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Identity

6 beautiful drawings by LGBTQ inmates that illustrate life in prison

Their artwork shows their strength, resilience, and talent.

"Acceptance" by Stevie S.

Tatiana von Furstenberg laid out more than 4,000 works of art on the floor of her apartment and was immediately struck by what she saw.

The pieces of artwork were submitted from various prisons across the country in hopes of being featured in "On the Inside," an exhibition of artwork by currently incarcerated LGBTQ inmates, curated by von Furstenberg and Black and Pink, a nonprofit organization that supports the LGBTQ community behind bars. The exhibit was held at the Abrons Arts Center in Manhattan toward the end of 2016.

"I put all the submissions on the floor and I saw that there were all these loving ones, these signs of affection, all of these two-spirit expressions of gender identity, and fairies and mermaids," von Furstenberg said.

She noticed the recurring topics throughout the works of different artists — eye contact, desire, fighting back, alienation, and longing — and these shared struggles became the themes of the art exhibition.

"These artists feel really forgotten. They really did not think that anybody cared for them. And so for them to have a show in New York and to hear what the responses have been is huge, it's very uplifting," she said.

Plenty of people turn to art as a means of escape. But for the artists involved in On the Inside, the act of making art also put them at risk.

Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people are incarcerated at twice the rate of heterosexuals, and trans people are three times as likely to end up behind bars than cisgender people. During incarceration, they're also much more vulnerable than non-LGBTQ inmates to violence, sexual assault, and unusual punishments such as solitary confinement.

Not every prison makes art supplies readily available, either, which means that some of the artists who submitted to "On the Inside" had to find ways to make their work from contraband materials, such as envelopes and ink tubes. And of course, by drawing provocative images about their identities, they also risked being outed and threatened by other inmates around them.

But sometimes, the act of self-expression is worth that risk. Here are some of the remarkable examples of that from the exhibition.

(Content warning: some of the images include nudity.)

1."A Self Portrait" by B. Tony.

“A Self Portrait” by B. Tony

2. "Rihanna" by Gabriel S.

“Rihanna” by Gabriel S.

"Rihanna is who I got the most pictures of," von Furstenburg said. "I think it's because she is relatable in both her strength and her vulnerability. She's real.”

3. "Acceptance" by Stevie S.

"Acceptance" by Stevie S.

"This series is sexy and loving and domestic," von Furstenberg said about these two portraits by Stevie S. "A different look at family values/family portrait.”

4. "Michael Jackson" by Jeremy M.

“Michael Jackson” by Jeremy M.

assets.rebelmouse.io

This was another one of von Furstenberg's favorites, because of the way it depicts a struggle with identity. "[MJ] was different, he was such a unique being that struggled so much with his identity and his body image the way a lot of our artists, especially our trans artists, are struggling behind bars," she said.

5. "Unknown" by Tiffany W.

“Unknown” by Tiffany W.

6. "Genotype" and "Life Study," by J.S.

“Genotype” and “Life Study” by J.S.

"This is the Michelangelo of the group," von Furstenberg said. "To be able to draw this with pencil and basic prison lighting is astounding. One of the best drawings I've ever seen in my life.”

When the exhibition opened to the public on Nov. 4, 2016, visitors even had the chance to share their thoughts with the artists.

The exhibit included an interactive feature that allowed people to text their comments and responses to the artist, which von Furstenberg then converted to physical paper and mailed to inmates.

Some of the messages included:

Many people were also surprised at how good the artwork was — but they shouldn't have been.

Just because someone's spent time in prison doesn't mean they can't be a good person — or a talented artist. They're also being compensated for their artwork. While business transactions with incarcerated people are technically illegal, $50 donations have been made to each artist's commissary accounts to help them purchase food and other supplies.

"We're led to believe that people behind bars are dangerous, that we're safer without them, but it's not true," von Furstenberg said. "The fact that anybody would assume that [the art] would be anything less than phenomenal shows that there's this hierarchy: The artist is up on this pedestal, and other people marginalized people are looked down upon.”

Art has always been about connecting people. And for these incarcerated LGBTQ artists, that human connection is more important than ever.

Perhaps the only thing harder than being in prison is trying to integrate back into society — something that most LGBTQ people struggle with anyway. These are people who have already had difficulty expressing who they are on the inside and who are now hidden away from the world behind walls.

On the Inside's art show provided them a unique opportunity to have their voices heard — and hopefully, their individual messages are loud enough to resonate when they're on the outside too.

