Empowerment Avenue
@empowermentave.bsky.social
A collective committed to supporting incarcerated writers, elevating their published work, and advocating for fair payment.
For Columns, a quarterly publication produced by the Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Xandan Gulley writes with Ben Reavis about unbearable heat inside Texas prisons.
www.aiadallas.org/columns/pris...
www.aiadallas.org/columns/pris...
Prison Heat - Columns - AIA Dallas
Prison Heat by Xandan Gulley I sit in a 6’ x 9’ concrete and steel cell, 24 hours a day, in solitary confinement. The heat drains me physically, leaving me exhausted, dehydrated, and petrified. The ve...
www.aiadallas.org
September 12, 2025 at 8:35 PM
For Columns, a quarterly publication produced by the Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Xandan Gulley writes with Ben Reavis about unbearable heat inside Texas prisons.
www.aiadallas.org/columns/pris...
www.aiadallas.org/columns/pris...
For The Media Co-op, Demetrius Buckley writes about experiencing wildfires from Canada at his Michigan prison.
"June 3, 2025. I can’t breathe. I wake up in an eight-man cube at JCS Correctional Facility in Jackson, Michigan. I pull the air inside my lungs and heave."
mediacoop.ca/node/119308
"June 3, 2025. I can’t breathe. I wake up in an eight-man cube at JCS Correctional Facility in Jackson, Michigan. I pull the air inside my lungs and heave."
mediacoop.ca/node/119308
Experiencing Canadian Wildfire Smoke in a Michigan Prison
June 3, 2025. I can’t breathe. I wake up in an eight-man cube at JCS Correctional Facility in Jackson, Michigan. I pull the air inside my lungs and heave. “You OK?” An inmate says in the cube, holding...
mediacoop.ca
September 12, 2025 at 5:15 PM
For The Media Co-op, Demetrius Buckley writes about experiencing wildfires from Canada at his Michigan prison.
"June 3, 2025. I can’t breathe. I wake up in an eight-man cube at JCS Correctional Facility in Jackson, Michigan. I pull the air inside my lungs and heave."
mediacoop.ca/node/119308
"June 3, 2025. I can’t breathe. I wake up in an eight-man cube at JCS Correctional Facility in Jackson, Michigan. I pull the air inside my lungs and heave."
mediacoop.ca/node/119308
For The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, Darrell Jackson writes from Washington State prison:
"While incarcerated, I became a “better late than never” enthusiast for higher education," his essay states.
jbhe.com/2025/09/thin...
"While incarcerated, I became a “better late than never” enthusiast for higher education," his essay states.
jbhe.com/2025/09/thin...
Thinking Beyond the Bars | The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
How higher education helped a prison inmate develop confidence and rediscover his humanity.
jbhe.com
September 11, 2025 at 5:09 PM
For The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, Darrell Jackson writes from Washington State prison:
"While incarcerated, I became a “better late than never” enthusiast for higher education," his essay states.
jbhe.com/2025/09/thin...
"While incarcerated, I became a “better late than never” enthusiast for higher education," his essay states.
jbhe.com/2025/09/thin...
For @solitarywatch.bsky.social, EIC Juan Haines reviews and reflects on "No Human Contact: Solitary Confinement, Maximum Security, and Two Inmates Who Changed the System,” by Pete Earley.
solitarywatch.org/2025/09/02/w...
solitarywatch.org/2025/09/02/w...
When Isolation Became the Supreme Punishment - Solitary Watch
SW editor-in-chief Juan Haines reviews Pete Earley's book about the unbearable conditions of isolation at the infamous federal ADX supermax.
solitarywatch.org
September 9, 2025 at 3:26 PM
For @solitarywatch.bsky.social, EIC Juan Haines reviews and reflects on "No Human Contact: Solitary Confinement, Maximum Security, and Two Inmates Who Changed the System,” by Pete Earley.
solitarywatch.org/2025/09/02/w...
solitarywatch.org/2025/09/02/w...
