Poetry

It’s On Us

September 11, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

Robert "Fleetwood" Bowden Thangs sho change when they cooked dat Coke in the Glassand the way we killin each othertell me how we gon lastThis what the world madeThey want our babies state raisedUncle Sam don't give uh damn, he stay paidThe new Crack that's fentanyl bars and Xthey somewhere working on what's NextYou every really tripped on why they keep on fixing up the … [Read more...] about It’s On Us

Poem: All of Us 2

August 14, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

by Joel "Yoel" Davis, Director of Curriculum & Training at Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice (ILARJ) . Released from incarceration of February 1, 2024 after serving 34 years. Yoel read this original spoken word piece at AOUON's goodbye dinner on our last day of the convening. The heat is different in San Antonio.This city pulses like a lion's heart.Y'all got … [Read more...] about Poem: All of Us 2

We Know

March 28, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

by Mark G., AOUON Member The baby has stopped crying for milk We know this is not a good thing The baby does not cry for milk now We know this is not a good thing The baby has cried for milk for so long We know this is not a good thing The baby has cried for milk for so long Milk that is not there We know this is not a good thing The milk is … [Read more...] about We Know

Freedom is Black Joy: All of Us or None at the 8th Annual Black Joy Parade

March 4, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

by TaSin Sabir All of Us or None marched. More than 50 deep. Moving together. Chanting Freedom is Black Joy! Youth on bikes. Wheels spinning. Shirts bold with AOUON pride.The crowd felt us. Matched our energy. When we called, "All of us!"they answered, "or none!" In English. In Spanish. Fists in the air. Voices rising.Block after block, the love poured in. Cheers. Chants. A … [Read more...] about Freedom is Black Joy: All of Us or None at the 8th Annual Black Joy Parade

Poem to the 1st Black Marines

February 3, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

Laderic McDonald, Stafford Creek Corrections Center … [Read more...] about Poem to the 1st Black Marines

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Theses on Labor, Exploitation, & Incarceration

by Eric C. Sapp, LSPC Staff Attorney Prefatory Note: This an abridged version of a text written in spring of 2023, in the context of advocacy regarding carceral wages. §1 Workers’ rights are human rights; let it be stated unequivocally that incarcerated workers are workers. §2 The prison and industrial capitalism […]

In Texas, AOUON Members Build Collective Power

In July, AOUON’s San Antonio chapter hosted a national convening to bring us together as issues of crimmigration, the new presidential administration, and environmental injustice are deeply impacting us across states, borders, and walls. A multi-generational group of folks impacted by the criminal legal system ranging from toddlers to movement elders, we are leaving with […]

CA Senate Bill 423: Origins, Organizing, and the Fight for Firefighter Justice

by Lawrence Cox, LSPC Regional Advocacy and Organizing Manager I was born in Oakland, California, into a world where stability was elusive and the foster-care docket turned faster than any child could comprehend. I never learned permanence; I learned placement. By age seven, I was a ward of Alameda County, rotating through foster homes and […]

California Special Election: Prop 50

California has a special election coming up! On November 4th, many Californians will have the chance to vote on Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act. This constitutional amendment, proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom, would create a new congressional district map that favors Democrats for the next three election cycles (through 2030) in an attempt […]

Letter from David Johnson

From the Archives of Ms. Daphne Muse at the Oasis in the Diaspora. c. 1972. Greetings Comrade Sister, I received your most vibrant missive a few days ago, and I must say it was a pleasant surprise hearing from you. In these most critical of times it provided me with a uplift to my spirits, […]

Immigration, Citizenship, and the Constitution (Jurisprudence for Jailhouse Lawyers, Part VI)

by Eric C. Sapp, LSPC Staff Attorney Few provisions of the U.S. Constitution are clearer than the Fourteenth Amendment’s opening clause: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” U.S. Const. Amend. 14, Sec. 1 […]