Robert Mejia

158 years ago today, a group of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned about their freedom, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had declared them free from slavery. The anniversary of this event, recognized as Juneteenth, commemorates African American liberty, resilience, and strength in a way that pushes back against the anti-Black institutions of the United States that perpetuate systemic racism. As we celebrate this history, we also ask the question: what does real, full freedom look like?

This time of celebration often invites reflection on the current state of Black liberation movements in the United States—on how far these movements have progressed and on how they continue to face barriers. Generations of racial justice activists have advocated for social, cultural, and legal advancements that more fully realize the country’s ideals of equality and inclusivity for all. For many, Juneteenth serves as a period of recognition and honoring of these efforts.

At the same time however, as scholars like Michelle Alexander and Angela Davis have noted, anti-Blackness continues to manifest itself. Institutions police Black communities and incarcerate these communities at alarming rates—especially when compared to other racial groups in the country. The Prison Policy Initiative found that racial disparities are starkest for Black Americans, who make up about 38% of the incarcerated population despite only making up about 12% of American residents. This is in contrast to White Americans also constituting about 38% of the incarcerated population while making up about 60% of American residents.

Likewise, slavery remains allowed by the United States constitution as a punishment for crime. In a 2017 study, the Prison Policy Initiative reported that incarcerated people earn $0.86-$3.45 per day for the most common prison jobs on average, while these jobs pay nothing in at least 5 states. Under such conditions, African Americans who are targeted most in this era of mass incarceration are stripped of their freedom.

On this Juneteenth, A New Way of Life pays tribute to the abolitionists who have mothered and continue to mother the freedom movement. Our mission continues—to empower communities with opportunity where justice-impacted women can heal, excel, and lead while disrupting systems of oppression and harm. We persist in dedicating ourselves to mitigating the effects of and ultimately eliminating mass incarceration so that we might be a freer and more just society.

This past Christmas and New Year, I challenged myself to take a trip to Africa. I needed to take an ancestral journey to the motherland, and so I reached out to my dear friend, Dr. Jennifer Madden and her husband Khalil. Together, we made the trip, and I must say it was quite a journey.

Our travels took us to three countries in West and East Africa: Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. We connected with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and learned about the work they are doing to help women while incarcerated and upon their release. We visited the local prisons—you know I could not pass up the opportunity to visit a women’s prison. Much like here in the United States, women across the continent of Africa have access to very few resources that can help them while caught in the legal system.

During these visits, I had conversations with prison officials and spoke with them about the need for women to have housing and services upon release. They were in complete agreement. One official, Controller B. R. Freedman (head of the prison system in Lagos, Nigeria), was so overwhelmed with hope after seeing one of our videos that he presented me with an award. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude. It was such a good meeting!

I also met with a group of formerly incarcerated women to learn firsthand about their reentry experience. They spoke about being disowned by family and pushed out of the villages they called home prior to being incarcerated. The stigma across the continent is more devastating than we experience here in the United States. Here, we have done so much advocacy work to overcome the stigma and support people to come home and rebuild their lives. This work has not yet taken root in the countries I visited.

In Kenya, I met up with several NGOs to learn more and talk about their work with women—and, of course, I went with them into the prison. While in Kenya, I was able to experience the safari and reconnect with the land. I saw zebras, giraffes, gazelles, and lions. It was so beautiful.

Uganda holds a special place in my heart because of the relationships I had previously created during past visits. Several years ago, in 2019, I was fortunate enough to create a friendship and partnership with Francis Ssuubi (Executive Director of Wells of Hope). We had met when I went to Uganda with Rebecca Ginsburg (Founder and Director of the Illinois-based Education Justice Project). Francis’ nonprofit, Wells of Hope, is a Christian organization that does outreach to children with parents who are currently incarcerated and those who are formerly incarcerated. Wells of Hope provides a boarding school for the children of incarcerated parents.

