xbn .

Kempis "Ghani" Songster

After serving over 30 years in prison on a sentence of life without parole, Kempis Songster, also known as Ghani, was released pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v. Alabama that it is unconstitutional to sentence children to mandatory LWOP.  He was given that sentence at the age of 15.  Kempis has emerged as an outspoken voice for a more livable world.  He is now with Philadelphia’s Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project as Program Manager of YASP’s restorative justice diversion program called Healing Futures.

Essays

Break Every Yoke

Abolition is not just about closing prisons. It’s not just about stopping police or closing police departments, but it’s also about abolishing the police in our heads. It’s also about abolishing the prisons in our imaginations that prevent us from thinking about new ways and better ways to treat each other and to keep each other safe.