The latest in our partnership with Black Lipstick, where we highlight essays from women and queer incarcerated writers, is STATE PROPERTY by Kim Hricko:
"In 2025, a piece of cardboard is contraband."
blacklipstick.substack.com/p/state-prop...
"In 2025, a piece of cardboard is contraband."
blacklipstick.substack.com/p/state-prop...
State Property
Kimberly Hricko entered prison in 1999, when inmates still wore street clothes and ordered from JCPenney. In 2025, a piece of cardboard is contraband.
blacklipstick.substack.com
September 8, 2025 at 1:34 PM
The latest in our partnership with Black Lipstick, where we highlight essays from women and queer incarcerated writers, is STATE PROPERTY by Kim Hricko:
"In 2025, a piece of cardboard is contraband."
blacklipstick.substack.com/p/state-prop...
"In 2025, a piece of cardboard is contraband."
blacklipstick.substack.com/p/state-prop...
For Open Secrets Magazine, @chriswblackwell.bsky.social starts his essay with: "How did I end up a prison journalist? That is a question I’ve asked myself many times."
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
From Dropout to Journalist…In Prison
How I found my voice as a storyteller while incarcerated and now help others become prison journalists
substack.com
September 4, 2025 at 8:00 PM
For Open Secrets Magazine, @chriswblackwell.bsky.social starts his essay with: "How did I end up a prison journalist? That is a question I’ve asked myself many times."
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Only about 25 percent of housing units in Florida's prisons are equipped with AC. Incarcerated writer Anthony Cobb and Alex DeLuca of @miaminewtimes.com write what this summer was like in Florida prisons:
www.miaminewtimes.com/news/life-in...
www.miaminewtimes.com/news/life-in...
Inside an Everglades Prison Without Air Conditioning
Only about 25 percent of housing units in Florida's prisons are equipped with AC.
www.miaminewtimes.com
September 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Only about 25 percent of housing units in Florida's prisons are equipped with AC. Incarcerated writer Anthony Cobb and Alex DeLuca of @miaminewtimes.com write what this summer was like in Florida prisons:
www.miaminewtimes.com/news/life-in...
www.miaminewtimes.com/news/life-in...
For the @thephilacitizen.bsky.social, @chriswblackwell.bsky.social and Deborah Zalesne share how their love of the Eagles bonded them across difference and prison walls:
thephiladelphiacitizen.org/eagles-fando...
thephiladelphiacitizen.org/eagles-fando...
Eagles Fandom Builds Unlikely Friendships
Being an Eagles fan is about more than just rooting for a team. It's a bond that can build friendships between outwardly unalike people
thephiladelphiacitizen.org
September 4, 2025 at 1:55 PM
For the @thephilacitizen.bsky.social, @chriswblackwell.bsky.social and Deborah Zalesne share how their love of the Eagles bonded them across difference and prison walls:
thephiladelphiacitizen.org/eagles-fando...
thephiladelphiacitizen.org/eagles-fando...
Latest from Tony Vick, incarcerated in Tennessee:
"Illiteracy has a profound impact on almost anyone. But in prison it has direct and immediate consequences for family connection."
The Barriers to Learning to Read in Prison
Illiteracy has a profound impact on almost anyone. But in prison it has direct and immediate consequences for family connection.
filtermag.org
September 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Latest from Tony Vick, incarcerated in Tennessee:
In conjunction with @chriswblackwell.bsky.social + Deborah Zalesne's upcoming book release of ENDING ISOLATION, Zeke Magazine has a dedicated print issue about solitary confinement.
View it here: www.yumpu.com/en/document/...
View it here: www.yumpu.com/en/document/...
ZEKE Magazine: Special Summer 2025 Issue
The Solitary Confinement Issue.
Window into Solitary
Stories of solitary confinement by 17 formerly
incarcerated
www.yumpu.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:43 PM
In conjunction with @chriswblackwell.bsky.social + Deborah Zalesne's upcoming book release of ENDING ISOLATION, Zeke Magazine has a dedicated print issue about solitary confinement.