This article originally appeared on 11.14.16

From Your Site Articles

Democracy

Judge offers alternative sentences to young offenders like 'get your grades up' and 'vote'

Judge Carlos Moore/Instagram

Judge Carlos Moore has a unique approach to the justice system in which he serves—one that many people find refreshing.

Moore is a municipal judge and attorney in Mississippi. He's also the President-elect of the National Bar Association and is listed as a "Rising Star" in African-American Leadership Magazine's 2020 Top 100 Influential African-American Leaders list. In 2017, he made national news when the first thing he did after being sworn in was remove the Mississippi state flag from his courtroom. (Up until this year, the Mississippi state flag had the confederate flag, widely seen as a symbol of white supremacy, as part of its design.)

Unafraid to take bold steps to ensure justice is served in a way that actually improves people's lives. One way he does that is using alternative sentencing—giving unique, creative, individualized consequences instead of standard fines or jail time.

Moore wrote in an Instagram post:

"As a judge I love alternative sentencing especially for young people. Today I announced that I would give an 18 year old young lady a break on a speeding ticket if she brings me back proof that she voted in next Tuesday's general election or writes 500 word essay on the importance of voting. Then I told a young 17 year old man that if he pulled up one of his Cs to a B by his next report card I would withhold adjudication on a misdemeanor ticket. Our young people are our greatest treasure and if I can encourage them to be their best and do their best I'm happy."

"I believe in alternative sentencing especially when dealing with young people who have accepted responsibility for their wrongs," Moore told Upworthy. "I believe that by giving the young people unexpected choices or alternatives to jail or a fine I can have a bigger impact on their lives and futures. I really favor rehabilitation over pure punishment."

Moore's approach has fans. As psychiatrist and author James Gilligan wrote in the New York Times in 2012, "If any other institutions in America were as unsuccessful in achieving their ostensible purpose as our prisons are, we would shut them down tomorrow." Alternative sentencing such as community service or restitution—or more creative options such as Moore's "get your grades up" or "show me you understand civic duty"—appeals to those of us who understand that punitive measures are not always the most effective. A study from the Macarthur Foundation found that when people are informed that rehabilitation is more effective than incarceration, people were willing to pay more in taxes to support it.

Rehabilitation also saves money overall. In an article in The Conversation, Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, a professor of economics at the University of Birmingham, wrote that community sentences cost on average a quarter of the amount as prison sentences and reduce crime more than prison sentences do.

But for Moore, alternative sentencing is primarily about what's going to be best for the young person in front of his bench.

"I want all that appear before me to be better upon and after meeting me than before doing the same," he says, adding, "I think anyone who administers justice must also know how to show mercy."

Justice must be served, but justice doesn't automatically mean handing down harsh punishments. Providing young people an incentive to improve is perhaps the best way to prevent crime—it requires them to take responsibility while simultaneously instilling hope and faith in their own futures.

More of this wholesome, reasonable approach to criminal justice, please, and thank you for providing the example, Judge Moore. We love to see it.

From Your Site Articles

As Americans, we have inherited some pretty huge problems with our criminal justice system.

People of color face incarceration at disproportionate rates compared to white people, and many people go to jail or prison when they should be getting mental health treatment instead.

A lot of these problems remain under the radar because for many Americans, prisons are out of sight and out of mind. Lately, thanks to the hard work of activists, filmmakers like Ava Duvernay, and other advocates, criminal justice reform has been in the spotlight.

But there are still plenty of injustices that take place behind the walls of prisons and jails that we don’t talk about enough.

A prime example? The way most pregnant people are treated when they are incarcerated.

Here are five things you may not know about being pregnant and incarcerated.

1. Thousands of incarcerated women are pregnant, and access to prenatal healthcare in prison is abysmal.

There’s no official, comprehensive data on how many people in prison are going through pregnancy. But what we do know is that there are 210,000 women who are currently incarcerated, and the vast majority of them are of reproductive age. The ACLU estimates that around 12,000 of these women are pregnant.

People in prison, pregnant or not, receive inadequate healthcare, but pregnancy exacerbates the need for quality, holistic healthcare and support — especially for people who are facing high-risk pregnancies. Unfortunately, many incarcerated women lack access to healthcare providers who are trained in obstetrics and gynecology, and one report found that almost half of pregnant inmates don’t get any prenatal care at all.

2. There are huge barriers to getting an abortion while incarcerated.

Your right to have an abortion doesn’t disappear when you go to jail, but for many women in prison, there are huge barriers to ending a pregnancy. Often, healthcare providers in jail and prison don’t inform their patients about their termination options. Many incarcerated women have had to go to court to secure access to abortion, but even more have been forced to continue their pregnancies.