During my last visit, in 2019, I had gone to the local prison and met with some of the incarcerated women. There, I witnessed the lack of services for women and I immediately began to think of what we could do to help them when they are released. I wanted to help create an opportunity for these formerly incarcerated women to transform their lives. Working with Wells of Hope, Francis and I established the first SAFE home for women in the continent of Africa, in Kampala, Uganda.

Four years later, during this current visit, I was able to meet with some of the women who had been incarcerated during my first trip. It was beautiful to sit, talk and share food with them. I was especially happy to visit a woman, who is now a friend, who had been incarcerated back in 2019. She now owns a store that Wells of Hope helped her to get. When I see the process and transformation of the women I helped, it brings me joy and appreciation for what we have been able to accomplish through A New Way of Life’s SAFE Housing Network. This experience was definitely one of the highlights of this trip.

That these women are supported and doing well speaks to the work Francis has put into his community. I admire and respect him because of he has seen the value of this work and is dedicated to providing these women with a space for healing. He is such a kind soul. When I got off the plane, I was given such a warm welcome. There were young women carrying a large photograph of me and performing a welcome dance.

I started A New Way of Life in 1998 with the hope of helping women like me. In the twenty-five years since, this mission has led me all over the world to help formerly incarcerated and incarcerated women change their lives. It has been an incredible journey. I feel fortunate to be able to see the impact this mission has had, and I can’t wait to see what more is in store in the future for A New Way of Life and the SAFE Housing Network.

What Would King Think of Mass Incarceration?

Today, January 15, marks the birthday of legendary civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. He would have been 94 years old. This year also marks the 60^th anniversary of King’s important “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written while he was incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama. As we honor the life and legacy of King, it is worth reflecting on King’s response and what he said about the mass incarceration of African Americans and marginalized communities.

King condemned the mass incarceration of his supporters and civil rights activists across the United States. In response to those who believed mass incarceration was justified because those jailed had broken the law, King wrote that we ought to understand the difference between a just law and an unjust law. An unjust law, King continued, “is a code that a majority inflicts on a minority that is not binding on itself.” When considering the inequitable application of the law and the racialization of the criminal justice system, we must agree with King that mass incarceration is built on, and continues to be built upon, the foundation of unjust laws.

As an organization committed to honoring and upholding King’s legacy by offering holistic reentry services to formerly incarcerated women, it is fitting that today, on King’s birthday, we are opening our 12^th Safe Home. This home will accommodate 14 women and expand our services in South Los Angeles and the Greater Long Beach area. The residents of this home, like the residents of all our homes, will have access to all aspects of our services, many of which resonate with King’s commitment to nonviolent activism, such as our Women Organizing for Justice & Opportunity (WOJO) Leadership Lab: a six-month training program for formerly incarcerated women to sharpen their social justice leadership skills.

As we celebrate and honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy today, tomorrow, and the rest of the year, we ask that you support organizations like our own, which is committed to upholding King’s commitment to nonviolent activism. You can do this through volunteering, financial donations, and more. As King stated, “the time is always right to do right.”

In 2022, Alabama, Tennessee, Vermont, Oregon, and Louisiana were the states with ballot measures to abolish slavery after 150 years of emancipation. Four out of the five states have passed this ballot measure, but Louisiana is one of the many states in this country that is still holding onto the legacy of slavery. Louisiana did not pass this ballot measure. The ballot measure left Louisiana voters confused regarding voting in favor of keeping slavery and involuntary servitude on the books or approving a flawed measure that some feared would have expanded slavery. Californian legislators, on the other hand, have no excuses: Assembly Member Sydney Kamlager’s “End Slavery in California Act” died after California’s Department of Finance estimated it would cost the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) $1.5 billion to pay the state’s almost 65,000 incarcerated workers minimum wage ($15 per hour). Dorsey Nunn, the Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, proposed ACA6, but it failed to pass through the California Legislature.

