November 2024 Message From Our Founder

November marked the 24th year I’ve been incarcerated. In May, I graduated with two degrees: one in Liberal Arts and another in Political Science. It was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, I looked to the sky and smiled, knowing my deceased parents were proud of me. My mother would always say, “Son, I didn’t raise you to be a drug-dealer. Go to college…” In time, I made a promise to her that I would.  

Prior to entering prison, I was a full-time student pursuing a business degree with aspirations of transferring to Cal State Hayward. After almost two years of study, I made a tragic mistake that cost a young man his life. For that, I was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Despite the circumstances, I was determined to keep my promise to my mother and continue my education. Unfortunately, shortly after entering prison, I was informed by the administration – without any uncertainty—that there was no value in someone like myself, serving LWOP, partaking in a college program. Consequently, the next 18 years would be challenging as I faced one obstacle after another aimed at preventing me from enrolling in the prison’s college program. In time, I became an advocate for myself and others. 

I vividly recall the games the administration played. Despite having a documented high school diploma, I was forced into a GED class; then issued a disciplinary report after refusing to attend. It took a good part of a year to appeal and win the matter before I was finally removed from the class. Administrators next refused to notify me that my college transcripts had been received by the prison. Some three years later, after threatening to file a complaint with the Records Department at the community college I had attended prior to prison and requested to send my transcripts, I was informed of this development. I spent 11 years at that prison fighting the administration in an attempt to get into college. After being transferred to another maximum-security prison, I was finally accepted into an in-person college program in 2018. 

Unfortunately, no sooner I began classes I would again be put up for transfer and in time transferred to yet another prison. When I arrived at the next stop, I was informed by the administration that because of my LWOP sentence, I would be prohibited from partaking in the college program due classes being held in an area I was restricted from accessing. Again, I advocated. In 2019, I won a discrimination complaint that essentially forced the administration to make accommodations for LWOPs to partake in the program. For 20 years I fought. Finally, I was able to pick up and continue the journey to fulfilling the promise I had made to my mother. 

Up until this point, I had no choice but to self-educate; often borrowing or purchasing books with little resources. So I studied the old college books that had been discarded in the trash. Needless to say, this was a transformative period in my life. Through my studies, I had learned enough to realize that politics were about: who got what, when, where, and how. Inevitably, with the support and assistance of family and friends, I would go on to found the United Black Family Scholarship Foundation and develop programs that would empower others to take action and drive political transformation in our communities. These programs are built not just to serve the incarcerated but to empower inside and outside communities alike.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this journey has been working alongside the volunteers who staff our efforts. The majority of these dedicated young men and women weren’t even born when I was incarcerated. Yet they have the character, vision, and commitment to work tirelessly toward building a better nation. Their willingness to fight for education and opportunities for system-impacted individuals is extraordinary.

For me, this work is about fulfilling a promise—not just to my mother, but to everyone who has ever believed in redemption. It is about proving that those of us deemed to have “no value” can rise above the labels placed upon us. Together, we expose institutional abuses and create pathways to education and transformation both inside and outside communities. 

To join us in this mission, text UBFSF to 44-321 and become a sustaining donor today.

In Solidarity,

Ivan Kilgore