This has been a year of hard news. Early this spring, we shared that we would need to narrow the focus of our work due to the increasingly daunting funding landscape. To cut expenses, we ended two beloved, groundbreaking programs: our Death Penalty Program and Trauma to Trust. Weeks later, the Trump administration illegally revoked… Continue reading Hard News
Author: Jamila Hodge
Still Fighting Forward
A few days ago, millions of people across the country flooded the streets in protest on No Kings Day. They held signs, locked arms, and raised their voices to remind those in power that the people still hold power too. It was a moment of clarity and a reminder that we’re not alone in this… Continue reading Still Fighting Forward
Changes at EJUSA
What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this unprecedented time? Democracy is unraveling in front of our eyes. People are on the punishing ends of every executive order pouring out of the White House. Just weeks ago, EJUSA felt the devastating effects directly, learning that the Department of Justice had canceled our… Continue reading Changes at EJUSA
They Don’t Care About Safety
Two nights ago, the Department of Justice sent us a devastating letter: “This award is being terminated because … [the] Department has changed its priorities with respect to discretionary grant funding…” The award was $2.9 million. Our priorities for that money were to invest it in community-based public safety strategies–specifically, five innovative organizations throughout Louisiana… Continue reading They Don’t Care About Safety
Continuing the Fight
A few weeks ago, I found myself in a small but firm debate with my husband about our daughter’s antibiotics. Doctors prescribed a 10-day course, and as she started feeling better, the question arose: Do we really need to finish the full treatment? Absolutely. We had to. Because if you stop treatment too soon, the… Continue reading Continuing the Fight
The Hope We Need
I will remember this holiday break as a special one. My youngest daughter expressed a new interest in movies about Black history, and I was all in! We watched some inspirational movies focused on the roles of Black women, like the new film The Six Triple Eight, depicting the first and only Women’s Army Corps… Continue reading The Hope We Need
Care and Community
This morning we woke to heaviness and uncertainty. We cannot predict the future, but there is no denying: we elected a president who promised retribution, who dehumanized so many people, and who spewed blatant hate and harm. It remains to be seen how deep and how wide the impact will be of this election, but… Continue reading Care and Community
Changing Hearts
Freddie Owens. Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams. Travis Mullis. Emmanuel Littlejohn. Alan Miller. Five men, all of them executed over the previous seven days. The last time we had so much state-sponsored killing was in 2003. It has been a horrific week, and I suspect you feel the same heaviness that all of us at EJUSA carry. … Continue reading Changing Hearts
Resilience in Bogalusa
Just a few weeks ago, I flew to Bogalusa, Louisiana, to join several team members for a special day. They had spent the last year working with community members on a groundbreaking public safety plan. Read the Report On the plane, I continued reading “The Movement Made Us,” David J. Dennis Jr.’s account of his… Continue reading Resilience in Bogalusa
Celebrate and Interrogate
I recently read a briefing from our allies at the Prison Policy Initiative, and it contained a startling figure: 19 million people in America are living with a felony conviction. That’s nearly equal to the entire population of New York. This reminded me of a friend. Her brother was once incarcerated. Since serving his sentence… Continue reading Celebrate and Interrogate