One of the dark consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown that has not received the attention it deserves is the rise in domestic violence cases with uneven trends at the local, state and national levels. In Knoxville, Tennessee where I live, police are reporting a rise in domestic violence cases even as some […]
Archives for 2020
In Plain Sight (if we looked)
For the past couple of months, we’ve been seeing news reports and ads that tell us: “We’re all in this together” and “We’re strong” and “We’ll never forget our heroes”. Most of the reports and ads carry a subtle message—an assumption that there was a “we” to start with—only waiting for the call to join […]
“They Wouldn’t Be Able to Deal With an Outbreak”: A View From Inside an Arizona Women’s Prison
Earlier this month, Andrea Portillo, an inmate at Perryville State Prison in Arizona, shared her experience with postpartum psychosis with Hard Crackers. She tells us what it’s like inside her facility during the pandemic. What is it like for you in Perryville State Prison right now? We are doing a whole lot of nothing. There […]
Southern Solidarity: Mutual Aid in New Orleans Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Recently we had a chance to talk with Jasmine from Southern Solidarity, a mutual aid collective distributing food and supplies to the unhoused people of New Orleans. The COVID-19 death rate in the crescent city is higher per capita than in any other area in the entire nation. New Orleans politicians and non-profits have done […]
Stick-up on Rikers Island
It started with the phones. A few minutes before 9:30 on Saturday morning, mid-conversation with wives, children, friends, and lawyers, the lines all went dead. This was March 22nd. Visits had been suspended a week prior, so the phones had become our only real link to the outside world. Of course, the underlying frustration had […]
“When Your Home Turns into a Prison”: Former Prisoner Reflects on Life Under Coronavirus Lockdown
Ronald Owens, aka “Cornbread,” lives in Lynn, Massachusetts. He spent 13 years in a Massachusetts maximum security prison, where he and Noel Ignatiev met in 1996 as pen pals. They remained close friends ever since. What has life been like for you during this time? I used to run to Connecticut to assist Noel. I […]