The United States has the highest rate of incarceration of any developed country in the world, and Louisiana leads all other states as the epicenter of mass incarceration in the world. In other words, we lock up more people (compared to our population) here than ANYWHERE ELSE in the world. If mass incarceration promoted public safety, Louisiana should be the one of the SAFEST places in the world. News flash: it is not. But it is one of the poorest. Mass incarceration affects more than just the "criminals" - a label that is used to dehumanize, incidentally. It affects families, our communities, our state economy, and our shared sense of justice. And there is a strong argument that prisons as they exist today in Louisiana lead to high recidivism and negatively impact both individual rehabilitation and long-term public safety. I'm raising money for the Promise of Justice Initiative, one of the only organizations in Louisiana that works every day to end mass incarceration.

Promise of Justice Initiative fights for the dignity, freedom, and autonomy of those targeted and touched by the criminal legal system and for an end to mass incarceration. We are building a better world -- a world where justice means a legal system that embodies an ethos of transformation, restoration, and safety, and values community, family, dreams, and joy as part of Black life and all life. We believe that a better world is possible. We believe in the promise of justice.