who we are

Our History

who we are

The making of a movement

Established in 2011, the Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted People and Families Movement (FICPFM) is a network of over 50 civil and human rights organizations led by policy experts, subject matter experts, organizers, thought leaders, artists, healers and attorneys who also have conviction histories or are family members who are closely involved with people living with conviction histories. 

Grounded in the best traditions of racial justice and intersectional theory, we are the singular network built by and for people who have been impacted by the US punishment system.

As public education campaigns are designed not only to shift policy but the very way people think about people who have been incarcerated. In the last decade alone, we have ensured voting rights in the Deep South, where we have re-enfranchised thousands of formerly incarcerated and convicted people in states like Alabama, Louisiana, and most recently, Florida.

Nothing about us without us is for us.

In multiple jurisdictions, our people have ended the shackling of pregnant women who are in custody and in labor, provided safe houses for several thousand people coming home from prison, banned the box in states across the country, opened the door for post-conviction relief, helped pass the largest criminal justice reform ever undertaken in the US, Proposition 47 in California, helped end long-term solitary confinement. In Alabama, we registered 40,000 people to vote.
Our collective work to make real the proposition of democracy is pushing back the dominant narrative that our humanity was less than any We work in gratitude and with the certain knowledge that freedom is within our reach.

Working collaboratively and with a profound commitment to transforming society by transforming the US punishment system, our network of organizations advances legislative and judicial strategies, as well.

A Chronology of Significant Events & Wins

FICPFM’s History

We alone can our own origin story & document our collective accomplishments. Too many times we’ve seen others claim our wins as their own. This timeline is only a starting point. It’s far from comprehensive. We need you to help to fill in any gaps, correct any inaccuracies, and expand it beyond 2019. Please contribute!

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1970

New York City Jail Rebellion. Thousands take over jails in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Rikers Island & Queens, protesting barbaric & lethal conditions, denial of access to lawyers & discriminatory bail system.

1971

  • Attica Prison Uprising. Over 1,200 take control of NY prison for 4 days. Brings national attention to dehumanizing conditions, Constitutional & human rights violations & dire need for accountability & reform in U.S. prisons.
  • San Quentin Six Killed. Political prisoners, including revolutionary leader & author George Jackson, murdered by guards in their attempt to escape from the CA prison.
  • Occupation of Alcatraz Island. Indians of all Tribes’ 18th-month reclaiming of the island ends. Occupation demanded that the U.S. government honor its treaty with the Lakota Nation & return Alcatraz, a CA prison site until 1963, to Indigenous people. 
  • Prisoner litigation pioneered in Angola Penitentiary in LA. Two lawsuits (in 1971 & 1973) win relief on grounds that Angola routinely violated Constitutional rights under the 8th & 14th Amendments. Influences national wave of litigation from the inside &, ultimately, Congressional backlash with 1995 Prison Litigation Reform Act.

1974

August Rebellion at NY Bedford Hills prison. Ignited by guards’ brutal attack, 200 women seize control, demanding rights to humane conditions & due process.

1976

First Sweat Lodge established in a U.S. prison. Result of sustained advocacy for religious freedom by Indigenous organizers & elders. Leads to 1978 passage of American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

1978

Protecting Spiritual Practices. American Indian Movement establishes education programs for Indigenous incarcerated people in Stillwater prison in MN. Serves as a model for establishment of similar programs nationwide.

1979

Think Tank Established Green Haven Prison. Spearheaded by Eddie Ellis, publishes “The Non-Traditional Approach to Criminal & Social Justice” proving that 75% of NY state prisoners come from just 7 neighborhoods in NY City. Study featured on 1992 New York Times front page. Study continues to influence national journalism and “million dollar block” advocacy & academia.

1980

  • Children’s Center founded at Bedford Hills, NY’s only maximum security & largest women’s prison. Enables mothers to live with their babies from birth to age 1. Leads to further mother- & child-centered reforms and programs in many other women’s prisons. 
  • New Mexico Prison Rebellion. Uprising against severe overcrowding & unsanitary, insect-infested food and conditions. Results in the death of 23 protestors.

