Barbara Truthful is a social justice activist and founding member of Cease Solitary Connecticut. The Cease Solitary CT marketing campaign is aiming to eradicate the utilization of solitary confinement in Connecticut’s jails and prisons, substituting it with humane and sensible options. This laws was handed in 2021, however Governor Lamont stopped it from turning into legislation. The group reintroduced the Defend Act in 2022, which grew to become legislation. This didn’t cease Barbara Truthful from combating; she claims she is simply getting began.
I sat down with Barbara by way of Zoom on April 3, 2023, to debate her work as a social justice activist, mom, and grandmother who has been affected by the prison justice system.
Rehana Konate: Thanks once more for taking the time to sit down down with me as we speak. To start, are you able to please inform me a bit of about your self and what sparked your curiosity in activism?
Barbara Truthful: To start with, I’m a mom, grandmother, great-grandmother, and longtime activist. That began with the arrest of my brother as a young person. He was 17 and I used to be a 12 months youthful. This was the primary time I skilled the court docket system, as I didn’t know what went on. My brother was harmless of what they charged him with, which I imagine was purse snatching. At first, we weren’t anxious about him being convicted, as the woman urgent expenses had made a mistake. We assumed that we had nothing to fret about as a result of we didn’t know something concerning the system. As an alternative, he was convicted as a first-time offender and despatched to jail. Whereas in jail, my brother stayed in shut contact, which is how I came upon what goes on within jail.
You’ll hear legislators say it takes rather a lot to go to jail. However I remind them that of their neighborhood that could be true however in mine it isn’t the case. And from that, as I mentioned, [since I had been] clueless to the entire system, I sought out a bunch of girls within the New Haven neighborhood known as Residents for Humanized and Legal Justice. I connected myself to about 4 or 5 middle-aged white girls to see what I can do about what’s happening in prisons. And it began from there. One of many massive issues that we have been in a position to accomplish in that group, that little, small group, was the jail officers agreed to have some trailers on the bottom. So on the weekends, household members who signed up may spend the weekend within the trailer with their households. And at that time it was just one jail. This was lengthy earlier than mass incarceration. However now our persons are filling up prisons all throughout this nation. The best variety of services we have now had has been 18. I believe now we’re all the way down to possibly 14 or 15. However that’s the place it began for me. After which, simply by the years of watching era after era spend time in jail, the work will by no means finish for me. I imply, I’ve a grandchild there now. So it’s like I can’t see this work ending for me till I simply can’t do it anymore.
Thanks for sharing that. Is there something you want you’d discovered earlier than you started working as an activist?
Effectively, one of many greatest classes I discovered is I assumed we may reform the system. It took me about thirty years of doing reform work to comprehend I used to be losing my time. I spotted that reform work was a manner of not doing something important, simply tweaking the system a bit of bit to seem like we have been attempting to enhance it. That was one of many main components of my years of activism. Now, I don’t speak about reform work. Now I ask how we deconstruct this technique. How can we tear it down, starting on the roots? One other factor I spotted is I used to be attempting to vary the system with out really addressing the foundation. These are issues that led to this lengthy historical past of incarcerating African folks.
Attention-grabbing you say that as a result of, as I discussed, I’m a junior learning political science with an individualized main in crime, legislation, and justice. You point out beginning with reform and I have a look and I’m like, okay, possibly reform is an effective first step. However now your story provides me a unique perspective.
So I needed to study that as a result of it took me a very long time to get there. I’m glad I lastly acquired there as a result of I might have continued to attempt to work at reform. However reform is simply tweaking the system and making it appear as if we’re attempting to tear it down when actually that’s not within the plan in any respect. It’s at all times learn how to preserve the system, and so they try this by insurance policies and administrators inside the Division of Correction. After which DOC reaches out to legislators to assist them preserve their system by legal guidelines that they cross or don’t cross.
Effectively, since we’re on the subject, my third query is concerning the Struggle on Medication main to mass incarceration in the USA. As an advocate for jail reform, how would you describe the results of the legalization of hashish in Connecticut for present prisoners? How would you describe the influence of insurance policies which are attempting to treatment the legacies of disproportionate enforcement of the hashish ban in Black and different non-white communities?