3. Pregnant women who are incarcerated often have to deal with dehumanizing, dangerous practices like shackling.

Historically, pregnant inmates have been subjected to degrading practices like being shackled — even during labor. Although many states have now outlawed this practice, six states have no regulations that protect pregnant and birthing women — and their babies — from harmful physical restraints.

If you’ve ever seen anyone in labor, you know how huge of a problem this is. Laboring women need freedom of movement to work through their contractions, and their healthcare professionals need to be able to step in quickly in emergency situations. It’s a matter of safety, and it’s a matter of dignity.

4. Giving birth while incarcerated can be a nightmare.

Feeling supported, safe, and respected during birth can turn a challenging, scary experience into a positive one. Unfortunately, many women who give birth while incarcerated are denied even the most basic accommodations and support. Incarcerated women often aren’t given the opportunity to make decisions about their birth plans. Recently, one Texas woman went into labor prematurely while she was in a jail cell — and guards refused to assist her until her baby was born. These scenarios are unacceptable.

5. Mothers are separated from their newborns almost immediately.

Most prisons only allow mothers to stay with their newborns for 24 hours before the child is removed to be placed with relatives or in foster care. These abrupt separations can cause serious health issues for the baby, and unsurprisingly, can be emotionally devastating for the mom.

The bottom line is that the way we deal with pregnant and laboring mothers in prison is simply not working.

It’s inhumane, unhealthy, and traumatic.

The good news is that there are people who are fighting hard to make real, tangible improvements for incarcerated moms.

One program in Indiana has established a nursery so incarcerated moms can take care of their newborns, bond with them, and avoid the trauma of separation. Studies have found that the kids in these types of programs face fewer mental health problems, and the moms are less likely to return to prison.

Reproductive justice organizations like SisterSong are fighting hard to make sure that shackling pregnant inmates is a horrifying practice that we leave in the past.

The only women’s prison in Minnesota has partnered with a nonprofit that provides incarcerated pregnant people with doulas for their pregnancy and birth. The program has significantly reduced C-section rates among women who participate in the program.

And Black Lives Matter has partnered with organizations across the country for National Black Mamas Bailout Day, which raises money to bail black women out of jail for Mother’s Day. About 200 moms have been bailed out thanks to their efforts.

The root of the problem — the discriminatory, dehumanizing practices that make up our prison system — still exists. But these efforts show that we can make real change if we refuse to accept injustice.

From Your Site Articles

'You aren't listening': Philadelphia Eagles player greeted press with signs and silence.

After the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles were uninvited from their scheduled visit to the White House in early June 2018, star safety Malcolm Jenkins decided to try something different when asked by the media about player protests.

He greeted them with silence — instead answering questions with a series of signs.

"YOU AREN'T LISTENING," he wrote in all caps. And to be fair, there's good reason to believe they aren't.

Nearly two years after Colin Kaepernick took a knee to protest police brutality, some people still don't get the message, wrongly believing that the gesture was intended as a show of disrespect toward the national anthem, the flag, the military, the police, or some combination thereof.

For almost a year now, President Donald Trump has been railing against the league and players who have dared to participate in protests under this false pretense.

It's no wonder that Jenkins — who devotes his free time to visiting prisons, working to improve police-community engagement, and speaking with lawmakers about racial injustice — is sick of having to answer basic questions of what these protests are all about.

Rodney McLeod, Malcolm Jenkins, and Chris Long stand during the national anthem at an October 2017 game. No member of the team kneeled in protest during the 2017 season. Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images.

With poster board and a marker, Jenkins got his message out, focusing on the issues.

"More than 60% of people in prison are people of color," read one of his signs. "Nearly 200,000 juveniles enter the adult criminal system each year, most for non-violent crimes. #StopSchoolPipelineToPrison," read another.

Image from Malcolm Jenkins/Twitter.

On other cards, he played up the off-field work he, his teammates, and friends do to support their causes: the million dollars Kaepernick has given to charity, Chris Long's massive donation to education, and Ben Watson's and Demario Davis' work for voting rights with Louisiana House Bill 265.

Image from Malcolm Jenkins/Twitter.

There's a lot of injustice in the world, and Jenkins is using his platform to try to help. His attitude should be one to emulate, not scorn.

The day of the scheduled White House visit, Jenkins outlined some of his frustrations with the media's tendency to frame NFL players as "anti-America, anti-flag and anti-military."

"It takes empathy and time to listen to others' experiences that may be different than your own,"he wrote. "It takes courage to stand up for the TRUTH even if it's not a popular one."

