbitrarily exclude literature from our class syllabus.

theguardian.com/us-news/articl…

May 3rd is #WorldPressFreedomDay . This year’s world press day join ChristopherBlackwell, @uncagedcritique, Juan Moreno Haines, Rahsaan Thomas and myself, for a conversation about journalists who often aren’t consider when discussing press freedom, incarcerated journalists.

ICYMI: We have a new podcast out called Track Change, which we produced with VPM for NPR. It follows hip-hop icon SPEECH as he collaborates with a talented group of incarcerated men to produce a record inspired by their lives. Ep. 2 is out today! narratively.com/p/listen-to-ep…

The raven who comes to my prison window everyday must be prepping for babies. He’s here asking for snacks at the bars way more than usual. Can’t wait for him to bring his babies to see me like last year. Life is much better with a window after spending a decade without one.

Washington prisons used to be dead zones for legislative information and influence. But since 2020, Look2Justice has been training incarcerated people how to advocate for reforms that directly impact their lives. Antoine Davis & ChristopherBlackwell report. theappeal.org/incarcerated-p…

Kwaneta Harris has an op-ed for the Austin Chronicle about the unique needs and challenges of incarcerated women, and the importance of centering their experiences in advocacy work.

austinchronicle.com/columns/2024-0…

We run into a lot of barriers supporting incarcerated journalists, but this is a first.

Guardian US -- a publication that extensively covers the U.S. prison system -- has a new editorial policy banning its editors from commissioning stories from incarcerated reporters.

Exciting news! Our first incarcerated lead organizer for Look2Justice, Anthony Covert, is coming home through clemency! Please consider donating to his GoFundMe. He's trying to raise $4k to help ease his transition home.
gofundme.com/f/anthonys-ree…

In honor of ChristopherBlackwell winning the Narratively 2023 Memoir Grand Prize, he speaks with the publication about how he became such a successful writer while still incarcerated:

narratively.com/p/how-to-becom…

Really honored to be the Grand Prize winner in company with so many other incredible writers.

The guards have been on a cell search tear lately. They keep destroying art work/tossing art supplies. One guy had a painting he spent weeks on thrown into a puddle and destroyed. Many artists are giving up and throwing away their supplies. It's sad to see less and less art here.

Not to miss: ChristopherBlackwell will speak at the Censorship and Consciousness spring conference hosted by the Bell Collective of Harvard Law School.

Conference is happening in-person and by zoom. More details and registration here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

Excited to be speaking at the Censorship & Consciousness Spring Conference at Harvard Law School March 20-22. You can attend the event virtually. Register here: orgs.law.harvard.edu/thebellcollect…

Senate Ways & Means did not vote on HB 2065, essentially killing the bill--notwithstanding unprecedented Tribal and state judicial support. I raise my hands to Rep. Chris Stearns for his genuine love and empathy for Indigenous humanity, and to our allies for their support.