WHO WE ARE

On the night of March 17, 2023, Steve Brooks and Arthur Jackson were in their fifth-tier cell in the North Block housing unit at San Quentin State Prison. They had just returned from Gov. Gavin Newsom's press conference and they were debriefing each other on the day's events. After listening to the governor's speech, Brooks and Jackson believed the governor was about to embark on another failed attempt at prison reform. The two took turns pacing the small cell floor knowing that this was their moment to do something to help this governor develop a workable model for prison reform.

 

Never before had people either living or working in the prison system had a voice in reforming it. Brooks and Jackson, who each have over 30 years of lived carceral experience believe they understand the problem. They decided to put out a call to action for incarcerated stakeholders to have a voice in the governor's plan. From that call to action, The People in Blue was born.

 

Members of TPIB have been chosen to participate in an inside fellowship with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC), three consecutive years in a row. Steve Brooks fellowship was in 2022; Steve Warren in 2023, and Tony Tafoya is the current inside fellow for 2024. TPIB Members have demonstrated that their lived experience, personal expertise and commitment are invaluable to community organizations committed to creating a society less dependent upon prisons and focused on sending resources back to the community. EBC was founded by Van Jones in 1996. But is quickly becoming an organization run by the formerly incarcerated.