Before my time with The Remedy Project, I was well aware of the fact that the American criminal justice system is fraught with human rights violations and based upon the Thirteenth Amendment’s allowance of slavery as punishment for a crime. I had read myriad pieces of theory about the ways in which carceral thinking extends far beyond prison walls and permeates our society, hurting us all in the process, and I knew that those who occupied certain social positions (e.g. Black and brown and/or poor people) had far greater chances of being convicted and far harsher sentences for the same crimes as their rich or white counterparts. I even had experience with those who are justice-involved; I worked with a legal aid clinic in the summer of 2019, assisting the formerly incarcerated with the sealing and expungement process and connecting them with organizations that streamlined the post-prison job and housing application processes. However, during all of this time, I never felt like I was making a difference for those who are actively incarcerated and experiencing the worst of the system’s abuse. All of my work and training either serviced them indirectly at best or centered those who had made it to the other side.
The Remedy Project has allowed me to communicate with incarcerated people around the country, learning of the horrific abuse (physical, emotional, psychological, medical, and sexual) and neglect that they have been forced to bear, as well as the incompetence of the agencies and processes put into place to address it. I have become familiar with the administrative remedy process, which the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has deemed the official method of grievance resolution within its subordinate institutions. Though this process is outlined in the Inmate Handbook that every incarcerated person is given upon entry, the wording is vague and confusing, and prison staff impede it at every step. By writing administrative remedies on behalf of the incarcerated, I am able to use the narration skills that I acquired in college to inspire real change and assert the dignity and inalienable rights of incarcerated people. Additionally, I have contributed significantly to The Remedy Project’s action website and outreach efforts, helping the organization reach motivated and passionate students and activists across the country and put them into conversation with its formerly incarcerated mentors. Watching The Remedy Project’s membership numbers grow is incredibly inspiring, as it ensures that there will always be a steady stream of trained remedy advocates to continue the organization’s mission and fight for justice.
Being able to work in a hands-on environment with tangible goals has been tremendously rewarding, both personally and externally. Each day that I go into the office, I know that I am doing something that will drastically change the lives of those at the center of one of the country’s longest-standing and most severe human rights crises. No matter what projects I join in the future, The Remedy Project’s mission and lessons will never leave my mind.
Before my time with The Remedy Project, I was well aware of the fact that the American criminal justice system is fraught with human rights violations and based upon the Thirteenth Amendment’s allowance of slavery as punishment for a crime. I had read myriad pieces of theory about the ways in which carceral thinking extends far beyond prison walls and permeates our society, hurting us all in the process, and I knew that those who occupied certain social positions (e.g. Black and brown and/or poor people) had far greater chances of being convicted and far harsher sentences for the same crimes as their rich or white counterparts. I even had experience with those who are justice-involved; I worked with a legal aid clinic in the summer of 2019, assisting the formerly incarcerated with the sealing and expungement process and connecting them with organizations that streamlined the post-prison job and housing application processes. However, during all of this time, I never felt like I was making a difference for those who are actively incarcerated and experiencing the worst of the system’s abuse. All of my work and training either serviced them indirectly at best or centered those who had made it to the other side.
The Remedy Project has allowed me to communicate with incarcerated people around the country, learning of the horrific abuse (physical, emotional, psychological, medical, and sexual) and neglect that they have been forced to bear, as well as the incompetence of the agencies and processes put into place to address it. I have become familiar with the administrative remedy process, which the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has deemed the official method of grievance resolution within its subordinate institutions. Though this process is outlined in the Inmate Handbook that every incarcerated person is given upon entry, the wording is vague and confusing, and prison staff impede it at every step. By writing administrative remedies on behalf of the incarcerated, I am able to use the narration skills that I acquired in college to inspire real change and assert the dignity and inalienable rights of incarcerated people. Additionally, I have contributed significantly to The Remedy Project’s action website and outreach efforts, helping the organization reach motivated and passionate students and activists across the country and put them into conversation with its formerly incarcerated mentors. Watching The Remedy Project’s membership numbers grow is incredibly inspiring, as it ensures that there will always be a steady stream of trained remedy advocates to continue the organization’s mission and fight for justice.
Being able to work in a hands-on environment with tangible goals has been tremendously rewarding, both personally and externally. Each day that I go into the office, I know that I am doing something that will drastically change the lives of those at the center of one of the country’s longest-standing and most severe human rights crises. No matter what projects I join in the future, The Remedy Project’s mission and lessons will never leave my mind.
