MEETING THE MOMENT
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and global uprising in defense of Black lives, we have recommitted to our mission and focused our work to both respond and take action at this pivotal moment in history. And, we believe this is not just a moment. Since our founding, our mission has centered the movement for racial justice and abolition, and we are here to stay.
Since the start of the pandemic, we have partnered with several local and national advocacy organizations to gather stories about the impact of COVID-19 on incarcerated people, their families, and justice-impacted communities in Washington, DC, and in Maryland. We are growing this effort even as we have had to devise new methods of doing production work that keep our team and the communities we collaborate with safe from the virus.
Our work centers and advances the movement for racial justice, and we continue the work of shifting narratives about incarceration and amplifying voices of directly impacted people. In July 2020, we are launching a partnership with the Maryland Justice Project to train formerly incarcerated women around the state in film and video production and to support the women in producing a series of documentaries about justice issues in their communities. We are also partnering with The WIRE (Women Involved in Reentry Efforts) and their work with #DecarcerateDC to tell stories about community leaders who are using a healing framework to bring restorative justice tools into their neighborhoods and modeling community-based alternatives to policing.
As we relaunch, we are actively seeking partnerships with more non-profit organizations, foundations, businesses and institutions to create story-based content that advances racial equity and community-based justice. In light of the disproportionate impact of COVID and police and state-sponsored violence against Black people and communities of color, we renew our deep commitment to the work of storytelling that advances justice and abolition. Please get in touch with us to learn more.
We are committed to the deep and critical work of building an anti-racist organization, rooted in deep listening and ongoing learning, authentic collaboration, and actively challenging systemic racism and injustice. We are committed to diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our work. We will listen to and collaborate with communities of color and those directly impacted by the criminal legal system and state-sponsored violence. We center values of equity and racial justice, compassion and empathy, dignity and respect for all people, truth and reconciliation, and the daily and lifelong work of individual and collective healing.
We believe that stories have the power to radically transform the world. We are listening.
