prison

Policing Parents: Jessamine Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers” Imagines a Carceral State for “Bad” Moms

The book cover of "The School for Good Mothers" by Jessamine Chan is pictured on a beige and burgundy background.
by Nylah Burton
January 20, 2022 at 2:40pm
In Jessamine Chan’s debut novel, “The School for Good Mothers,” the question of how to punish bad mothers is answered by the state, in an America not much different from our own.
Headshot of Alice Sebold, an older white woman with reddish brown hair, who looks into the camera in front of a black background.

The Infuriating Failure of Alice Sebold's Apology

by Melanie Dione
December 9, 2021 at 1:00pm
Sebold’s statement after the exoneration of a man she accused of rape in 1981 suggests she bears no responsibility for his conviction or 16 year incarceration. Read more »
mixed-media linocut on wood of Dawud Lee, a Philadelphia-based Black writer and mentor currently incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, standing with his hands clasped in front of him wearing a white t-shirt with a drawing of a Black child posing in

Beyond Bars: Prison Abolition Should Be the American Dream

by Reina Sultan
June 4, 2020 at 3:16pm
The possibilities are endless, if we allow ourselves to dream bigger than criminalization and bondage. Read more »
Rihanna, a lightskinned Black woman singer with short, black hair, smokes weed on Instagram

Popaganda: Puff, Puff, Progress

by Carmen Rios
August 29, 2019 at 12:52pm
In this week’s episode, Carmen Rios talks to a slew of “puffragettes” fighting to end the drug war, foster a more equitable cannabis industry, and forge a feminist future in weed.   Read more »
Portrait of inmate firefighter Sandra Rojas of Malibu Camp standing in front of a fire site

Injustice Ignited: Incarcerated Firefighters on the Frontlines

by Emilly Prado
June 24, 2019 at 9:00am
At least six incarcerated firefighters have died while on duty since 1983. Read more »
a Black mother hugs her Black son

If Mama’s Free: Abolitionist Blues for Liberation

by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
May 6, 2019 at 10:00am
Black mamas are sitting in prison awaiting trial for being too free. Read more »
a black and white photo of prison walls

Prison Rape Is Not a Punch Line

by Mirah Curzer
April 30, 2019 at 11:00am
How often have you heard someone chuckle about “dropping the soap”?  Read more »
Barbed wire separates a prison wall from nature

No Safe Haven: When Natural Disasters Strike Behind Prison Walls

by Kim Kelly
April 15, 2019 at 9:57am
Freedom of movement should be a human right, and yet even in the face of terrifying hurricanes, tsunamis, or wildfires, evacuation of inmates is a decision left to the mercy of local and federal officials. Read more »
an old photo of a Black woman wearing a black tuxedo jacket with a white tie

Set Yourself Free: How Generations of Black Women Have Fought Incarceration

by Joshunda Sanders
February 11, 2019 at 10:12am
Black women have historically fought constraint and oppression. Read more »
thumbnail image of Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari, and James Franco on a blue background

What Happens When Men’s Careers Are “Ruined” by Sexual Misconduct Allegations

by Marina Watanabe
January 16, 2019 at 12:53pm
As we now know, Aziz Ansari, like so many other predatory men in Hollywood, is doing just fine. Read more »
#MeToo letter

On Our Radar—Feminist News Roundup: #MeToo Founder’s Letter to Dr. Ford

by Bitch HQ
October 11, 2018 at 3:00am
“We witnessed you show up for duty not as a superhero, but as a fully human woman.” Read more »

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