THIS IS OUR MOMENT: Empowering Incarcerated Voices to Make Change from Inside
By Steve Brooks, Inside Fellow with the Ella Baker Center and San Quentin News Staff Writer
One of the things I always say when speaking to fellow incarcerated people is, this is our moment. This is our moment to use our voice, our ideas, and our actions to make change. The system of mass incarceration (1.9 million people are currently locked up in U.S. prisons) has brought incarcerated folks into the forefront of the fight for better policies and conditions in our society and prisons. “Tough on crime” policies have proven to be a failure, so now the world is turning to us for answers.
As one of the Inside Fellows at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC), my role has been to share what I know about the realities of prison and to contribute to EBC’s work to benefit people who are directly impacted. I use my voice, eyes, ears, and experiences to guide the process of creating viable policies from the inside to help improve public safety. As an Inside Fellow, I have learned more about the criminal justice movement and how to change state policies. It’s my job, working hand in hand with the policy team and the broader organization, to determine statewide policy priorities, shape narratives, and coordinate grassroots organizing and awareness-building within prison and the broader criminal justice movement.
I have been incarcerated for more than 28 years. I have been housed at 10 different prisons across the state of California, including San Quentin State Prison, where I’m currently incarcerated. One of the constants is that I am always caught up in the struggle for human rights. I don’t think of myself as a “prisoner.” I think of myself as a citizen expected to return back to society and help rebuild broken communities. I am a freedom fighter by nature. Although I didn’t realize it until later in my life, I have always fought for better conditions and policies that help shape people’s lives for the better. I care about the advancement of racial justice and human rights for all people. I believe in decarceration and abolishing prisons that work to exacerbate societal ills.
Prisons are by nature instruments of oppression that use physical and psychological torture tactics designed to doubly traumatize people. They work to break what’s already broken. I have never really shied away from standing up for my rights and the rights of others. I have been the plaintiff in many court actions challenging the conditions of our confinement. I have worked hand in hand with other incarcerated people to put an end to the racism and violence perpetrated against incarcerated individuals. I have written to department officials and met with wardens to discuss the mistreatment that is perpetrated inside prisons every day. After our cries to protect our most basic human rights went unanswered, we reached the point where we were coordinating mass demonstrations against all the violence we experienced. But the mistreatment eventually quelled.
Now, as an Inside Fellow I want to become fully engrained in this moment of change by using my voice and creativity to take this fellowship to even greater heights. All incarcerated people should know what democracy looks like in action. Prisons can bring out the activist in almost anyone. I want to get more and more incarcerated people involved in this work and together, we all can create a blueprint for justice.
Those closest in proximity to the issues are in the best position to voice change. It’s smart to give voice to disenfranchised and underrepresented people who have traditionally felt powerless. Here at San Quentin, we have a policy group that meets every week where we discuss strategies to support coalitions fighting for us on the outside. In my day to day interactions as a journalist for San Quentin News, I write editorials and other articles that speak to the issues that affect us and help humanize the incarcerated. This is our moment to use our voices and our ideas to help bring about change.
As I am creating new working relationships and growing skills in community building, public speaking, and writing, I am also engaging with stakeholders in a way that will help me reintegrate into society and further my pursuit of a degree in public administration. One of my hopes is to inspire lawmakers to become comfortable engaging with incarcerated people. I want them to see this Inside Outside Fellowship as a conduit to strengthen our resolve to better society and better ourselves as human beings — opportunities like the campaign for AB 256, the Racial Justice Act for All (Kalra), which was recently signed by Governor Newsom.
It is an honor to be a member of the EBC team. The Inside Outside Fellowship has enhanced my education and allowed me to take my social and behavioral science degree to the next level. This fellowship has guided me as a leader in the movement for justice. I feel empowered to be part of a community working together to create a just world.
Steve Brooks is a writer, activist, and an award-winning journalist. He is an Inside Fellow with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and currently the Journalism Guild chairman for San Quentin News.