Our country’s continued reliance on slavery and involuntary servitude is absolutely unacceptable. Our country is continuing to exploit people’s labor instead of providing rehabilitation. For me, after losing my son and not knowing how to deal with grief, I was incarcerated for using drugs to manage my grief. While I was incarcerated, I was worked like a slave in the California prison system. Me and thousands of other people in California had to experience this. I was one of those workers who made less than 52 cents per hour generating billions of dollars each year in goods and services for the government and corporations. I was one of those workers who did not have the right to rest, who was forced to work while sick, and forced to work jobs that put my life at risk like fire camp—all with little to no pay. The money that is being put into these prisons could be put into schools for our children to provide them with more opportunities. What will make our communities safer and healthier would be a strong well-resourced school system, art and music programs, museums, parks, and mental health and health centers. It is shocking that we continue to pour our resources into the prison system while we neglect the investment of our children and our schools and community resources and solutions.

I founded A New Way of Life through my own experiences which led me to work towards transforming the lives of previously incarcerated women. Leading women to freedom and transforming the system has been a part of A New Way of Life since its beginning. We work to break the chains of incarceration and oppression. There should not be a system that chains people and put them in cages. We must work with our communities to provide solutions that are going to support communities to thrive. As we work towards freedom for all, we are laser focused on ending slavery in this country.

The Thirteenth Amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to jurisdiction”, yet slavery is still alive and well. We must use our voices and come together to help change this system once and for all. We must work towards removing it.

Doing freedom work has been my life’s objective since I established A New Way of Life Reentry Project in 1998. This is not a win for us, but this is a first step of many. I founded A New Way of Life for the sole purpose of working towards changing bad public policy and ultimately eliminating mass incarceration. A New Way of Life also does voter outreach in our communities and jails to help voters understand complex ballot propositions. We work towards restoring the vote for formerly incarcerated people. We have the right to impact laws and policy with our collective voice and collective vote. Our vote is important, if it wasn’t important they wouldn’t try to take it from us.

The lives of people incarcerated are valuable and they do have a life after incarceration. The prison system is not their final fate in life and treating these individuals as such is unacceptable. Our country and our society is so quick to throw people away after they make a mistake, but at the end of the day they are human. Again, this is not a win, but a first step. We must come together to help continue this fight for those incarcerated and those experiencing modern-day slavery. We must continue to educate ourselves during times like this to be a part of this never-ending battle of wanting freedom. At A New Way of Life, we work towards changing laws, policies, and regulations through advocacy and community organizing around these issues. As a pioneer in the reentry movement, I found A New Way of Life to lead women to freedom. Slavery should be abolished once and for all for this country to be “free”.

On August 24, 2020, A New Way of Life Reentry Project, in partnership with DePaul Center, opened Villa La Tournelle, the 10th SAFE Home established by A New Way of Life. During this time, Los Angeles was experiencing challenging times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many incarcerated women were being released — some in the middle of the night with no place to go. There was an urgent need for additional housing for formerly incarcerated people, and A New Way of Life met that need.

The Villa is a former convent located on the campus of DePaul Evangelization Center in Montebello, CA. The Villa is named after the building “La Tournelle” that Vincent rented in the city of Marseilles, France, to house those condemned to service on the French Galleys. The Villa is the Western Province of the Congregation of the Mission’s contribution to the “13-House Campaign” initiated by the International Leadership of the Vincentian Family in 2018. The campaign aims to improve and transform the lives of people experiencing homelessness worldwide.

Since its establishment, 22 women and 38 minor children have called the Villa “Home.” The house features eight bedrooms, a living room/dining room area, a full kitchen, a laundry room, large outdoor spaces, and a garden area. Residents who stay at the Villa have access to the wrap-around services provided by A New Way of Life. Stable housing allows the residents to focus on their next steps and look forward to living a self-sufficient life.

The Villa residents have accomplished many goals since moving in. Tracey graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies from UCLA and will continue with a master’s program in Fall 2022. Chantell completed a year-long All of Us or None Community Organizing Fellowship. A New Way of Life is proud to offer a space for these women to grow while on their journey to becoming successful community members.