Effectively, to me it’s laughable that we spent so a few years speaking about marijuana as an alternative of taking a look at the true downside and that’s the Struggle on Medication itself. The Struggle on Medication was deliberately created by a former president. Nixon started it, Reagan adopted, and we have now folks, even as much as former President Clinton, who additionally strengthened this struggle. This was actually a struggle on Black and brown communities. Black persons are the best variety of folks throughout this nation which are behind the bars, and brown persons are second in line. However extra African persons are filling up these cells. This was achieved by the Struggle on Medication. There was a notion that Black folks are an issue in America. We’ve to plan a system [to take] care of that with out making it appear as if that. It’s been waged intensively on our communities since then. If we have a look at the Struggle on Medication, we might suppose that Black and brown persons are the one ones that use and promote medicine. When, in reality, medicine are offered and utilized in white communities, even at the next quantity than in our neighborhood.
I’ve to be trustworthy, I assumed when Obama acquired in workplace [that] this was going to be the individual that was going to convey consciousness to what this struggle actually was about and finish it. However that was one other eye-opener for me. I acknowledged that one president can’t go in there and undo over fifty years of a legacy of oppression towards Black folks. Now, to speak about regulating marijuana when you’ve individuals who have spent their lifetime behind bars for issues like marijuana, we have now to query who’s going to learn. It’s not going to be the communities who have been devastated by marijuana arrests. It’s gonna be white communities as a result of you must have the cash to speculate on this complete factor that they’re doing.
And I haven’t seen them announce reparations. It’s important to restore the harm that you simply did earlier than you progress on to creating more cash off it. One factor I’ve present in Connecticut is that as soon as one thing was a criminal offense, admittedly, they locked it in and supposed to devastate our communities. I’ll take alcohol. African People from the South used to make their alcohol however then it grew to become a criminal offense. My mother and father have been amongst these individuals who supplemented their earnings by enjoying numbers. Now you’ll be able to see that we are able to play numbers day by day, twice a day, seven days every week. And it’s okay. After which right here we go together with marijuana. Now, it was a criminal offense for all these years, and, swiftly, the federal government finds a option to get some cash out of it and now it’s now not a criminal offense.
In order that’s the way in which the legal guidelines are likely to function. They start by criminalizing Black communities, after which they transfer on after they notice they’re losing time. You’re not going to cease folks from ingesting. You’re not going to cease folks from utilizing medicine. You’re not going to cease folks from playing. And they also discover a option to earn money off it which makes it okay. It’s a recreation that they’ve performed in Black communities for many years.
I believe that’s an ideal segue to my subsequent query. Think about you’re in a room with faculty college students occupied with getting concerned with activism. Based mostly in your expertise, what recommendation would you supply?
Effectively, I’ve to say, relying on who I’m speaking to, I might give totally different recommendation. As a result of there are white activists which have labored together with me who’ve by no means skilled what I have skilled. My life has been pure hell. I began with activism round policing. The police have been concentrating on our households. It was straightforward to focus on me and my household. So my youngsters and I’ve lived that residing hell. So if I used to be [talking with] a marginalized group, I might make it possible for they notice the rights that they’ve despite the fact that their rights will not be revered, like they’d be if it was a white activist protesting. It’s important to be devoted and dedicated to the trigger. As a result of these folks which are in energy will attempt to tear you down. They’ve tried and tried and tried. However I’m a decided African. I’ll battle till I can’t battle anymore. I don’t care what you throw at me.
Thanks a lot for that. How do you see the function of recent applied sciences and social media impacting your activist work?
It performs a serious function as a result of I take advantage of social media rather a lot to get info out, set up, and interact folks. Within the course of, we have now reached hundreds and hundreds of individuals. This motion wouldn’t be as highly effective, not solely in Connecticut however throughout the nation, with out social media. Though my work is predicated in Connecticut, I began out working with teams throughout America, starting in California, the place there was Critical Resistance. I testified within the first public listening to ever in Philadelphia on solitary confinement many, a few years in the past. As I labored with these different teams, I began looking at Connecticut and I mentioned, “Wow, we have now an enormous downside right here.” We’re not exempt from what’s happening throughout the nation. That’s after I began focusing my activism in Connecticut. Though I nonetheless interact with different teams across the nation, I began taking a look at how Connecticut had an even bigger wrestle as a result of we’re such a segregated state. The folks in energy are a really segregated group of individuals. This makes it extremely tough to have these folks combating with you as a result of it doesn’t influence their lives in any respect. That is the most important downside I discover. I take advantage of the entire platforms besides Instagram which I haven’t gotten used to. So sure, social media has performed a serious, main function on this work.
