On this edition of Your Call, we're speaking with the creators of Uncuffed, a show made by people behind bars in California prisons. They say, if you can see the humanity in us, you can see the humanity in everyone.
The new season focuses on lockdowns, quarantines, death, friendship, and love. Two Uncuffed alumni, Thanh Tran and Tommy "Shakur" Ross, who were recently released, will talk about what it feels like to finally have their freedom.
In August, Uncuffed suddenly lost $660,000 that the state had intended to award the project over two years. They're hoping to raise $80,000 in urgent bridge funding to sustain the program through the end of 2022. Without ongoing support, they might be forced to lay off staff and cancel their programs indefinitely. With those funds, they can continue working in the prisons, release the remaining episodes of Uncuffed Season two, and pursue long-term sources of funding.
Guests:
Ninna Gaensler-Debs, director of the Uncuffed program at San Quentin State Prison
Thanh Tran, journalist and senior policy and communications fellow with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, who was released from San Quentin State Prison in May
Tommy "Shakur" Ross, valedictorian of Patten College, peer health educator, organizer, and restorative justice practitioner, who was paroled in April after spending 36 years and seven months in prison
Web Resources:
Uncuffed: Voices from behind prison walls
Uncuffed: URGENT: Uncuffed suddenly lost our funding.
San Quentin News: Tommy ‘Shakur’ Ross released after 36 years
Sacramento Bee: I survived a COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin. Gov. Newsom must see me as a human being