He's putting in the work to try to help people who don't have it so easy. He's using his voice (or, in this case, his marker) to lift up the concerns of people society often ignores. He's doing the work we'd all be proud to see our family, neighbors, and elected officials doing.

So why is Jenkins being slammed as ungrateful and spoiled?

Maybe he's right: People aren't listening. It's time they started. We could all learn a lot from his example.

Out of all the people Trump could pardon, Dinesh D'Souza is a terrible choice.

The conservative writer has become a pariah across the political spectrum. To many he is best known for a series of incredibly offensive tweets in the aftermath of the Parkland school shootings.

In the wake of those comments, even the highly partisan Conservative Political Action Committee dropped him from their roster of speakers, calling his actions "indefensible."

Once seen as a promising young intellectual, D'Souza has become a lightning rod for controversy over the years. For instance, he wrote and narrated documentaries on President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that critics said were loaded with conspiracy theories and light on facts.

He also pleaded guilty to making illegal financial contributions to a U.S. Senate campaign in 2012, the crime for which Trump has now officially pardoned him.

The announcement was met with near-universal scorn from both sides of the political aisle and members of the media.

The announcement comes one day after a White House visit on prison reform.

There was no shortage of jokes about Kim Kardashian West's visit to the White House on May 30. But she was there to discuss the very legitimate issue of prison reform, a subject that has surprisingly gained bipartisan support in recent years. Just this May, the Republican-led Congress passed a prison reform bill that is now in front of the U.S. Senate.

If Trump had wanted to make a big splash, he could have announced a pardon for Alice Marie Johnson, who was reportedly a central focus on Kardashian West's pitch to the president. Johnson is a 63-year-old grandmother currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a non-violent drug offense.

As one of Johnson's lawyers, Brittany Barnett, said, "The message to the president is that Alice Johnson, the 21 years she has been in prison, represents a punishment that more than pays her debt to society and that to keep her prison the rest of her life is morally and economically unjustifiable."

Trump himself has signaled support for prison reform, saying that the newest bill should "restore the rule of law, keep dangerous criminals off our street, and help inmates get a second chance on life."

And a great way for him to put meaning behind such statements would be to pardon people like Johnson.

The presidential pardon is a powerful tool. Now is a great time to use it for real justice.

It's not unusual for presidents to be criticized for their presidential pardons: Nearly every president in modern history has been dinged for their sometimes questionable choices in the administration of selective mercy.

With the growing pressure to do something about prison reform, Trump could make a bold, bipartisan statement by pardoning incarcerated individuals like Johnson, who have faced punishments that greatly exceed their crimes.

It's hard to not be outraged by D'Souza's pardon.

But as long as Trump's feeling generous, perhaps enough political pressure could result in acts of mercy we can all feel good about.

Imagine doing something dumb but relatively harmless in your youth.

Maybe stealing a T-shirt or smoking marijuana with a friend.

Instead of a reprimand and a way to make things right, you're thrown into jail at 15 years old to await your trial. Maybe if you're from a lower socioeconomic family in a larger city like New York or Los Angeles — where bail can run $2,000-$5,000 or more — neither you nor any close family members can afford to make bail.

So you're stuck, sitting, waiting, and spending some of the most important years of your life in a space that's historically inhumane and unsafe and a foundation for anger, loneliness, and depression.

This is the reality for thousands of teenagers and and adults across the country, and Grammy-winning musician John Legend wants to stop it.

Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images.

In a compelling video, Legend partnered with Color for Change to demand that the U.S. end the money bail system now.

He discusses how the system is similar to predatory loan systems and disproportionately affects people of color.

"While many white people charged with crimes largely spend their time before their trial free, district attorneys and judges have different rules for black people, for poor people, demanding bail in the first place and setting it far out of reach financially and threatening them with long sentences if they don't take a plea," Legend explains in the video.

A former English major and lifelong proponent of social justice for all, Legend made a compelling case to end the system that corners people of color more than others and often throws off young, promising, and redeemable lives.

He demanded that we hold our governments accountable on changing the decadeslong system.

Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for WGN.

So what exactly is the money bail system?

It's the monetary system that technically prevents suspects from committing any other criminal acts while they await trial and aims to ensure they abide by the judicial process. But the system is largely corrupt — according to a study by the Pretrial Justice Institute, the first commercial bail bond business started in San Francisco in 1898, functioning as a payoff scheme among crime bosses, judges, lawyers and police.

