Publications

Since May of 2020, Empowerment Avenue writers have published hundreds of stories in dozens of publications: literary journals, local newspapers, publications focused on criminal justice and social justice, and major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times and Miami Herald.
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Here are some standouts:

Reading While Incarcerated Saved Me. So Why Are Prisons Banning Books? | Christopher Blackwell for the New York Times

When Torture is a Health Precaution | Christopher Blackwell for Jewish Currents

Let Everyone Vote, Even If They’re Incarcerated | Patrick Stephens for The Progressive

My Life Sewing T-Shirts for 26 cents an hour | Wesley Williams for The New Republic

How the Justice System Denies Trans Identities | Jessica Sylvia for Dame Magazine

The Everglades Experiment: Florida’s First ‘Incentivized’ Prison Redefines Punishment | Ryan Moser for The Crime Report

I’m Trapped In a Women’s Prison During a Pandemic | Michele Scott for Elle

“Left in the Dark”​ | Covid Behind Bars | numerous Empowerment Avenue contributors for The Drift

Prisons Said It Was COVID Isolation. The Incarcerated Describe Torture | Christopher Blackwell and Jessica Shulberg for HuffPost

As COVID-19 Raged, Journalists Fought Isolation and Illness to Expose Abusive Conditions | Empowerment Avenue contributors for Shadowproof

My Pen Uncovers the Real Me | Corey Aurthur

2021 Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize | Demetrius Buckley

What It’s Like to Experience Solitary Confinement as an Incarcerated Trans Woman | Jessica Sylvia for INTO

I was on The First 48. Your true-crime obsession is based on lies | Demetrius Buckley for Scalawag Magazine

Op-Ed: In prison, the work of journalism is challenging but essential | Juan Haines for the Los Angeles Times

After Incarcerated Organizers’ Two-Year Fight for Food Justice, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Finally Reopens Hot Kitchens in the OC Jails | Jose Armendariz for The Voice of OC

I've been incarcerated for 15 years, and my $1,200 stimulus check was the first time I felt I could give back | Kunlyna Tauch for Insider

Prisoners Forced to Work for Showers Are Now Being Punished for Taking Them, | Olivia Heffernan and Steve Brooks for The Nation

San Quentin Is Still Punishing People for Being Sick | Juan Haines for Type Investigations and the American Prospect

Post-Covid, Kent State’s Child Development Center is financially secure and enrollment rising | Michael Ray for The Portager

The War on Drugs Persists for Older Incarcerated People in Florida | Tony Cobb and Khawla Nakua for Prism

‘I don’t have the funds’: a diabetic prisoner pleaded for insulin supplies before his death | Felix Sitthivong for the Guardian

Washington Prisons Mishandled Court Mail, Impeded Access to Justice | Christopher Blackwell for the Appeal 

Before Rahsaan founded Empowerment Avenue, he had published eight stories in outside publications. Within the first two years of Empowerment Avenue, he published over 30 stories and earned nearly $30,000, with bylines in numerous publications and a contributing writer role for Current. Much of his writing career has informed our larger vision of Empowerment Avenue. 
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Here are some of his standout pieces:

How I Convinced My Incarcerated Peers to Make Language a Priority | Marshall Project

Incarcerated people are telling their own stories more than ever before. It’s about time | NBCU Academy

A prison reckoning with remorse | Boston Globe

At San Quentin, Incarcerated People Organize for Safety as Prison Transfers Spread Covid-19, | Shadowproof

The Struggle Prepares You For Your Purpose | The Inevitable

I Organized My First Art Show From Behind Bars. Here’s How Incarcerated Curators Can Help Us See the World Differently | ArtNet

First-ever International Prison Radio Conference shows potential of ‘story power’ to effect change | Current

San Quentin’s Rolling Lockdowns Are Not Keeping Anyone Safe | Type Investigations and The Appeal

I've served 19 years in San Quentin prison and I just got diagnosed with COVID-19. Where is the justice? | Insider

Santa Rosa council member Mark Stapp on his decade of basketball with San Quentin prison’s sports exchange program | Press Democrat