Prison Education & Advocacy

I am the Development Coordinator and Co-Treasurer on the board of Humanities Behind Bars (HBB) and the treasurer of the Tidewater Solidarity Bail Fund (TSBF). I am also a volunteer instructor and tutor at the Norfolk City Jail through HBB.

Through my service on the Finance Committee, I co-drafted the Articles of Incorporation and completed the process for HBB to become a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit in the State of Virginia. We have been able to get a local bail fund (originally the 757 Solidarity Bail Fund) up and running since May 2020, thanks to an influx of donations from increased awareness of the injustices of the prison industrial complex. Starting a rotating community bail fund, with the ultimate goal of ending pre-trial detention, had been in the works for some time. The bail fund was originally imagined as a collective of local groups and we continue to work on bringing that dream to fruition. As of now, it is mostly still supported by HBB.

I manage the HBB Patreon, which is a monthly subscription for as little as $1/month with different bundles providing merch to patrons based on the donation amount. The donations support our day-to-day operations and the Mutual Aid Fund. This is a way for patrons to get access to exclusive content and get a closer look at how we organize in the community. Our main work tries to never center the organizers, as we want the stories and perspectives of those most impacted to be front and center. 

In addition to my work with HBB’s finances, I often assist the public relations coordinator with our websites and social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) and serve on the grants committee. Since we believe in ensuring that we do not recreate hierarchical systems in our organization, we share most tasks among the group. We have clear roles but collaborate on everything: our inside-outside pen-pal program, mutual aid, prison education, etc.

In 2017, I contributed to the HBB orientation packet, in Google Docs, for starting new chapters. We wanted the information to be a little more accessible while still holding true to the content. It was a collaborative effort for which I spearheaded the excerpts of the Abolitionist Toolkit, over a hundred pages of information. I created a folder of the toolkit sections and linked everything to the more substantial information in the toolkit.

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