1986

Direct Action for Rights & Equality (DARE) founded in Providence, RI.

1987

Angola Special Civics Project (ASCP) founded. In 1990 ASCP drafts & advocates for passage of the “20/45 Parole Law.” Makes many serving life sentences eligible to apply for parole. Leads to eventual release of hundreds of qualifying ‘lifers’ in LA.

1994

The Ordinary People Society (TOPS) founded by Kenny Glasgow in Orlando County Jail, FL. TOPS goes continues cross-racial organizing inside AL’s Taylor & Polk Correctional Institutions.

1995

California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) founded to monitor abusive conditions in women’s prisons. Supports women & trans people coming home from prison & publishes The Fire Inside.

1998

  • Critical Resistance conference in CA. Foregrounds leadership & expertise of currently & formerly incarcerated people. Considered precursor to today’s movement led by directly impacted people. 
  • A New Way of Life Reentry Project (ANWOL) founded in Los Angeles.

2001

  • Changing Minds: The Impact of College in a Maximum Security Prison published by women at Bedford Hills.
  • NuLeadership Policy Group & Eddie Ellis travel U.S., convening and building unity among formerly incarcerated leaders.

2003

2006

  • Eddie Ellis writes “An Open Letter to our Friends on the Question of Language.” In 1996 The New York Times Editorial Board publishes “Labels Like ‘Felon’ Are an Unfair Life Sentence,” crediting Ellis with “setting off a movement” to change the lexicon used to refer to formerly incarcerated people. 
  • Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP) founded in Philadelphia, PA. Continues to lead successful, ongoing campaigns to reform bail & decarcerate PA.

2007

How Our Lives Link Together (H.O.L.L.A) founded in Brooklyn, NY.

2008

  • TOPS’ lawsuit secures the right to continue registering people to vote in AL jails.
  • FIP leaders gather at Critical Resistance’s 10-year anniversary in Oakland, CA.

2009

Life Coach, Each One Teach One founded in Louisville, KY.

2010

Families for Justice as Healing (FJAH) founded in Boston, MA.

2011

2012

  • Employment and Opportunity Council issues guidelines regarding criminal background checks in employment. Result of concerted advocacy by organizations led by formerly incarcerated people.
  • Hunger Strikes in numerous GA prisons supported by TOPS.
  • FICPFM gathering in Pittsburgh, PA.

2013

2014

2015

2016

  • FICPFM First National Convening. Over 700 people from 25 states convene in Oakland, CA “for networking, sharing of resources & organizing opportunities.” AOUON & LSPC provide the bulk of resources and logistical support to make the convening a huge success.
  • Federal Interagency Reentry Council, representing over 20 federal agencies, hosts meeting with formerly incarcerated leaders.
  • Department of Justice announces guidelines to replace terms like “felon” & “convict” with “person who committed a crime” & “individual who was incarcerated” in official communications.
  • Department of Education publishes “Beyond the Box Resource Guide.” Provides guidelines for colleges & universities to remove barriers to admission based on conviction status. 
  • Obama Office of Personnel Management issues regulation prohibiting the federal government from asking job applicants about criminal records saying: “As the nation’s largest employer, the federal government should lead the way…for all employers, public & private,” to ban the box in hiring.”
  • Department of Justice Names Daryl Atkinson as its first Second Chance Fellow.
  • Aramis Ayala, running on a criminal justice reform platform, elected as the first Black state attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit in FL
  • Call on Philanthropy to Ban the Box is issued by Executives’ Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Boys & Men of Color. Results in the adoption of fair chance hiring policies by over 40 foundations. 
  • State University of New York, with 63 campuses, Bans the Box from its college admissions application.
  • U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development releases guidelines dictating that the 1968 Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on conviction status.
  • AL joins 44 other states in lifting its lifetime ban on food stamps & cash assistance based on felony conviction. 
  • LA Law Expands Parole Eligibility. Backed by VOTE, the law decreases the minimum time served for parole consideration from 35 to as few as 15 years.
  • CA Prop. 57 passes with support from CURYJ & other FICPFM members. Expands parole eligibility & lowers number of youth tried as adults in CA.
  • White House Champion of Change Award received by Dorsey Nunn. 
  • Forward Justice founded in NC.

