William Anderson, then 64, breathes a tiny sigh of relief when he sees his youngest son, Naeem, sitting across the table from him. His son looks back with the same wide brown eyes he’s alwaysContinue reading
Within an oppressive and unjust prison-industrial complex, fighting for a space where families can forge bonds. EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from “The Shadow System: Mass Incarceration and the American Family,” by Sylvia A. Harvey,Continue reading
Kenneth Clark sported a colorful striped shirt and black shorts the last time his two daughters, Kira and Kenae, saw him. The father of five slung his bag over his shoulder and set out forContinue reading
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit American incarcerated people hard. Besides being subject to higher rates of infection in often overcrowded and unsanitary facilities, they’ve found themselves cut off from in-person visits, one of their onlyContinue reading
In the late 1980s, it was a weekly ritual for my four brothers and I. Something I relished more than playing hide-and-seek, and I loved that game. I sat on my grandmother’s sofa waiting forContinue reading
My Dad Went to Prison When I Was 5. Now I Write About Families Like Mine. Growing up with a father who was incarcerated didn’t define me. But it certainly taught me to challenge stereotypesContinue reading
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” - Martin Luther King Jr. I was stunned into hand-over-mouth silence as I sat on my couch watching the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man,Continue reading
Few aspects of life are untouched by coronavirus and resulting global lockdowns. From an emerging “quarantine state of mind” to a new era of frugality to expanding how we vote, here’s what next. Part ofContinue reading
Life in the Time of Coronavirus is a GEN series where we are interviewing people across the country who have had their lives upended or are experiencing the stress of the unknown. Nathalie K. is a 32-year-old mother livingContinue reading
I walk down the narrow basement stairs with ease, but before I can cross the entryway into the warm candlelit temple, the oungan, a male priest in the Haitian Vodou tradition, hands me a ceramic jarContinue reading
A clean dusting of snow coats the hoods of cars parked along Philadelphia’s West Norris Street. The trees are mostly bare, withered leaves buried in the corners of benches. This winter morning, the massive rust-brickContinue reading
