Unlock the Box Campaign: A National Campaign to End Solitary Confinement

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Unlock the Box Campaign: A National Campaign to End Solitary Confinement

Ending solitary confinement and bringing the U.S. into full compliance with the Mandela Rules within 10 years.

03/25/2026

"We know that tearing down one cage means tearing down all cages. We know that freedom isn't free if it's only for some people."

When we talk about prison abolition and ending solitary confinement, the conversation too often centers on men. But Kwaneta Harris — writer, advocate, and solitary survivor — knows the architecture of harm from the inside, and she names what too many conversations leave out.

From the weaponization of pregnancy and bodily functions to the gendered power dynamics that demand silence for survival, the prison system controls women in ways that are specific, targeted, and too often ignored.

This Women's History Month, we must remember: tearing down one cage means tearing down all cages. Women aren't just a part of this movement; they must lead it.

🗣️ Listen. Share. Amplify Kwaneta's voice and the countless women fighting for survival, dignity, and abolition behind bars.

08/27/2025

💔 THE TRUTH ABOUT SOLITARY CONFINEMENT⁠
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Imagine being locked in a space no bigger than a parking spot. No windows. No human contact. ⁠
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Sometimes, there is complete darkness and silence. ⁠
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Other times, endless screaming and bright lights.⁠
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The UN calls it torture. We call it unacceptable.⁠
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Over 122,000 people are living this reality right now in U.S. facilities—including children.⁠
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It's time to end this. Join us.

08/22/2025

The reviews are in! 📖⭐

Dr. Terry Kupers sits down with Tyler Hicks of The Guardian to talk about the forthcoming "Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement," co-authored with Christopher Blackwell, Kwaneta Harris, and Deborah Zalesne. Coming September 4 from Pluto Press.

Preorder your copy 🛒 and read the full review here:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/18/ending-isolation-book-review-solitary-confinement

https://bookshop.org/p/books/ending-isolation-the-case-against-solitary-confinement/0a24fd8bf0aabec1

08/09/2025

This International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we're reflecting on the rich global tradition of Indigenous resistance to carceral colonialism — and how all within the abolitionist movement can learn from and support their work today.

In the U.S. and around the world, it's vital to understand the long history of Indigenous suffering and repression at the hands of the criminal legal system, and the use of solitary as a tool of imperialism to destabilize and destroy Indigenous communities.

Although data that specifically reports on the rates of Indigenous people in solitary is rare, we know that ending the use of solitary is core to Indigenous liberation.

Swipe through for information on the Day itself, crucial moments in U.S. history, and an opportunity to support Indigenous leaders in protecting tribal lands today.

07/28/2025

BREAKING: The End Solitary Confinement Act is back in Congress.

Solitary confinement is torture, and it's happening to nearly 11,000 people in federal prisons right now.

This bill, led by Senator Edward J. Markey and Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove, would ban the practice beyond 4 hours and require 14+ hours of out-of-cell time. It's time to stop the abuse.

Take action! Go to endtorturenow.org to tell your representative to co-sponsor the End Solitary Confinement Act.

07/18/2025

✊🏾 Today would be revolutionary anti-apartheid activist Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's 107th birthday. Since his survival of 27 years' imprisonment and transformational leadership in South African politics, Mandela has been revered around the world as exemplifying the struggle for human rights.

In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the revised Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and named them “The Mandela Rules” in his honor. Rules 43-45 prohibit solitary beyond 15 days, and require that solitary be used “only in exceptional cases as a last resort, for as short a time as possible.”

🎻 Tune into the UN Chamber Music Society's special concert in celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day! Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWaRMrOSKV8

07/08/2025

On July 8, 2013, four men in solitary at Pelican Bay kicked off a massive hunger strike to protest indefinite solitary confinement and other horrific conditions.

These four survivors — together a group known as The Short Corridor Collective — led 29,000 people locked up across 22 California prisons and 4 out-of-state prisons on a historic 2-month strike.

Swipe through for an overview of the context, response, and results of the strike, and be sure to check out the 6-time Best Documentary winner "The Strike" from filmmakers JoeBill Muñoz and Lucas Guilkey. Watch it on Independent Lens | PBS or request a screening event here: https://www.thestrikefilm.com/

07/07/2025

🎉 Victory in Shelby County, Tennessee! Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris signed an executive order to adopt the Mandela Rules in the county's Division of Corrections.

"Excessive solitary confinement can be cruel and undermine a person's sense of self, and even their ability to appreciate basic reality," Mayor Harris said at the order's signing on June 18. "I heard a story today about a juvenile — a youth — in solitary confinement for 120 days."

Anthony Alexander, director of the Shelby County Division of Corrections, said that he's "proud of the work our team has put in to change hearts and minds about this overused form of punishment.”

Read more here: https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/crime/shelby-county-mayor-signing-executive-order-to-end-solitary-confinement/

06/30/2025

On Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, he recently devoted an entire episode to the juvenile justice system, with a significant segment on the torture of solitary and the additional harm to youth that extended isolation causes.

Swipe through for key moments, and watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pya-kt5M7uY

06/26/2025

🚌 Not every bus ride is about transportation. For many, it's about transformation.

From the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks to the Freedom Riders to the Climate Action Caravans, busses have played a central role in making change in America. A bus can move people, but it's the people who make a movement, who travel the rocky road toward progress.

🚍 It can all begin with a bus. And for us, it's the Journey to Justice Bus Tour.

This fall, we're hitting the road on a 17-city, 11-state tour of the nation to end solitary confinement. Each stop will include a suite of one-of-a-kind, survivor-led events and celebrations combining art and organizing, designed to educate and activate movement veterans and rookies alike.

⛽ Learn more and sign up for updates to ensure you don't miss a thing at journeytojusticetour.com. We can't wait to see you on the road! 🧳

06/24/2025

2SLGBTQIA+ people have always been at the heart of the anti-solitary movement, both as leaders and as survivors. 🌱

Swipe through for some crucial information that contextualizes with the violence that gender & sexual minorities have always faced at the hands of the criminal legal system.

This month and every month, we are so of the anti-solitary movement's history as one that includes and is led by the 2SLGBTQIA+ community! 🌈

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Washington D.C., DC

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http://www.unlocktheboxcampaign.org/

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