As we celebrate the success of Villa La Tournelle, A New Way of Life hosted the SAFE Housing Network Training. The SAFE Housing Network is a national collective of formerly incarcerated people working to decarcerate the US by bringing people home to stay, helping them heal from the trauma of incarceration, and empowering them to lead in the fight to end mass incarceration.

The SAFE Housing Network knows that public safety can only exist when everyone in society is provided for and has equal access, opportunities, and rights. The three-day training brought together over 100 people to learn the SAFE Housing Network philosophy, program model, and to participate in panel discussions on community-based reentry programs. Through collaboration and shared learning, participants learn about innovative approaches to integrating trauma-informed practice into reentry programs and how to better serve the needs of this population. In addition to learning best practices, participants have the opportunity to connect with others doing similar work. The training left participants with a renewed sense of purpose and energy as they returned to their communities to continue implementing positive change.

 

The SAFE Housing Network has SAFE homes in Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Kenya, and Uganda. The organization continues to grow and set the standard for reentry programs for formerly incarcerated people and their families.

As we continue to work toward creating a just society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, we thank you for joining us in the movement to end mass incarceration.

Click here to learn more about the SAFE Housing Network organizations.

 

Today, June 19, 2022, marks the first anniversary of Juneteenth as a national holiday. In actuality, Juneteenth celebrations have occurred for over 150 years, with the first celebration occurring in 1866. The date of June 19, 2022, or Juneteenth, was chosen as it marked the anniversary of when a group of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that they were free from the institution of slavery. In 2021, after decades of organizing, political and community leaders were finally successful in passing legislation to commemorate Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

That it took decades of petitioning and proposing legislation before Juneteenth would be recognized as a federal holiday speaks directly to the twin objectives of the commemoration: to celebrate the freedom won by African Americans and to remember our nation’s broken promises. Indeed, though most Americans believe that slavery ended in 1862 with the emancipation proclamation, the official end of the Civil War (April 9, 1865), or the ratification of the 13th Amendment (December 6, 1865), slavery continued to be practiced well-after those dates, and in fact remains constitutionally legal as a punishment for crime.

As the Vera Institute writes, “until the mid-1950s, states routinely forced chain gangs of imprisoned people to do public works projects while wearing chains weighing as much as 20 pounds.” Even today, “private companies and governments extract nearly free labor from incarcerated people—who are employed to do everything from building office furniture and making hand sanitizer to staffing call centers and performing 3D modeling—in most cases for pennies an hour. In California, incarcerated people battle fires in 24-hour shifts for as little as $2.90 a day.”

Now, as then, Black activists, political leaders, and anti-racist allies celebrate Juneteenth in recognition of the enduring spirit and inalienable humanity of African Americans. Freedom was not given to Blacks; freedom had been fought for and won by Blacks. From the very beginning of the arrival of the first Black slaves in the United States in 1619, African Americans have resisted the atrocities afflicted upon their inalienable dignity and fought for their freedom. Slave rebellions occurred on a regular basis and during the Civil War close to 200,000 Black men enlisted in the fight. It is historically inaccurate and a dishonor to the work of past and present Black activists, political leaders, and anti-racist allies to suggest that a freedom which has continually been denied, restricted, and conditional was given to African Americans.

As we celebrate this year’s Juneteenth, we ask that you honor and support the ongoing work of Black-led nonprofits and organizations committed to ensuring the freedom and well-being of Black communities. African Americans “are incarcerated at nearly five times the rate of whites” and one in five “are experiencing poverty for the third generation in a row, compared to just one in a hundred white Americans.”

For over two decades, A New Way of Life has been working to directly confront these systemic barriers to the life and liberty of the African American community. We have provided housing to hundreds of formerly incarcerated Black women, provided pro bono legal services to thousands of African American community members with conviction histories, and helped reunite hundreds of Black parents with their children. None of this would be possible without your support. Thank you.