2017

2018

  • Common Application, used by 800 colleges & universities, Bans the Box by eliminating the question asking if applicants have a criminal record.
  • FICPFM Second National Convening held in Orlando, FL, attended by 1,000 formerly incarcerated people & family members. Timed to support the FL campaign for Amendment 4 to restore voting rights to 1.4 million in people FL. Convening participants’ GOTV efforts reach 82,000 people in one day. 
  • Florida Rights Restoration Coalition’s (FRRC) campaign leads to Amendment 4 passing by landslide. However,  FRRC remains in protracted legal battle with FL politicians seeking to undermine application of the by imposing a modern day poll tax
  • USA Today frames voting rights restoration in FL as a win for public health: “As a physician, I believe that restoring voting rights is imperative not only as a matter of basic human rights, but also as a matter of public health … People who can vote their interests have greater control over the health & safety of their communities. That voice is one that every American deserves.” 
  • LA passes Amendment 2 eliminating “Jim Crow juries.” Led by the 501(c)(4) organization,  Voters Organized to Educate, 64% of LA voters restore unanimous jury standard, winning in all but 3 parishes in the state.
  • Free Her Conference, organized by the National Council, held in Tulsa, OK.
  • First Step Act Prohibits Shackling of pregnant incarcerated mothers and eases restrictions on access to hygiene products in federal women’s prisons. As of 2018, 22 states have passed legislation eliminating or limiting the shackling of incarcerated pregnant women, but many states still allow the barbaric practice.
  • LA restores Right to Vote to 70,000 people on probation & parole. 
  • CA Becomes First State to Abolish Cash Bail, giving judges greater discretion in who is sent to jail vs. home awaiting trial. Community bail funds have emerged in cities across the country, including Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, New York & North Carolina.
  • Satana Deberry elected as NC’s 16th Prosecutorial District Attorney. Runs on campaign for racial equity & restorative justice. Unseats incumbent District Attorney by 8 points.
  • NYC Ends Policy allowing youth under age 18 to be incarcerated on Rikers Island thus protecting them from the violent jail & enabling greater family contact with their children.

2019

  • #JusticeVotes2020. History’s first U.S. presidential candidate forum organized by formerly incarcerated people & focused on mass incarceration and criminalization held at Eastern State Penitentiary, PA. Total mainstream & social media reach of the forum, which was live streamed, exceeds 136 million within days. 
  • The New Press Announces Publication of What We Know: Solutions from Our Experiences in the Justice System, co-edited by Daryl Atkinson & Vivian Nixon, to be released in mid-2020.
  • National Council helps pass TN Primary Caregiver Bill, requiring courts to consider alternatives to incarceration to keep parents with their children, modeled on its successful advocacy for passage of similar MA primary caretaker law. 
  • FICPFM launches Quest for Democracy, the first grantmaking entity governed by formerly incarcerated people.
  • VOTE and FRRC hold training hosted by AOUON & LSPC in Oakland focused on tools and strategies utilized in 2018 ballot amendment wins in FL & LA.
  • FICPFM hires national staff to expand efforts to serve as conduit for cross-fertilizing skills & strategies among organizations across the U.S. to replicate wins & build pipeline for movement leaders.
  • FICPFM develops strategy and secures resources to ensure that member organizations are able to boost their communities’ participation in the 2020 Census. 
  • FICPFM convenes 2-day technology & data ‘bootcamp’ for 100 members in New Orleans. Deepens & scales up civic engagement efforts across multiple deep & wide-reaching community outreach, recruitment & GOTV platforms.