I appreciated joining a discussion last week on civic engagement and community safety at the National Urban League’s Safe and Just Summit. Advocacy organizers are working to expand the franchise and guarantee ballot access to all residents regardless of conviction status. #votingrights

What does it look like to priority public money for youth?

- year round jobs programs
- year round camp programs beyond sports to include computer science, arts, wellness

Funded by challenging the misalignment of wealth.

What does fully supporting youth look like? #SafeandJust

Also building out alternative community safety infrastructure including alternative public infrastructure outside of 911 & law enforcement to respond to community needs.

And community violence intervention infrastructure to center prevention in the community.

#SafeandJust Summit

Several key solutions highlighted by @chicagompo.bsky.social including investing in Chicago’s youth through a jobs program among other community solutions mentioned.

et to listen to one of my favorite Mayors - @chicagompo.bsky.social on local community centered solutions at the #Safe&Just Communities Summit hosted by the @naturbanleague.bsky.social

I’ll be bringing the perspective of civic engagement as a community city strategy at the #Safe&Just Communities Summit.

Central Q to thinking so far: What if designating someone as “criminal” isn’t used as a pretext to marginalize someone from society and push them into the underclass?

“We all know from SINNERS, what happens when you invite them in.”

Life lesson from Marquita Stephens of the Twin Cities Urban League at the @naturbanleague Safe & Just Communities Summit.

Today, I’m @naturbanleague.bsky.social Safe & Just Communities Summit to hear about national and local community safety strategies from the Urban League’s Equitable Justice Team

Testimony in Support of Jail-Based Voting in New York – The Sentencing Project

I'm hoping to (virtually) testify on behalf of @sentencingproject.bsky.social.

No eligible New York voter should lose their voice in our democracy because they are behind bars. 🗳️

Jails should not be a democracy dead zone. My written testimony 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

www.sentencingproject.org/testimony/te...

Maryland lawmakers passed House Bill 115/SB 241, to authorize automatic voter registration as part of the reentry process #secondchancemonth #secondchances

See the bill here: lnkd.in/ec7xRC2n

Maryland’s missed opportunity on voting rights | COMMENTARY Opinion: Maryland has made strides in advancing voting rights, but it’s next reform should be to extend the right to vote to people who are incarcerated with felony convictions.

"Expanding voting rights is not about partisan politics. It is about belonging, dignity and the fundamental understanding that communities are strongest when everyone has a say," writes @nicoledporter.bsky.social. #UnlockTheVote

Who Can Vote After a Felony Conviction in Georgia - Capital B News - Atlanta Kareemah Hanifa hopes to be an example to other people who may be afraid to register or don’t know they’ve regained their voter eligibility.

Kareemah is a strong advocate and doing important work from a position of lived experience in Georgia.

atlanta.capitalbnews.org/georgia-felo...

Black people don’t organize around hate.

‘Winning hearts and minds’: How protest signs shaped the anti-ICE movement in Minnesota Minnesota has seen an explosion of art made in response to ICE’s presence. Perhaps more than any other art form, artists and designers have made protest posters and signs en masse. “There’s never been...

The social infrastructure of protest art in Minnesota, how it wins hearts and minds and mobilizes action, and the public history projects to archive and preserve it.
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Had a great visit with @sentencingproject.bsky.social at “Inside Out” exhibition. So appreciate their work in the carceral space.
@nicoledporter.bsky.social
@ruckmanphoto.bsky.social
@empearce.bsky.social

“Inside Out” exhibition visit by @sentencingproject.bsky.social
Grateful to partner with them to further reform and advocacy in the carceral space.
@nicoledporter.bsky.social
@ild1985.bsky.social
@empearce.bsky.social
@thedcarts.bsky.social

💗

I was joined by a gifted team of CJR experts and formally incarcerated photographers discussing agency behind prison walls for our artist talk, “Inside Out: Dignity and the Art of Seeing.”
@sentencingproject.bsky.social

More here: www.nationalacademies.org/read/18613/c...

Top Democratic groups urge party to shed soft-on-crime image, hire police The Center for American Progress wants Democrats ‘on their front foot’ talking about crime, an issue where Republicans have long held the advantage.

The National Academy Sciences documented in its 2014 report, “The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences
2014” that increased police contact in the 1980s was a driver of mass incarceration 1/2

Anti Black racism

“One leading member of the Convention said the 1902 Constitution aimed at “the elimination of
every negro voter who can be gotten rid of, legally, without materially impairing the numerical
strength of the white electorate.”

www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/u...

Ruling here: www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/u...

Federal judge restores thousands of Virginians’ voting rights in historic ruling - Protect Democracy A federal judge found that Virginia’s Constitution broke federal law by stripping the voting rights of every Virginian with a felony.

Okay Virginia (via a federal court decision)

“I am overjoyed at today’s ruling and what it means for thousands of Virginians,” said Tati King, plaintiff in King v. Youngkin. “After so many years of fighting for my rights, I will finally be able to participate in our democracy ...”

Virginia’s felony disenfranchisement law was enshrined in the state constitution 124 years ago w/ the explicit intent to disenfranchise Black voters. If adopted by voters, this landmark ballot measure will eliminate the state’s lifetime felony voting ban, restoring the vote to over 230,000 citizens.

Virginia lawmakers voted last week to place a measure on the November ballot this year to automatically restore voting rights to people when they exit prison.

Former inmate buys old state prison in Wayne County to create reentry campus The state sold the facility that was once Wayne Correctional to Kerwin Pitt of Recidivism Reduction Education Program Services, Inc.

"According to a release, [Kerwin] Pittman is now the first formerly incarcerated person in U.S. history to buy a prison."

www.witn.com/2026/01/08/f...

Top Trends in Criminal Legal Reform, 2025 – The Sentencing Project 10 states adopted criminal legal reforms in 2025 that may contribute to decarceration, expand voting rights, and advance youth justice.

Here’s an overview of key trends in justice reforms from 2025.

Reforms at least 10 states are summarized on decarceration, collateral consequences, and youth justice.

The summary also highlights new prison construction projects and punitive policy changes.

‘Second Look Act’ could shorten sentences for Kansas prisoners • Kansas Reflector A Kansas Senate bill would let inmates seek resentencing after a set period of time based on their age during the offense.

“My youngest...was sentenced at just 23 years of age to a 38-year sentence,” ... “He has now served over 10 of those years. I am not here to say he’s innocent. He made mistakes ... His brain was still developing ... the young man who went into prison at 23 is not the same person ... today.”

In this week’s Rattling the Bars, Nicole Porter (@nicoledporter.bsky.social) brings a sharp worldview to the U.S. debate on prison systems. Named a “new civil rights leader” by Essence, Porter’s insight guides a new generation pushing to stop prison expansion and end extreme sentencing.

US is “by far the world’s number one jailer”: Nicole Porter YouTube video by The Real News Network

I welcomed the opportunity to connect with Mansa Musa at the Real News Network to discuss efforts to challenge new prison construction in 2025.

It's unfortunate that state policymakers from Arkansas to Vermont are looking to build new prisons in this moment.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKm7...