For me, Chain Gang All Stars has been a very eye opening book about the US prison system. It has left me thinking "what's next/what can I do?", so I've now since fallen into a rabbit hole of learning more. I'd like to share some things I've found with this post here!

First I want to start by saying, I recognize that the system needs to be completely overhauled and fundamentally changed; this is by no means a guide on how to do that. Additionally, I recognize this is not a complete guide on everything that can be done. I wanted to share what I've found here as a jumping off point and a discussion (especially since this is fiction and some recs might not be tied directly to this book). Lastly, this is meant to be informative and I've created this with only good intentions! Like I said, I've felt really inspired to do more, but if this is the wrong place/not applicable to the forum I'd be happy to remove this. 🙂

Knowledge is Power!!!

I'm a firm believer in always learning more so here are some resources on how to do so.

Pagebound Lists and Quests

• 🔗Prison Abolition by Deleted
• 🔗School-to-Prison Pipeline by wednesdaymourning
• 🔗Justice For All by notbillnye

Other Media

• 13th (documentary)
• Rikers: An American Jail (documentary)
• Prison Project Podcast (podcast)

VOTE!!!

Voting rights for currently or formerly incarcerated people differs state by state. In a lot of states, incarcerated people aren't able to vote and even after completion of their sentence, a lot of states make people jump through hoops to restore access to that right. (🔗Learn more here.)

Especially on local and state levels, it's important to advocate for those who have had their rights taken away. Just a couple of years ago, California voters voted to reject a state proposition that would remove forced labor from prisons. Incarcerated Californians cannot vote. (🔗Learn more here.)

Book Donation Organizations

The Prison Book Program is a nonprofit that takes donated books and gives them to prisons throughout the US. They also have wishlists of books that incarcerated folks are requesting that you can buy through Amazon or indie bookstores. (🔗Learn more here.)

The Prison Book Program is not the only organization to do this, check to see if there are local programs near you! For example, the LA County Library accepts in person book donations. (🔗Learn more here.)

Finally, I would love for this to be a living post!!! If any folks have other recommendations (and are comfortable with it), I'd love to add your recommendation to the post and credit you for your thoughts! 🙂