Category: Resources

On February 4, 2021 IM4HI organized a faith discussion on “the Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This piece was specifically written to the religious community who were criticizing his efforts during the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. We invite you to use this study guide to uncover the ways this piece can shape our organizing today and empower us in this political moment. Within the study guide is a video link to listen to our event speakers like Rev. Larry Foy, faith organizer Hilda Cruz, Rev. Phillip Lawson, and a prayer from Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb. Also enclosed in the study guide are discussion prompts, links to the text, and access to our power point slides.

Prisons and immigration detention centers have always been detrimental to healthy human life. Now, COVID-19 is exacerbating the unsafe living conditions of these facilities and exposing them for what they are. There can be no reform for a system that is designed to violently harm the health and spirit of incarcerated individuals.

IM4HI has assembled a resource list designed to give readers an introductory education on the dangers of COVID-19 in prisons and immigration detention centers and the overall inhumanity of these facilities to better inform an abolitionist mindset. You will find brief overviews on relevant topics, as well as additional reading materials for those who wish to learn more. 

Charles Joseph is an example of one community member impacted by this prison and ICE collaboration. Charles is a father, husband, artist, musician, and Indo-Fijian leader. He came to the U.S. from Fiji as a permanent resident as a teenager. After being imprisoned at age 22, Charles transformed his life while serving his 13-year sentence by participating in violence prevention programs and developing his artistic talent. However, after winning parole, because of current policy, he was transferred directly into ICE detention and is now facing deportation. This film created by Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity in September 2020 describes Charles’ journey through our country’s inhumane carceral system.

More about Charles Joseph:

• Welcome, Charles Joseph
• San Francisco Board of Supervisors Unanimously Passes Resolution Urging Governor Newsom to Pardon Immigrant Rights Leader Charles Joseph
• Freedom Campaigns: Charles Joseph
• San Francisco Examiner: “Giving immigrants a second chance after incarceration”