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mission

Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL) is a movement to deepen the awareness of the legacy of racial inequity in America, particularly within carceral control, and inspire activism aimed at its dismantlement. BTWBTL uses spoken word and other artistic mediums as a platform to tell stories, reclaim narratives, and activate the power of those directly impacted to catalyze change.

 

What Freedom cost

What Freedom Cost is a multi-part visual and performance-based project in collaboration with Nandi Kaye, Nature is Balm (NIB). It is an exploration of the legacy of systemic violence against people of the African Diaspora, specifically those living in the United States. Enslavement tore Black people away from their ancestral homelands, cultures, traditions, and practices, and new iterations of oppression still impact their lives across the waters. Those with formal involvement in the criminal legal system feel that acutely, navigating constant surveillance and punishment. What Freedom Cost unearths the true impact of the cost of freedom from formal institutions of violence and criminalization – it asks whether freedom is actually free. Find out more information on the website here. 

 
 
 

The Disaster of Injustice Virtual Series

The Disaster of Injustice: COVID X Incarceration is for the broader public, intended to bring together diverse voices (e.g. directly impacted folks, scholars, disaster experts, advocates, etc.) to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the carceral system, and provide solutions, inclusive of reform, decarceration, abolition, and community based strategies (e.g. mutual aid and transformative justice) to mitigate and/or eliminate the harm to directly impacted individuals. Check out both of the discussions below!

Hosted on October 22nd 2020, with Adnan Khan, Ife Nira, Darren Mack, and Richard Thomas.
Hosted on October 29th 2020, with Cheryl Wilkins and Dr. dylan rodriguez.
 

black Joy As Resistance

In true creative fashion, in 2020, BTWBTL decided to team up w/ some of our fave artists to celebrate Black joy as a form of resistance to Black death in response to the calls for justice following the deaths of Black people killed by people and vigilantes. It’s our way of saying there’s more to us than our names after hashtags. What does Black joy mean to you? See videos here!

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Praise + Acknowledgements

Behind the Walls, Between the Lines would not have made it these seven years without our artists, supporters, family and friends! Check them out here!

 

Check out our Instagram page @btw_movement !

The United States surpassed their highest COVID-19 numbers again this past week, and now over 8 million people have been infected. This is no different than behind bars. COVID-19 rages on almost unimpeded. Join us to talk about this disaster, for the
Period. Let’s give space to this disaster. Join us TODAY, October 22nd at 6pm for the first roundtable discussion of the Disaster of Injustice Virtual Series. Link in bio. . . . #btwbtl #behindthewalls #betweenthelines #disasterofinjustice #vi
With over 2.1 million people incarcerated in the United States, incarceration hits closer to home than we think. Share this if you know someone incarcerated and/or detained in jail, prison, or a detention center. Let’s make them visible. Join u
There are over 147,000 incarcerated individuals in prison alone that have contracted COVID-19 (The Marshall Project, 2020). That is most certainly an undercount. That doesn’t include people in jails or detention facilities, which means there ar
Did you know that most incarcerated people in NYS have not gotten a mask in months? Yes. You read that right—MONTHS. That’s a disaster. A disaster of injustice. And we want to talk about it. Join us for Disaster of Injustice: COVID X Inca
Incarcerated lives matter too. In the time of a global pandemic, it is easy to forget the lives of those locked behind bars, at the greater risk of infection and death. BTWBTL wants to draw attention to COVID-19 behind bars— we’re launchi