FREER Donor Rockstars 5

We appreciate EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE of our donors. Not only people who give money, but also give time volunteering, and give access to their information and resources. You're all priceless. It’s an honor to highlight those who have participated in building us to this point. Thank you all! πŸ’―

Edited by BL Shirelle

 
 

My name is Ivy Johnson, I'm directly justice-impacted, an activist; but beyond anything else – I fight for freedom. I served 18 years consecutively at both Muncy and Cambridge State Correctional Facilities in the state of PA. The reason why I support FREER is due to my experience with incarceration. When you're inside – you’re not only there physically, you're there emotionally, mentally and spiritually. If you don't find a way to free your mind, a way to escape mentally; if you don't find a way to pour into others while you're there, or find like minded people – you will be swallowed whole.

 

Ivy Johnson accepting her freedom award at the Love Lock Down Gala 2024.

 

And prison stays on you after you leave. Since I walked out those gates – I still deal with anxiety and PTSD. It's not your natural state to be in a cage. You were not designed to live that way, with extreme levels of deprivation. I remember having to get off of the subway, a mode of transportation I have used all my life – because I wasn't used to being that close to people. I wasn't used to motion, sound, and I would have to get off and catch my breath before getting my courage up to get back on just to get home. 

 

Images courtesy of Ivy Johnson

 

You're not used to asking for help, because there's nobody to really go to for help in prison. Medical is dangerous. If you go to psych, they end up over-medicating you or putting you on some shit that gives you more problems. You get used to just dealing with shit alone. When you get out those bad habits may have already been developed. Being as though I spent almost two decades inside during the technology boom – the whole world changed in my absence. I remember standing on the bus stop one day watching people walk by wondering why everyone was talking to themselves. Little did I know, they had devices in their ears they were talking through. I thought I would be okay with having some basic technical computer skills, but I found out that the computers we were taught on in prison were twenty years behind. There's a certain level of embarrassment that comes with that. 


There are special people who helped me navigate my way through incarceration. Those people, a lot of them still inside – fuel my work and have made it a priority for me to support great organizations like FREER Records. The main person being Kim Joynes. My partner, my sister, my friend. Kim has a LIFE sentence. She's been in prison for over 45 years. Her case boils down to abuse of a corpse at the VERY most. She gave birth to a child while incarcerated. She is now the grandmother of her grown grandchild. She has been up for commutation several times. Commutation is a farce in the state of Pennsylvania. There are no set rules or guidelines. No benchmarks you can hit to obtain commutation, and it's expensive.

Ed Rendell was her prosecutor. Her case became political without it being such because her prosecutor became Philly's mayor, then Pennsylvania's Governor. He would bury her alive before his prosecutorial misconduct came to light and that's exactly what he did. So if you're reading this and looking to support a worthy case or cause – please google Kim Joynes of Pennsylvania. Her case is horrendous. We need all the support we can get to bring her home.

I also want to take this opportunity to speak on your platform about the Sunset Parole Coalition. I want everybody to know that freedom is not free. I am on what's called special circumstances parole. That means I see parole once a year, yet I have to pay to be supervised every month.

Know that the prison is designed to extract wealth. It's about wealth extraction, just like Jim Crow. While you're incarcerated, they're taking 30% of every dollar you get. When you get home, there's more dimes they're going to take. So, that's one of the concerns. Another concern is housing. I had so many housing struggles when I came home. Anywhere from water running down my walls to landlords trying to exchange sex for rent. I believe a big part of our housing issues comes from the fact that we have to present a paper to the landlord stating we are on parole and we aren't allowed to move for a significant period of time. So the landlord knows I just can't get up and move now. Why would they fix the hole in my ceiling? Parole is a series of obstacles, hurdles and barriers. I'm not off parole until 2038. Although I have multiple jobs, a good credit score, taxes paid and an asset to my community. Why do I still have the shackles on me? So we're presenting legislation where you can hit certain benchmarks and earn your way off of parole. Even people in worse situations than me are involved. We have the juvenile lifers coming. They're on parole for the rest of their lives, yet they are the least likely to reoffend. We're looking for support to join the coalition. We want people to join us to march on the state capital. There's not a website yet, but we are working on one. We have meetings every Wednesday at 4pm. We're looking for people to join us in our meetings, get a division of the coalition started in your own area. We're looking to expand in other counties of PA. You can contact BL if you want more info. (info at freerrecords dot com)


In closing, I want to say I am moved to support this cause because there is freedom in music. In music lies the escape that I talked about earlier; the thing that you need when you're in prison – that if you don't find you will go insane. You get to tell your story. You get to be human. You're no longer this monster that the system says you are. You get to be seen and heard. You get to be understood through music. And that's very important, very healing. It's therapeutic to offer that to this particular population. Don't wait until FREER Records makes it to the Grammys before you decide to support them. Jump on the bandwagon early. This thing is only going to get bigger. 

 
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