Above all else, prison education should center the holistic well-being of incarcerated people—helping them to break free of the many ways carceral institutions aren't equipped to prepare them for a life of freedom.

Mneesha Gellman explains. inquest.org/unlocking-lear…

The Banality of Mandatory Surcharges

In New York and elsewhere, exploitative court-ordered fees shouldn't saddle a person who is already poor and criminalized.
inquest.org/the-banality-o…

Powerful. Powerful. Powerful.

When I wrote this essay about Elijah McClain and the policing of Black nonconformity, I thought about how much my nephew and I love to sing to ourselves and dance down the street, lost in our inner worlds.

I love being a weirdo. I want the world to let my nephew stay weird too.…

‘I’m Just Different, That’s All’

We embrace nonconformity in principle—but not for Black men, whose quirks can provoke fear, policing, and punishment.
inquest.org/im-just-differ…

'Disabled people aren’t some separate species. We need housing and food and health care just like everyone else. If we are lacking necessary care, then the solution should be to get us care, not involve people who greatly increase the risk of violence.'

inquest.org/disability-jus…

In this selection from 'Excessive Punishment,' edited by Lauren-Brooke (L.B.) Eisen and published by Columbia Univ Press and Brennan Center, Monica Bell interrogates why Black nonconformity isn't afforded the benefit of the doubt—provoking fear, policing, punishment, and worse. inquest.org/im-just-differ…

“We embrace nonconformity in principle—but not for Black men, whose quirks can provoke fear, policing, and punishment.” inquest.org/im-just-differ…

In the United States, there's a tendency to embrace nonconformity in principle—but not so for Black men, whose personal quirks can spark fear, policing, punishment, or worse, writes Monica Bell.

inquest.org/im-just-differ…

'When members of the public see every deviation from the norm as a threat, and policing as the only reasonable response to threat, policing flourishes even outside the direct confines of the state.'

Monica Bell on policing Black men's nonconformity.

inquest.org/im-just-differ…

Abolitionist public health sees carceral institutions+practices as antithetical to public health. inquest.org/for-the-people…

'At its core, abolitionist public health sees carceral institutions and practices as antithetical to public health.'

For the People’s Health via Inquest
inquest.org/for-the-people…

An incarcerated writer on predatory court surcharges:

“Those in power know full well that not many people are going to stick their necks out to right this horrific law, and incarcerated people and their families are left to deal with the consequences.”

inquest.org/the-banality-o…

In the public health field, many organizers are looking to the Black Panther Party for its model of of “care structures at the margins”—and they take inspiration from their broad conception of social, rather than individual, health and safety.

inquest.org/for-the-people…

Paris Whitfield published with Inquest today on their story about the banality and pervasiveness of mandatory surcharges among NY's prison population.

'One’s debt to society should not be a poor person’s tax cloaked as a mandatory court surcharge.'

inquest.org/the-banality-o…

In the criminal system, mandatory surcharges are the litany of court-imposed fees that attach to conviction and punishment.

But as E. Paris Whitfield of Empowerment Avenue writes, these predatory fees saddle people who are already poor and marginalized. inquest.org/the-banality-o…

For the People’s Health

'Abolition and public health go hand in hand. Organizers are embracing both as they pursue decarceral projects that center everyone’s well-being.'
inquest.org/for-the-people… via Inquest

Health is not simply the absence of disease or disorder. It is the presence of freedom. For the People’s Health... inquest.org/for-the-people…

As one considers how public health and abolition intersect, it is key to understand how public health has long served as the eyes and ears of the state in health care settings—and how ending these practices matters for deeper conceptions of well-being.

inquest.org/for-the-people…

“I think we see abolition as fitting very neatly into the mission of public health—that abolition is a public health strategy,” [Mitchell said].

Read more about the work of abolition & public health & our Health Instead of Punishment Program here:
inquest.org/for-the-people…