View it here: www.yumpu.com/en/document/...
View it here: www.yumpu.com/en/document/...
Big congrats to Robert Lee Williams, who has a moving story about the power of trees in prison for the @nytimes.com.
"Beyond the chain-link fence that separates the yard from the rest of the prison, I saw not one but three towering, majestic black walnut trees..."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
"Beyond the chain-link fence that separates the yard from the rest of the prison, I saw not one but three towering, majestic black walnut trees..."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | Finding Beauty in a Prison Yard
These trees were the only living beings that I could touch without fear.
www.nytimes.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Big congrats to Robert Lee Williams, who has a moving story about the power of trees in prison for the @nytimes.com.
"Beyond the chain-link fence that separates the yard from the rest of the prison, I saw not one but three towering, majestic black walnut trees..."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
"Beyond the chain-link fence that separates the yard from the rest of the prison, I saw not one but three towering, majestic black walnut trees..."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
"California’s REPAIR Act shows there’s a better way to manage restitution, for both incarcerated people and survivors."
Steve Brooks for @fastcompany.com:
www.fastcompany.com/91388476/fix...
Steve Brooks for @fastcompany.com:
www.fastcompany.com/91388476/fix...
Fixing restitution laws: Has paying one's debt to society gone too far?
California's REPAIR Act shows there's a better way to manage restitution, for both incarcerated people and survivors.
www.fastcompany.com
September 2, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"California’s REPAIR Act shows there’s a better way to manage restitution, for both incarcerated people and survivors."
Steve Brooks for @fastcompany.com:
www.fastcompany.com/91388476/fix...
Steve Brooks for @fastcompany.com:
www.fastcompany.com/91388476/fix...
In another contribution to @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social Abolition Week, Lanae Tipton writes about the grim reality of receiving mental healthcare in Texas prisons:
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/the-...
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/the-...
The reality of mental health care in prison – Scalawag
Mental health needs are prevalent in prisons. One incarcerated writer shares their experience with the mental health care system in a Texas prison.
scalawagmagazine.org
August 28, 2025 at 6:42 PM
In another contribution to @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social Abolition Week, Lanae Tipton writes about the grim reality of receiving mental healthcare in Texas prisons:
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/the-...
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/the-...
Continuing our contributions for @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social's Abolition Week, Xandan Gulley writes about Texas fight night:
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/the-...
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/the-...
The Gauntlet: Fight Night in a Texas Prison – Scalawag
In Texas women’s prisons, there is a "Fight Night" custom, where the officers choose inmates to fight each other in what they call "the gauntlet."
scalawagmagazine.org
August 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Continuing our contributions for @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social's Abolition Week, Xandan Gulley writes about Texas fight night:
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/the-...
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/the-...
"Two years into the California Model — which was implemented to decrease violence and stress inside facilities — violence is up and stress is through the roof."
D. Razor Babb for @knockdotla.bsky.social:
knock-la.com/is-the-new-c...
D. Razor Babb for @knockdotla.bsky.social:
knock-la.com/is-the-new-c...
Is the New California Prison Model Just California Dreamin’? - Knock LA
Two years into the California Model, which was implemented to decrease violence and stress inside facilities, violence is up and stress is through the roof.
knock-la.com
August 27, 2025 at 7:37 PM
"Two years into the California Model — which was implemented to decrease violence and stress inside facilities — violence is up and stress is through the roof."
D. Razor Babb for @knockdotla.bsky.social:
knock-la.com/is-the-new-c...
D. Razor Babb for @knockdotla.bsky.social:
knock-la.com/is-the-new-c...
“Our Commemoration of Black August Transforms These Spaces of Intended Destruction into Laboratories of Liberation” by @kwanetaharris.bsky.social for @solitarywatch.bsky.social.
Read her essay here:
solitarywatch.org/2025/08/22/r...
Read her essay here:
solitarywatch.org/2025/08/22/r...
