Rebuilding the Community from within the Community
Strategic Collaboration by UBFSF Founder Ivan Kilgore. LEARN MORE →
The Pedagogy of Systemic Oppression By Isabella Cain, UBFSF Media & Marketing Director Education is often presented as a pathway to opportunity: a means of gaining knowledge, securing employment, entering higher education, or improving one’s economic...
Democracy Behind Bars By Kenthy Porter, Founder and Executive Director Democracy Beyond Bars Political education is at the heart of Democracy Beyond Bars' origin, advocacy and continued work to abolish the Prison industrial Complex. Founded in 2023 by incarcerated...
Claims that Trump or the Executive Office of the President has canceled Black History Month appear to stem from a post from Mark Zaid, a prominent lawyer in Washington, D.C., who has represented federal government employees and whistleblowers. In an X post on Jan. 23,...
Why Philanthropy Must Start Investing in the People Behind Prison Bars By Glenn E. Martin Walk into almost any prison in America and, if you know where to look, you’ll find something philanthropy has been searching for: talent. We lock up some of America’s best and...
Black August is a time to remember the history of Black resistance within and beyond the carceral systems. Rooted in the experiences of incarcerated Black activists and organizers, the month is a time for political education, solidarity, remembrance, and reflection....
From Prison Cells to the State Capitol: How Incarcerated Voices Reshape Nonprofit Advocacy By Ivan Kilgore An inside-out perspective on lived experience, storytelling, and nonprofit advocacy For more than 26 years, I have lived inside a system that has often tried to...
Systems Can Change Through Storytelling By Timmy Young Systems do not change simply because people recognize problems. Systems change when people see themselves inside the solution. Storytelling creates that bridge. It connects information to emotion, vision to...
From Sundance to San Quentin: Cori Thomas By Isabella Cain, UBFSF Media & Marketing Director When playwright and advocate Cori Thomas first walked through the halls of San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (formerly San Quentin State Prison), she carried assumptions...
"Community, Culture, and Healing" By Tavia ‘Tay’ Pennington “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” While this proverb expresses a sentiment of growth beyond individuality, it can get lost in theory when a community is choked by...
Lessons Learned Through Life, Service & Building People By Timmy Young Healing does not begin in buildings. It begins in people. I’ve learned through experience that communities don’t collapse overnight, and they don’t heal overnight either. Healing starts when...
Reclaiming Our Humanity: Community, Culture, and Healing By Ivan Kilgore For much of my younger life, I believed crime was primarily the result of individual choices. I accepted the common narrative that if people simply made better decisions, our communities would...
What Change Means on the Inside By Ivan Kilgore People often ask whether people can truly change in prison. It’s a fair question, but I believe it’s the wrong one. The better question is : What does change actually look like on the inside ? For many people, change is...