Prison Activism Now: Justice Works!
December 28, 2005 - 2:55pm
Background: Justice Works! was founded in 2003 in the King County area, but now has 1,600 members and contacts across Washington state. Justice Works! (JW!) works to create a safe, affirming and unique community whereby African-Americans, with the support of their allies, use self-determination to solve problems encountered with or created by the criminal justice system.
JW! is made up of teams led and staffed by volunteers working to create change through transition support and advocacy. Support begins with a Court Watch team for people facing criminal charges. It continues with incarcerated people working in partnership with outside people to create needed programs and projects. A “Welcome Back” party is one part of the support provided for people re-entering the community. The JW! Education and Media teams lead the advocacy work. Justice Works! is one of the principal groups in the creation of the Washington State Safe Communities Collaborative. Justice Works! produces a weekly television show and two newsletters: the Inside -> Out Newsletter written by incarcerated people for those on the outside and the Outside -> In Newsletter written by the outside community for people in prison. The combined circulation of these newsletters is currently just under 1,200.
In 2005: Justice Works! served nineteen people with Court Watch, and worked with incarcerated people to create eight ROOTS correspondence courses for prisoners. Their transition support work has supported eighty-five people re-entering the community. JW! members have developed four educational plays, including one called “Set Up to Fail” about the barriers people face when returning to the community from prison and how to reduce those barriers. These plays have been performed twenty times in four different counties for audiences at churches, mosques, festivals, community halls, universities, cable television shows, and living rooms.
To learn more, visit www.justiceworks.info