Remembering Black August from Prison: The Struggle Continues - Solitary Watch
This Black August, Kwaneta Harris reminds us of solitary's oppressive origins and calls us to resist and persist towards liberation.
solitarywatch.org
August 27, 2025 at 3:08 PM
“Our Commemoration of Black August Transforms These Spaces of Intended Destruction into Laboratories of Liberation” by @kwanetaharris.bsky.social for @solitarywatch.bsky.social.
Read her essay here:
solitarywatch.org/2025/08/22/r...
Read her essay here:
solitarywatch.org/2025/08/22/r...
For International Examiner's On the Fence Line column, Felix Sitthivong writes about the positive and healing impact of gardening while incarcerated:
iexaminer.org/on-the-fence...
iexaminer.org/on-the-fence...
On the Fence Line: Gardening in prison brings peace, and a reminder to toil for a better world - International Examiner
It’s a beautiful summer morning in the Pacific Northwest. The sun is cutting through the light morning fog, signaling another perfect day to come. As the sun continues to rise, bringing with it sounds...
iexaminer.org
August 27, 2025 at 2:57 PM
For International Examiner's On the Fence Line column, Felix Sitthivong writes about the positive and healing impact of gardening while incarcerated:
iexaminer.org/on-the-fence...
iexaminer.org/on-the-fence...
Check out a few recent stories from Tony Vick for @filtermag.bsky.social:
Tennessee prisoners who know ICE is waiting: filtermag.org/undocumented...
What the Southern Baptist Church taught me about LGBTQ+ Education: filtermag.org/southern-bap...
Tennessee prisoners who know ICE is waiting: filtermag.org/undocumented...
What the Southern Baptist Church taught me about LGBTQ+ Education: filtermag.org/southern-bap...
"A Shared Dread": Immigrant Prisoners Near Release, Knowing ICE Is Waiting
Mateo estimates at least half the immigrants in this prison are undocumented. No one knows where they'll be taken when their sentence ends.
filtermag.org
August 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Check out a few recent stories from Tony Vick for @filtermag.bsky.social:
Tennessee prisoners who know ICE is waiting: filtermag.org/undocumented...
What the Southern Baptist Church taught me about LGBTQ+ Education: filtermag.org/southern-bap...
Tennessee prisoners who know ICE is waiting: filtermag.org/undocumented...
What the Southern Baptist Church taught me about LGBTQ+ Education: filtermag.org/southern-bap...
Corey Devon Arthur writes about a new directive in New York prisons that permits prison guards to record strip searches using body cameras, for @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social Abolition Week.
"Why is the carceral state storing recordings of typical strip-frisks?"
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/a-ne...
"Why is the carceral state storing recordings of typical strip-frisks?"
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/a-ne...
A new directive permits prison guards to record strip searches using body cameras – Scalawag
Prison policy directs guards to make pornographic movies starring the prison population using their body cameras.
scalawagmagazine.org
August 27, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Corey Devon Arthur writes about a new directive in New York prisons that permits prison guards to record strip searches using body cameras, for @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social Abolition Week.
"Why is the carceral state storing recordings of typical strip-frisks?"
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/a-ne...
"Why is the carceral state storing recordings of typical strip-frisks?"
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/a-ne...
For @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social's Abolition Week, E. Paris Whitfield shares the poem "Ain't Sh*t Changed."
Ain 't sh*t changed…
It sits in another toilet,
and we are ass out...
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/aint...
Ain 't sh*t changed…
It sits in another toilet,
and we are ass out...
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/aint...
Ain't Sh*t Changed – Scalawag
Incarcerated writer, E. Paris Whitfield, writes about our present reality and how eerily similar it is to our past.
scalawagmagazine.org
August 26, 2025 at 2:40 PM
For @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social's Abolition Week, E. Paris Whitfield shares the poem "Ain't Sh*t Changed."
Ain 't sh*t changed…
It sits in another toilet,
and we are ass out...
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/aint...
Ain 't sh*t changed…
It sits in another toilet,
and we are ass out...
scalawagmagazine.org/2025/08/aint...
