How a Single Letter & Stamp Allowed 2 Friends to Learn from Each Other Across Prison Walls
Over the years, the Ella Baker Center (EBC) has received unsolicited stamps from our comrades inside — where a stamp might cost a full day’s worth of labor — to “pay it forward” so that others might receive resources and letters from EBC. During the Stamps Campaign each spring, these stamps become a symbol of the generosity of our incarcerated community and the deep connections EBC has built across walls. They are an endorsement of the work and affirmation of the organizing strategies at EBC, letting us know that the world we all believe in is worth fighting for and investing in.
In practice, stamps are a multi-use tool at EBC. They help carry resources like our Resentencing Toolkit and Racial Justice Act Implementation Guide into every prison across the state — resources that support folks advancing their own causes. Stamps help folks inside maintain relationships with their loved ones back home. They are a way to send care to a loved one or share warmth with a grieving family member. Stamps can also spur new friendships and growth as folks mail letters back and forth.
Stamps fuel EBC’s mail program, which has grown from roughly 2,000 incarcerated individuals in 2020 to over 10,000 individuals today. Our quarterly Mail Nights become a fertile ground for people on both sides of the wall to learn from each other as EBC volunteers dedicate their time to support our incarcerated community.
The story of Laura and Charles is one such friendship born from Mail Night. In March 2020, Laura joined an EBC letter-writing campaign to send messages of support and COVID-19 information to people incarcerated throughout California. She never expected to get responses back, so she was struck by the thoughtfulness, self-awareness, and kindness of one response in particular, from Charles. Over the next few letters, Laura and Charles discovered they shared a love of family, a commitment to self-improvement and openness to different perspectives, and grandmothers who had a fondness for desserts!
After many phone calls and letters, they finally met in November 2022. Months later, Laura was able to write a letter of support for Charles’ resentencing in February 2023 — he was released shortly thereafter in March 2023. Since then, they have continued their friendship over several joyful calls as Charles builds a new life with his family.
During one of their recent calls, Laura and Charles — along with Charles’s beautiful new baby, Elijah — shared more about their friendship:
What did it feel like to receive each other’s letters?
Charles: The first letter that I received from Laura, I must’ve read it at least 10 times. I thought Laura’s words were warm and welcoming, especially in a time when people were too consumed with their own lives.
Laura: I don’t connect with many people via handwritten letters anymore. So, it was always special to get a letter from Charles. There is something personal about a handwritten letter, and it always felt like a mini window opening up to see his handwriting and read his words. We sent the most letters back and forth during the midst of the pandemic and while the world was slowly opening back up. It was during that dark and uncertain time for the collective that I experienced my own feelings of isolation and despair. Charles’ descriptions of his daily motivations and sources of strength were truly helpful for me. I learned a lot from his ongoing goals to do more, learn more, work more, write more, and love more — even when the world was on fire, in literal and figurative ways.
There is something personal about a handwritten letter, and it always felt like a mini window opening up to see his handwriting and read his words.
What has been the ripple effect of your friendship — how has it allowed you to share each other’s stories with your community?
Laura: I love this question. Sharing my friendship with Charles opened up a lot of really important conversations with my family about our conceptions and misconceptions of the carceral system and the people it impacts, especially with my brother, who is employed in law enforcement. I have gotten to explore with my loved ones the ways in which our fear and lack of knowledge and awareness build walls from communities that have been impacted by prison systems (the way they were designed to).
I have gotten to explore with my loved ones the ways in which our fear and lack of knowledge and awareness build walls from communities that have been impacted by prison systems.
Charles: It has created an everlasting connection. I consider Laura as my little sister. My son Elijah will refer to her as Auntie Laura. She has already crocheted him a blue blanket. My family adores and appreciates our relationship.
Laura, can you share about the first time you visited Charles?
Laura: I will never forget that day and my first impressions of the California state prison (system). I was struck by how truly close Charles was to me all this time — a 50-minute drive north when in my head, I realized how much I had distanced him in those cement walls of California State Prison Solano (CSP-Solano). I felt shame and guilt for allowing that physical boundary to deter me. But I also felt deep grief for the real ways in which the carceral system makes those boundaries so difficult for the women and families I waited with that day to also visit their loved ones.
I continue to share the voices of others like myself who have been unjustly imprisoned and taken away from their loved ones.
Charles, what are you doing now that you’re home?
Charles: I continue to share the voices of others like myself who have been unjustly imprisoned and taken away from their loved ones. I’ve been blessed with working with nonprofit organizations (Made New Foundation, Creative Acts, Arizona State University, Sweat Equity Check, Dream Live Hope, and Reentry Into America) that are moving us into the future of technology with virtual reality content. Creative Acts, in particular, is transforming social justice issues as the first organization to go into the prisons with a virtual reality reentry program.
Not every piece of mail ends up leading to a friendship like yours, so what would you say to someone you were encouraging to be a part of Mail Night?
Laura: Start where you are! If you are feeling nervous like you don’t know where to begin or how to answer a specific letter, lean in! The EBC staff are so helpful in answering questions, and there is so much collective knowledge and support among the Mail Night crew. Reading and responding to even one letter can make a bigger impact than you might know!
Charles: Your human kindness could impact someone else’s life in a positive manner. I am a true believer of Mail Night. While incarcerated at CSP-Solano, serving a 76-years-to-life sentence under the draconian California Three Strikes Law, I had been struggling to find hope when I received the COVID information from Laura. Getting mail like Laura’s offered connection during a “down” time in my over 20 years in prison.
Your human kindness could impact someone else’s life in a positive manner. I am a true believer of Mail Night.
So what’s next for you both?
Charles: Travel up north to visit Laura, the cat, and Alex with my family.
Laura: And hopefully, finally have a chance to walk around Lake Merritt together, where I took many of our phone calls.
