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Crosscurrents
Crosscurrents is our award-winning radio news magazine, broadcasting Mondays through Thursdays at 11 a.m. on 91.7 FM. We make joyful, informative stories that engage people across the economic, social, and cultural divides in our community. Listen to full episodes at kalw.org/crosscurrents

Product of a mother's hustle: Reflections from life on the grind

Anthony Ivy (left) and Jamel Powers both grew up with single mothers on the grind.
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KALW / Uncuffed
Anthony Ivy (left) and Jamel Powers both grew up with single mothers on the grind.

This story aired in the August 1, 2023 episode of Crosscurrents.

Jamel Powers has an entrepreneurial spirit. Since he’s been incarcerated, he’s started a cleaning business, and he also wants to buy and rent properties. Uncuffed Solano producer Anthony Ivy also has big ambitions: to be a personal trainer, sound engineer and podcast producer.

Powers is from Harlem, New York; Ivy is from North Stockton, California. And growing up, they both learned how to hustle, survive and dream big from their moms. Both their mothers were single women working in a man’s game: dealing drugs.

"For a woman living in a man’s game and having success, that’s something special,” Ivy says.

Ivy and Powers sat down at Solano State Prison to reflect on how their mothers’ hustle shaped their lives and their hopes for their own children.

This piece was brought to you by the team at Uncuffed and edited by Sonia Paul and Kathy Novak, with sound design from Eric "Maserati-E" Abercrombie. Our work in prisons is supported by the California Arts Council, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and donations from listeners like you. The producers fact-check content to the best of their ability. Content is approved by an information officer.

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Learn more, sign up for Uncuffed news, and support the program at www.weareuncuffed.org 

Click the play button above to listen to this interview.

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Crosscurrents From The Producers Of UncuffedCrosscurrents
Anthony Ivy, originally from North Stockton, California, is a dedicated producer for the Uncuffed Outside Team and a member of KALW's Audio Academy Training program. Recently released after serving a 13-year prison sentence, Anthony demonstrated resilience and talent by producing numerous impactful stories from within the prison walls. One of his recent episodes, “Hole in the Heart,” received a national award from the Public Media Journalism Association and was broadcast nationwide on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” The episode was also featured on Snap Judgment. Since his release, Anthony has been steadfastly pursuing success, bringing unique and powerful perspectives from the other side of incarceration.
Uncuffed
Stories from inside California prisons