This tradition of the rich and empowered benefitting from the bail system has persisted well into the current day. If you are wealthy or have someone in your life who is, you can post the proposed bail amount and re-enter society regardless of whether you committed the crime or not. However, if you don't have the money, a petty crime can force you to remain in jail for months or even years.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

"In America, you're better off being guilty and rich than innocent and poor," Legend says.

Such was the case for Kalief Browder, a teenager who Legend references in his video. Browder was a mere 16 years old when he was put in jail for three years after being accused of stealing a backpack. Unable to make the $3,000 bail, Browder was forced to reside in Rikers Island, one of the most notorious prisons in America. Browder went through traumatic experiences while incarcerated and ultimately committed suicide after he was finally released.

It's a traumatic story that broke the hearts of thousands around the nation, but it's a story that's all too common for our nation's poorest individuals, particularly those of color.

In the video, Legend explores how the for-profit bail bond industry makes money off freedom and why it's imperative to our morality as a nation that we end it.

"Hundreds of thousands are pulled out of school, pulled out of their jobs, pulled out of church, pulled out of their families and communities, trapped in an oppressive and racist criminal justice by prosecutors, judges, bail bondsmen, and everyone else who profits from it," he notes.

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.

Color of Change partnered with Legend's Free America campaign — a campaign that aims to end the prison industrial complex — to surface the commercial bail bond's inhumane industry practice of cash bail. And other celebrities are supporting his mission.

New York state gubernatorial candidate and former "Sex in the City" actress Cynthia Nixon made a public declaration of her support to end the problematic system.

Nixon, along with Legend, noted the connections between the money bail system and mass incarceration and how we can dismantle one by dismantling the other.

So, how can the system change?

According to Legend, it starts with everyday citizens like you and me.

"We're going to win," he says. "Our communities are going to win. Our families are going to win. Justice is going to win."

Theresa was arrested in April, and without the $5,000 she needed to post bail, she couldn't leave the holding facility in Estrella, Arizona, until after her trial.

Theresa (whose last name is not being published to protect her privacy ahead of her trial) was nine months' pregnant with her third child when she was arrested. Instead of being surrounded by family and friends, she gave birth in jail, and her child was immediately taken by the department of child safety.

Even though Theresa hadn't been convicted of a crime, she was held in jail until May, when her friend came to take her home before Mother's Day. She was speechless.

Photo courtesy Analise Ortiz, ACLU of Arizona, used with permission.

Theresa's friend came up with her bail money with the help of dozens of community groups nationwide that are working to bail women out of jail in time for Mother's Day.

The initiative, in collaboration with Black Mama's Bail Out and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), also aims to raise awareness about America's growing mass incarceration problem — and how to fix it.

Theresa is one of the 1,400 women who give birth while incarcerated annually in the United States. These women have to work through bureaucratic processes to get their babies back.

"She's currently taking the steps she needs to take to get her baby back, but it's definitely going to be a fight," says Nicole Hale, community organizer for Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), one of the grassroots nonprofits working with the cross-country initiative. LUCHA has raised nearly $10,000 to pay the bail of mothers who are in jail.

More than 200,000 women in the U.S. are currently in jail or prison — one of the highest rates in the world — and 80% of those women are mothers.

And while black and Hispanic people make up 32% of the U.S. population, they represent 56% of those who are incarcerated.

Those numbers don't lie: The system disproportionally affects people of color and America's poor.

The Estrella Jail in Maricopa County, Arizona. Photo by Camaron Stevenson.

"Even spending a few days in jail has a profound impact on people's lives," says Will Gaona, policy director for the ACLU of Arizona. "Especially for those with low incomes, they're likely to lose their jobs, they may lose their housing, they're in danger of losing custody of their children."

The current cash bail system is part of the problem, Gaona says. It's inefficient and expensive and has a huge, negative effect on low-income individuals.

"We've accepted the idea that the government can hold people in jail — who are legally presumed to be innocent — only because they're poor," he says.

What's more, a study by the New York City Criminal Justice Agency found that conviction rates skyrocketed from 50% to 92% for individuals who are jailed pretrial.

"When you're in jail, you're stuck," Hale says, "for a lot of people who can't afford to pay bail, they don't really have another option other than to take a plea agreement."

Hale says the Mother's Day bailout is an opportunity to shed light on the problems with the cash bail system and inspire people to do what they can to fight it.

She says if you want to get involved, you can donate to the bail fund, refer mothers in need of bail by texting "CHANGE" to 94502, and share information about the event with friends and family.

"Every donation goes a long way," Hale says. "Once [Theresa's] case is finished, we'll get that $5,000 back, which turns into a larger, permanent bail fund that can benefit the whole community."