Its first iteration, Liberate the Caged Voices hosted events where letters written by California prisoners were brought into the public sphere. Participants would read the letters on stage giving voice to people behind bars. It was a powerful experience for everyone involved, with many people understanding for the first time what was actually happening to people in California’s prisons. Tears were shed, hearts burst open, a transition was underway.

Our first venue, The Octopus Lounge, closed paving the way for the Freedom and Movement Center – owned and staffed almost entirely by formerly incarcerated people. Out of these gatherings, and guided by the incredible work from California Prison Focus, PHSS (and the New Afrikan Elders behind the scenes), came a deeper understanding of solitary confinement and the Hunger Strikes in general, and the experience of New Afrikans in particular. And culminated in the campaign to Free Sitawa!

In 2017, we met with Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa — New Afrikan Revolutionary Nationalist & Political Prisoner who Co-founded the Pelican Bay State Prison “Short Corridor Collective” and organized the Historic California Hunger Strikes to end indefinite solitary confinement — to discuss the idea of a Freedom campaign for him as “Tip-of-the-Spear”, his New Afrikan Brothas and those “similarly situated prisoners held within CDCr’s solitary confinement units.” Brotha Sitawa was also co-author of the Agreement to End Hostilities — a powerful call to action for California prisoners to cease any and all hostilities across racial lines to “no longer allow CDCr to use us against each other for their benefit!!”

Due to the debilitating effects of long-term imprisonment, our Brotha Sitawa suffered a stroke. And CDCr’s response – or lack thereof – could’ve killed him. In 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic paused the campaign indefinitely.

Through Prison Focus Radio host, Nube Brown, LCV became a monthly column at the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper. This column revealed the ongoing realities of captivity – specifically of the New Afrikan Hunger Strikers who were placed in indefinite solitary confinement due to their political & cultural activities, including practicing Black August, learning Swahili and reading books by George Jackson. These New Afrikan Political Prisoners continued their ongoing fight for humanity by exposing the ongoing abuses of solitary confinement, medical genocide, and decades of unjust parole denials to this day. See the powerful expose of medical abuse and neglect at the California Health Care Facility by Brotha Sitawa.

Liberate the Caged Voices continues its unapologetic intention to further the narrative of current & former New Afrikan Political Prisoners via the Prison Focus Radio program, Co-hosted by Brotha Kubwa Jitu, and in-person events. Liberate Our Elders!