Discussion Guide
Grades 6-8
Grades 9-10
Grades 11-12

I'm Free, Now You Are Free Discussion Guide Resources

Resources

On A MOVE Podcast w/ Mike Africa Jr.: Former political prisoner Debbie Davis joins Mike Africa Jr to discuss the events that led to her arrest, life in and out of prison, and the new film 40 Years A Prisoner.

Philadelphia Community Bail Fund: The mission of the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund is to end cash bail and pretrial detention in our city. Until that day, we post bail for our neighbors who cannot afford to pay. PCBF has an annual Mama’s Day Bail out that posts bail for Black mothers around mother’s day.

Dignity Act Now Collective: We are dedicated to using our collective voice to leverage our power and apply pressure to affect change in order to reach our highest potential by utilizing culture as a healing mechanism for communal power and healing. We envision for the future: Ending the school-to-prison pipeline; Re-entry services that reduce recidivism and ease the transition back into communities; Better diversionary programs that reduce the prison population; Basic rights to those currently incarcerated; Restorative justice practices; Abolishing cash bail, mandatory minimums, excessive sentencing, an end to solitary confinement; Decriminalizing addiction and sex work; Holding Correctional Officials accountable for their crimes against incarcerated womxn.

Womanist Working Cooperative: The Womanist Working Collective is a radical grassroots social action and support collective for Black folks of marginalized gender experience, specifically women (trans* and cis), femmes, and other gender expansive folx. While this language will never be enough to encapsulate all of the Black folx we center, we want to be clear that we affirm the full breadth of Black gender expansiveness and explicitly reject cissexism. Our Community of Practice unapologetically centers our Quality of Life and livelihoods through Community Organizing, Mutual Aid and Holistic Wellness.

People’s Paper Co-Op: is a women led, women focused, women powered art and advocacy project at the Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia. The PPC looks to women in reentry as the leading criminal justice experts our society needs to hear from and uses art to amplify their stories, dreams, and visions for a more just and free world.

Curb Fest for Political Prisoners: The CurbFest for Political Prisoners connects organizers with community members to raise awareness of political prisoners and share ways to get involved in the movement. It features local DJs, Performers and Artists. Curb fest was established in Philadelphia and took place in Germantown on September 18, 2021 with9 curb locations near Germantown and Chelten Avenues. Organizers are invited to host a curb fest in their respective cities. Where will you host your Curbfest?

Prison Society:The mission of the Pennsylvania Prison Society is to advocate for humane prisons and a rational approach to criminal justice. They provide prison transports and other family services.

Bridging the Gap: a door to door family run van service that transports people in Pennsylvania to visit loved ones in prison.

Black Lives Matter Philly: BLM Philly, a local chapter of the BLM Global Network, is a Black organization that seeks to disrupt the [multiple/overlapping/layered, countless] violences against Black people and elevates the experiences and leadership of our most marginalized. We work to build local Black power and a healing, joyful, liberatory movement through grassroots organizing, political education, youth development, and coalition building. At BLM Philly, our vision is an inclusive, politically and economically self-sustaining and self-determining, healthy, and free Black community.

Human Rights Coalition: The Human Rights Coalition is a group of incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and their family members and supporters who fight for prisoners' rights and lives. It was formed to support families in coping with the stress and hardships created by having a loved one incarcerated, as well as to challenge the punitive, retributive nature of the penal system and to work to transform that to a model of rehabilitation and successful reintegration to society.

Decarcerate PA: Decarcerate PA is a coalition of organizations and individuals seeking an end to mass incarceration and the harms it brings our communities. Decarcerate PA seeks mechanisms to build whole, healthy communities and believes that imprisonment exacerbates the problems we face.

Lets Get Free: The Women and Trans Prisoner Defense Committee is a group working to end Death by Incarceration (also known as life without parole sentencing), build a pathway out of the prisons back to our communities through commutation reform, support successful possibilities for people formerly and currently incarcerated, and shift to a culture of transformative justice. We prioritize working with women and trans prisoners, whose experiences are often left out in conversations about mass incarceration; we work to build relationships and community across prison walls; we are guided by people in prison; we use art as an organizing tool; we educate to shift cultural understandings around harm, healing, and justice. We are motivated by an ethos of reducing harm and violence, and we are committed to bringing people home. Let’s Get Free!

National Bailout: The National Bail Out Collective coordinates the Mama’s Day Bail Outs, where they bail out as many Black Mamas and caregivers possible so they can spend Mother’s Day with their families where they belong! The National Bail Out Collective also provides fellowship and employment opportunities for those we bail out in order to support their growth and create a national community of leaders who have experienced incarceration.They also work with groups across the country to support ongoing bail reform efforts and create resources for organizers and advocates interested in ending pretrial detention.

Critical Resistance: Critical Resistance seeks to build an international movement to end the Prison Industrial Complex by challenging the belief that caging and controlling people makes us safe. We believe that basic necessities such as food, shelter, and freedom are what really make our communities secure. As such, our work is part of global struggles against inequality and powerlessness. The success of the movement requires that it reflect communities most affected by the PIC. Because we seek to abolish the PIC, we cannot support any work that extends its life or scope. Critical Resistance’s site hosts a number of abolitionist teaching tools, resources and archives. There are chapters in New York, Oakland, Portland and Los Angeles.

Sources

About the author:

Tajah Ebram

Tajah Ebram is a scholar of Black literature history and culture. Her work and teaching centers Black feminisms, carceral studies and environmental studies. Her article, “ 'Can’t Jail the Revolution”: Policing, Protest, and the MOVE Organization in Philadelphia’s Carceral Landscape," appeared in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biographyin 2019. Tajah lives, works and builds community in West Philadelphia where she is an organizer and grower with the Philly Peace Parks-- working toward food & plant access and land sovereignty in Black communities. She is also working with scholars and activists in the city to co-create an archive of MOVE history and community memory.

Tajah Ebram
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