Add us to your calendar! EBC is expanding volunteer opportunities with our mail program! In 2025, our Virtual Prison Mail Night will be held bimonthly on the third Monday of January, March, May, July, September, and November from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Join us virtually as we respond to letters from incarcerated individuals across the U.S., providing legal resources, parole prep, reentry help, and more. For more info or to RSVP contact policy@ellabakercenter.org.
Calling All Resource Organizers!
What’s your role in collective liberation? Resource organizing is a powerful strategy that harnesses the unique strengths of our community skills, time, donations, ideas, and networks to fuel the movement for racial and economic justice and build collective power to push for equity and opportunity for all. Come learn new skills around fundraising and build community at our next meeting on January 23rd from 5:30-6:30pm!
To get involved and learn more, contact Ashleigh at ashleigh@ellabakercenter.org
Become A Corporate Donor!
Each February, EBC partners with organizations and companies across the Bay Area who are passionate about racial justice For Black History Month, we invite you to sponsor our advocacy or donate a percentage of profits from your company
Want to join our growing community of business partners? There’s a place for everyone in this movement – from law firms, to wine shops, and mom-and-pop shops in the Bay Area! To learn more contact Ashleigh at ashleigh@ellabakercenter.org
Celebrating Culture & Connection
“When you heal people, they heal others.” These words from Tony Tafoya, one of EBC’s 2024 Inside Policy Fellows and the organizer of the Latine Heritage Day event at San Quentin, capture the essence of the incredible advocacy of this year’s Inside/Outside Fellows. Tony’s event not only celebrated culture but addressed the severed ties between incarcerated individuals and their communities Beyond this powerful initiative, Tony played a key role in passing AB 2310 to ensure language access and due process for Limited English Proficient parole candidates and co-authored The California Model: A FourPart Manual by the Incarcerated to Transform CDCR’s Culture and Promote Public Safety, a report advocating for better conditions and increased rehabilitative access on the inside.
Inside Fellow Kenthy Porter co-founded Democracy Beyond Bars, a nonprofit led by people inside, designed to increase incarcerated voices in criminal justice reform work They recently led a nationwide petition to close prisons, yielding more than 2,000 signatures from incarcerated people, and facilitated workshops on policy advocacy and civic engagement. Barbara Chavez, EBC’s Outside Fellow, led the charge on SB 94, which would have dismantled elements of Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentencing. This year she used her powerful voice to advocate for LWOP survivors and others on the inside on various panels, symposiums, and rallies, everywhere from UC Berkeley School of Law to Central California Women’s Facility.
Tony, Kenthy, and Barbara have shown unwavering commitment to justice, healing, and empowerment, sparking a ripple effect that will continue to inspire and create lasting change for future generations.
Supporting Paths To Re-Entry
In September, EBC proudly hosted our first Freedom Fashion Faire, a clothing drive and giveaway designed to support formerly incarcerated women, trans, and non-binary individuals as they reenter society Championed by Outside Policy Fellow Barbara Chavez, this empowering event provided much-needed resources to those facing the daunting barriers of reentry This event gave people the confidence to show up as their best selves and was a true testament to mutual aid Everyone who attended became an EBC member, with many signing up for membership to stay connected and supported EBC was joined by volunteers from partner organizations and food banks – making the event a beautiful example of giving back, supporting others, and helping community members feel more prepared for the workforce and other training opportunities.
Restore Oakland: Reflections on Half a Decade
In 2019, the Restore Oakland building (RO) opened its doors as an organizing hub in Fruitvale, where criminalized and historically marginalized communities could come together to create the future they deserve. Having relocated 9 times in our 20-year history, EBC had been facing challenges of being a roaming non-profit and knew we needed stability to be a better support for our community.
EBC recognized RO as a solution — one that would support both the organization and the communities it serves. For five years, RO has been a home for mutual aid, Night Outs for Safety and Liberation, a prison mail program connecting incarcerated individuals with their loved ones, and the powerful organizing for our Outside Policy Fellows.
As we look toward 2025, EBC is committed to ensuring that RO remains a home everyone can return to. We are excited to complete the renovation of our basement spaces – keep an eye out for more programmatic and community offerings in 2025!
The
Policy Pulse The Policy Pulse
Josh-ing Around: A Post-Election Chat with Joshua Stickney
The 2024 election results have left many of us feeling discouraged. Californians voted to extend "three strikes"-style sentencing to low-level, drug and theft offenses (Proposition 36) and rejected a measure to end involuntary servitude that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown incarcerated people (Proposition 6) Additionally, SB 94 did not pass this year, a bill that would have allowed for critical sentencing reviews for those serving life without parole. With these setbacks, many are wondering what’s next for criminal justice reform in California. To discuss the way forward, we sat down with Joshua Stickney, EBC’s Director of Communication
1. Does this mean criminal justice reform is dead in California? Was 2020 just a brief moment of progress? Through conversations with thousands of Californians and consistent polling, we know that voters want policies that prioritize both community safety and justice. These propositions passed due to relentless fear-mongering by corporate and right-wing interests, who exploited Californians’ concerns about crime and misled the public. We remain committed to fighting against the ineffective revolving door between jails, prisons, and our streets
2. What worries you in the wake of these Propositions? Specifically, Proposition 36 will strip $100 million a year from existing programs and services like drug treatment and homelessness prevention, have taxpayers pay an additional $5 billion a year, and fuel the revolving door of arrest, jails, and prisons exacerbating the homelessness and overdose crises
3. How do you turn this tide and get Californians comfortable with reform again? Elected officials must take responsibility for implementing solutions that deliver true safety, accountability, and justice and stand proud of those choices. We need stronger media narratives and fact-checking to counter the rampant fearmongering shaping our political discourse while pushing for policies that meet the public’s demand for effective, results-driven services
4. What policies will EBC pursue now? What’s clear is that voters do want services and programs for people struggling with addiction. We need to fight for more funding for treatment, re-entry programming, and diversion – programming that we know works – that keeps our community safe while addressing racial disparities in our jails and prisons.
5. Is there a silver lining? While 2024 brought its challenges, it wasn’t without notable victories! One key win was the passage of AB 2310, a major step forward in parole reform, ensuring language access for Limited English Proficient (LEP) parole candidates, including the requirement for translated documents in their primary language Additionally, we opposed 100 bills this legislative session across various areas of criminal justice, successfully rendering 90 of them inactive including one that sought to exclude individuals convicted of 1st-degree murder of a peace officer from recall and resentencing
Our Ongoing Impact
This year, EBC joined a group of civil rights and legal organizations to file a petition challenging the California death penalty as racially discriminatory and unconstitutional. Though it’s not yet indicated if they will hear the case, we hope to receive a response as the court has issued an order for additional briefing
EBC also continues to fight for the fair implementation of the Racial Justice Act (RJA) - hosting multilingual workshops at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and by participating in Valley State Prison's LWOP Walk for Life for the Shriner's Children Hospital
