Sylvia A. Harvey (SAH)

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According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as of April 26, 799 federal inmates and 319 federal prison staff members have confirmed positive test results for COVID-19 nationwide.
And, as the number of confirmed cases among detainees continues to rise, some advocates have expressed concerns about the heightened risks people in prison face.
As a result, some local authorities have taken steps to either release prisoners early or reduce arrests. Still, what othe...

This week we discuss the prison industrial complex and the far reaching impact mass incarceration has on the families, children and loved ones left behind by those who are behind bars. Journalist and author Sylvia A. Harvey joins us to talk about her book “The Shadow System: Mass Incarceration and The American Family.”

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, incarcerated Americans — the 2.3 million people often housed in overcrowded facilities, many people of color, many with undermanaged chronic health problems — have emerged as one of the nation’s most vulnerable populations. Outbreaks have ripped through prisons and jails including New York’s Rikers Island, Illinois facilities including Chicago’s Cook County Jail and the Stateville Correctional Center, the Parnall Correctional Facility in Jackson, Michigan, and many others across the nation — a scenario that was unnervingly predictable.

As the incarceration rate among mothers in the US increases, who cares for the children left behind?

A clean dusting of snow coats the hoods of cars parked along Philadelphia’s West Norris Street. The trees are mostly bare, withered leaves buried in the corners of benches. This winter morning, the massive rust-brick complex, a low-rise housing development known as the James W. Johnson Homes, is serene. The complex, which stretches for blocks, comprises 522 apartments spread across fifty-nine ...

A series about how coronavirus affects our lives, our loved ones, our work, and our way of life
Life in the Time of Coronavirus is a GEN series where we are interviewing people across the country who have had their lives upended or are experiencing the stress of the unknown.
Nathalie K. is a 32-year-old mother living in a domestic violence shelter in Benton, Arkansas. Her four-month-old son is in foster care, pending an administrative hearing, but the coronavirus outbreak has meant that she h...

Editor’s note: This is the first of two essays The Root is publishing in partnership with Caught, a new podcast from WNYC Studios about the juvenile-justice system. We hope to generate a conversation about how we can support rather than merely punish young people who are in crisis, and we want to hear from you too. Go to CaughtPodcast.org to record your own story.
The first time Z felt the pressure of tight metal handcuffs suffocating his wrists, he was a preteen; truant officers cuffed him w...

Activists launch a new campaign to close an infamous St. Louis jail.
Two rows of barbed wire fencing can’t block the screams that escape from behind the barred windows at the jail. “Help us!” the men shout from inside. The sweltering sun beams down on the two-story brick building, heating its cells. “Let us out!” they beg. “We ain’t got no AC!”
Their pleas were immortalized when Elliot Davis, a Fox2Now reporter, captured the moment on video last summer. The clip was widely circulated, ignitin...

Lewis Conway Jr., a formerly incarcerated activist, running for Austin City Council, sits down with The Appeal.

For Lewis Conway Jr., deciding to run for office was the easy part. The Austin native was a community activist looking for another way to make a change. But until mid-August, the fate of his candidacy for City Council was uncertain. He had served eight years in prison and 12 on parole, and although his voting rights were restored, city officials questioned his eligibility. Only this mo...

From an award-winning journalist, a searing exposé of the effects of the mass incarceration crisis on families — including the 2.7 million American children who have a parent locked up.

Editor’s note: This is the second of two essays The Root is publishing in partnership with Caught, a new podcast from WNYC Studios about the juvenile-justice system. We hope to generate a conversation about how we can support rather than merely punish young people who are in crisis, and we want to hear from you too. Go here to record your own story.

More and more states are making it illegal to get an abortion after 20 weeks. But this is precisely the moment when many women discover that their pregnancies are unviable.

States have gutted family visitation programs in reaction to prison overcrowding, and racist ideas about black sexuality.

Apps make sense of social media 'noise' | Cornell C...

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Far from the ominous spells and creepy pin-dolls of the silver screen, three New Yorkers debunk the myths about Haiti's ancient religion.
Photos by Jessica Bal
I walk down the narrow basement sta...

Cornell Tech students show off their innovations | ...