Huge congrats to @chriswblackwell.bsky.social, @kwanetaharris.bsky.social ,Deborah Zalesne and Terry Kupers, whose book ENDING ISOLATION: The Case Against Solitary Confinement, was reviewed in @theguardian.com:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
Ending Isolation review – a takedown of solitary confinement by incarcerated co-authors
New book looks back at the history of the controversial prison practice while pushing for its dismantling
www.theguardian.com
August 26, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Huge congrats to @chriswblackwell.bsky.social, @kwanetaharris.bsky.social ,Deborah Zalesne and Terry Kupers, whose book ENDING ISOLATION: The Case Against Solitary Confinement, was reviewed in @theguardian.com:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
Here's the latest by Steve Brooks for Bay City News.
"Salvadoran people in California prisons face a unique and unfortunate situation..." he writes:
localnewsmatters.org/2025/08/22/s...
"Salvadoran people in California prisons face a unique and unfortunate situation..." he writes:
localnewsmatters.org/2025/08/22/s...
San Quentin celebrates El Salvador, focusing on the plight of those being deported there - Local News Matters
A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND EVENT at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center earlier this month recognizes the cultural and religious roots of incarcerated individuals
localnewsmatters.org
August 25, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Here's the latest by Steve Brooks for Bay City News.
"Salvadoran people in California prisons face a unique and unfortunate situation..." he writes:
localnewsmatters.org/2025/08/22/s...
"Salvadoran people in California prisons face a unique and unfortunate situation..." he writes:
localnewsmatters.org/2025/08/22/s...
"I first met my wife in high school, but we fell in love 15 years later when I mistakenly sent Britteni an email meant for my friend's girlfriend...."
A prison love story, by Antoine E. Davis, for Merion West:
www.merionwest.com/a-prison-lov...
A prison love story, by Antoine E. Davis, for Merion West:
www.merionwest.com/a-prison-lov...
A Prison Love Story
An unconventional love story, but a love story just the same.
www.merionwest.com
August 20, 2025 at 9:00 PM
"I first met my wife in high school, but we fell in love 15 years later when I mistakenly sent Britteni an email meant for my friend's girlfriend...."
A prison love story, by Antoine E. Davis, for Merion West:
www.merionwest.com/a-prison-lov...
A prison love story, by Antoine E. Davis, for Merion West:
www.merionwest.com/a-prison-lov...
E. Paris Whitfield's poem "I redream a world" is featured in the latest issue of Jelly Bucket, titled Voices of Incarceration.
You can read more info and purchase it here:
www.jellybucket.org/home/issue-1...
You can read more info and purchase it here:
www.jellybucket.org/home/issue-1...
Issue #15 is Out Now Featuring Voices of Incarceration — Jelly Bucket
This year, our special section is dedicated to Voices of Incarceration . The issue highlights the work of both writers and visual artists, including Dee Vogt, Dan Grote, Abigail Cook, Douglas Hallora...
www.jellybucket.org
August 20, 2025 at 2:43 PM
E. Paris Whitfield's poem "I redream a world" is featured in the latest issue of Jelly Bucket, titled Voices of Incarceration.
You can read more info and purchase it here:
www.jellybucket.org/home/issue-1...
You can read more info and purchase it here:
www.jellybucket.org/home/issue-1...
Reposted by Empowerment Avenue
Thoughtful piece on the death penalty by an incarcerated journalist
For @prismreports.org, Lyle C. May asks: "Is sentencing your neighbors to death ‘the will of the people’?"
A North Carolina bill would enact firing squads and the electric chair.
prismreports.org/2025/07/24/i...
A North Carolina bill would enact firing squads and the electric chair.
prismreports.org/2025/07/24/i...
Is sentencing your neighbors to death ‘the will of the people’?
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are pushing a bill that would end the state’s moratorium on executions by bringing back the electric chair and implementing a firing squad
prismreports.org
August 20, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Thoughtful piece on the death penalty by an incarcerated journalist