I do know you touched on this a bit of, however I do know as a part of your activism, you’ve needed to work with varied federal and state businesses. Who or what have been the best challenges to attaining your organizational targets? How have you ever handled these challenges?
Effectively, my organizational targets are primarily [reforming] policing and corrections. I’ve been placing a number of give attention to corrections and I discover the most important impediment is the Division of Corrections, and subsequent to that’s the legislators. I engaged with the Commissioner of Corrections as a result of I do know I can’t battle this battle with out them, however it might be much less of a burden if we may be on this journey collectively. If I may get the Commissioner to see by my lens that people endure and the way he may make a change. The correctional unions and police unions are like mobs, so it’s laborious to get them to maneuver something. In different phrases, you’ll have this highly effective union of individuals who push up towards you each step of the way in which. So these are the most important obstacles. On prime of that’s legislators, as a result of these two entities [the correctional and police unions] each have a lot of energy, even over legislators. Legislators are those who can implement and set up insurance policies to convey down change. However even then, in the event that they’re not monitoring it then the wrestle continues.
Proper, how have you ever handled these challenges prior to now?
Simply realizing that it’s an uphill battle to maneuver both of them as a result of it’s so entrenched with racism. Recognizing that each one these little symbolic gestures or one piece of excellent legislation is just not going to vary till we glance again on the historical past of how this all began. They’re attempting to pacify you with a bit of tweaking of the legislation as a result of they need you to go away. However as a result of I can see the system for what it’s, it helps me stay centered. I at all times hear the voices of the folks in my head which are struggling. It makes me really feel like I’ve an obligation. All through all these years of activism, I bear in mind the voice of my professor after I was in faculty. She mentioned to us sooner or later, “Simply because you’re a social employee doesn’t imply your job consists of you counseling folks in an workplace. You might be brokers of change.” These are the three phrases that preserve me pushing and pushing and pushing towards this technique. I’m not purported to learn to navigate the system, I’m purported to learn to change the system. I can’t try this if I don’t tackle the roots that maintain the system collectively.
Thanks for that, Barbara. My final query for you is: are you able to please inform me about any upcoming occasions or campaigns that you simply and your group are engaged on? How can folks like me become involved?
Effectively, only recently, we acquired the Defend Act handed, which was about attempting to control the Division of Corrections [DOC]. A part of that’s placing collectively an oversight committee as a result of we wished impartial oversight over the DOC. The explanation for that is that Connecticut is likely one of the few states that has no oversight over the company. We’re working with this group out of Hartford, the YWCA, to get medical oversight over the DOC. We discovered that too many individuals have been leaving jail with persistent diseases or ending up lifeless. They go away these services damaged spiritually, mentally, and bodily.
So we at the moment maintain public conferences, as a committee, to handle this subject. You’ll find this info on the CGA [Connecticut General Assembly] calendar. We hope to seek out somebody to steer this, an impartial one that goals to battle to enhance the standard of lifetime of incarcerated folks. That is one thing we clarify in the course of the interview course of, as you aren’t working for the state.
We’re additionally engaged on ending routine strip searches. We did a number of work round it. I imply, we’ve acquired voices from folks incarcerated, written letters, we had folks previously incarcerated. We wish to focus rather a lot on youngsters as a result of strip searches are taking place to youngsters in our system. These searches are degrading and dehumanizing. I discover myself in tears simply listening to about the experiences of those prisoners. When folks consider strip searches, they suppose you simply take your garments off. No. You’re taking your garments off. You maintain up your breasts. In case you are a male, maintain up your testicles. It’s important to bend on the waist to allow them to search for at your anus. To me, it’s very perverted, proper? But when we take into consideration the historical past of how America has handled African folks after they got here right here, placing them on the public sale block and displaying their our bodies. That was unhealthy sufficient. However what we’re doing is past simply displaying our our bodies.
And we made it clear to legislators who could not wish to hear it. Though the Commissioner will say that it’s all about security and safety, we all know, for a truth, way back to when my brother was in jail, correctional officers introduced medicine and different contraband contained in the jail. They want to acknowledge this because it continues to occur.
The laws is now not about routine strip searches. It’s about giving the Commissioner till 2024 to provide you with an RFP [ Request For Proposal] on how he’s going to get physique scanners and help. After they do issues like that it’s their manner of not doing something however pretending they’re doing one thing. That’s been the journey as I attempt to change issues inside. They by no means wish to do the true work, however they wish to act like they’re doing one thing. So I’m very disillusioned and planning protests and rallies someday this month. Moreover, we can be going into communities to coach them. Proper now we’re pondering, if Connecticut received’t do it on its personal, then we’re reaching out to the Supreme Courtroom. Many organizations have challenged this on a nationwide degree and I wish to put Connecticut on this map. The final vote that I’ve seen for the Supreme Courtroom was a 5 to 4, so it was an in depth vote. It’s tough as a result of they’re giving weight to corrections as they declare to make sure security and safety.
I wish to show that it’s not about security and safety, it’s about energy and management. Males received’t even speak about it. They mentioned it’s simply too humiliating to speak about what they’re doing to them. The ache and trauma are one thing these people carry for the remainder of their lives. The trauma doesn’t go away when they go away jail. What occurred to them continues to be inside their our bodies. Many of those prisoners are simply so grateful that I challenged this as a result of they imagine that nobody hears them. So I’m honored actually to be doing the work.
However I really feel like I can’t relaxation till strip looking out ends in Connecticut. I inform all people that when you speak about specialists, it’s individuals who’ve lived the expertise. As I discussed earlier, I’ve a grandson within the system, so he gives me with a number of info. I get letters that say I’ve given them hope they by no means had. However I requested my grandson concerning the strip search. He mentioned for occasion [that he is] strip searched when [he] goes to court docket, when [he] leaves, and after [he] leaves the court docket. What’s all that about?
A lieutenant was only recently arrested in Enfield. He photographed a younger teenager with out her data. So my query was, did he are available in with that voyeurism? And now he’s having fun with with the ability to strip search all people? Or did he get that in consequence? These are issues no one desires to handle. For this reason I argue that if Connecticut’s prisons have been over 70% white as against 70% Black and brown, I wouldn’t even have this battle. This battle would have been over a very long time in the past. However after we have a look at who we’re, the small inhabitants that we’re in Connecticut, it’s straightforward to simply flip a blind eye and a deaf ear to human struggling. I can’t try this. Historical past is simply recycling and reform simply makes it look totally different.
Thanks a lot, Barbara. I admire you taking the time to speak to me as we speak. I wish to thanks not solely in your time however your work.
You recognize, it’s at all times an honor to speak to younger folks as a result of, in any case of those a long time doing this work, I wish to cross down the torch to the following era. That is your work. I’m simply planting the seeds with everybody that I educate and speak with. I really feel that’s my job to verify a a part of planting that seed is ensuring that our younger folks know precisely what’s going on and so they’re not clouded by America. Folks at all times ask me when I’m going to retire. Retire? That is my life. So I’m wanting ahead to simply sitting again and watching the younger folks soar and simply finish what America thought they may by no means finish. Simply bear in mind what Maya Angelou as soon as mentioned: “We could face many defeats, however we should always by no means really feel defeated.” As I misplaced out on the strip search, I misplaced this session, however I’m not defeated. I’m able to go to the Supreme Courtroom. If Connecticut received’t do it by itself, we’re going to drive them to. I’m not going to let this go. I’m uninterested in our folks struggling on this nation. We constructed this nation that everyone desires to come back to get pleasure from.
Rehana Konate
Rehana Konate is a junior on the College of Connecticut learning Political Science with an Individualized Main in Crime, Legislation, and Justice. She is extraordinarily captivated with crime, race, and mass incarceration in the USA. To this point, by her research, she is analyzing whether or not to follow within the fields of authorized reform, worldwide, or humanitarian legislation. No matter her particular, last determination, her objective is to advocate for voices which are ignored and silenced.
