Why take a second look at recidivism?

words by Charles Brooks

The fear of the formerly incarcerated posing a threat to communities and neighborhoods after their release from prison continues to not only drive policies and laws but the opposition to sentence reform as well.  

Despite volumes of evidenced based research of recidivism, the perception remains strong, enabling the capacity to build a political agenda that weaponizes trauma, fear, and emotional anxiety. 

Despite news headlines around the country of falling crime and recidivism rates, conservative outlets, such as the Manhattan Institute publishes this 2024 report, "Why “Rehabilitating” Repeat Criminal Offenders Often Fails", and wrote the following: “...After a hundred years of theorizing, testing, evaluating, and criticizing, social science has consistently demonstrated that serious criminal behavior remains stubbornly stable over time, situation, and place. Those who commit crimes today will be those who commit crimes tomorrow, and they will be the same people who commit crimes until they are incapacitated by age, infirmity, imprisonment, or death….”

What are the conditions facing workers on May Day? End of Year update

words by Charles Brooks 

This is an end of year update on the issues and conditions affecting working people today. 

In the seven months since May 1st, otherwise known as May Day and International Workers Day, workers in the US and around the world continued to experience increasing challenges to their personal household economy. 

2025 comes to a close with one gloomy news report after another about the national and local economies.  The crisis to the personal economy deepens with rising rates of unemployment, record layoffs, and increasing costs of living, including health-care. 

2025 was a record year for layoffs - over one million layoffs, as the unemployment rate rose to its highest rates in four years since 2021.  

Store closures climbed pass eight thousand during 2025. 

Where is the sense of urgency (December 2025 update)

words by Charles Brooks

Due to recent developments, "Where is the urgency?" has been updated:

Earlier this year on June 17th, Bilal “BJ” Abdullah was shot and killed by three Baltimore City police officers.  He was well known in communities and neighborhoods throughout Baltimore City as an arabber, selling fruits and vegetables from a horse-drawn cart. He was also reportedly known to have mental challenges as well.  

For six months, the Independent Investigations Division (IID) in Maryland’s Attorney General office conducted their investigation.  

Just days before Christmas Day, the Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced his decision, based on the IID’s report findings, not to prosecute any of the police officers involved in Abdullah’s death.  The decision was met with anger and frustration from Abdullah’s  family as the family’s attorney stated his intention to legally challenge the report findings.

Press Release: Attorney General Brown Announces That No Charges Will Be Filed in the June 17, 2025 Fatal Police-Involved Shooting in Baltimore - News - Office of the Attorney General of Maryland

Independent Investigations Division Report: 25-IID-012 FINAL_Declination Report- 6.17.2025 Baltimore Police Involved Shooting (ABDULLAH).pdf

Family Attorney press conference: http://instagram.com/reels/DSnNcoNEYxb/

See the originally published article here

How do we approach human rights?

 words by Charles Brooks

One way to describe the current political moment can be the constant reminder of the political contradictions on public display, every single day.  

December 10th was no different. 

December 10th is observed across the world as Human Rights Day, commemorating the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed on this day, back in 1948. 

The US, in parading itself as the defender and champion of human rights, publishes an annual report outlining the human rights abuses occurring in nearly 200 countries around the world. The report highlights atrocities such as torture, genocide, crimes against humanity, and political repression to name a few.  

Are we thinking differently about Thanksgiving?

words by Charles Brooks

As families typically come together to eat on Thanksgiving, it is also the day that amplifies the historical contradictions and deep-seated mythology rooted in American history.  

For the indigenous folk, the 27th was a reminder of loss. Of death. They remember Thanksgiving as a Day of Mourning. 

Thanksgiving is now one of those days, another federally recognized holiday that day reminds us of the country’s violent settler beginnings. 

As the days got closer to Thanksgiving, I thought more and more about the late Glen Ford - a long-time journalist, and a co-founder of the Black Agenda Report, who served as their Executive Editor until he passed away in 2021.  It's an online site that publish stories that examine critical "themes, topics, and debates of concern to the Black radical left".

The very first sentence in Pascal Roberts' obituary of Glen Ford was telling, “Black radical analysis was the foundation of Glen Ford's work….”

What hidden truths does Dr. Horne uncover?

words by Charles Brooks 

Book Discussion: “The Capital of Slavery: Washington D.C. 1800-1865”.

What hidden truths are uncovered in his newest work?

There are organized formations having political discussions, engaging in political work and activities in neighborhoods and communities all across the country extending beyond the cursory critique of Trump or excitement around the NYC Mayoral campaign. These discussions spotlight the political contradictions while organizing Black folk around particular issues affecting their material and political conditions. 

In NYC, the December 12th Movement is one of those organized formations with a long history in the fight for liberation for Black people.  For nearly forty years, they’ve been active on all political fronts, from the local and national to international political struggles.

In Brooklyn, New York there’s Sista’s Place, where over the years they've hosted many political events, report backs, meetings, community forums, and film screenings. “...Over its 30 years, Sistas’ Place has fulfilled that vision – as a jazz unicorn, a coffee shop, a community center, a cultural gathering place, and a liberated zone in the People’s Republic of Brooklyn…”

Where is the sense of urgency?

words by Charles Brooks

The political misleadership in Baltimore City is on full public display as their Mayor Brandon Scott continues to bask in the limelight for crime and violence reduction while three families mourn and grieve after losing loved ones experiencing mental crises only to end up dead. 

Over a span of just eight days, a few months now back in June, three Black people experienced mental crises and are now dead. 

Bilal “BJ” Abdullah shot by police. Pytorcarcha Brooks shot by police. Donnie Melton was handcuffed, in leg restraints yet died in police custody. 

The multiple deaths in such a short period of time compelled the City Council to hold a hearing.  

Their deaths are shedding light not only on a broken 911 diversion program but are increasingly serving as a reminder of the ongoing issues with the Baltimore PD that includes their response to mental crises and beyond. 

The Capital of Slavery: Washington D.C. 1800-1865 - a book discussion

words by charles brooks

Book Discussion: “The Capital of Slavery: Washington D.C. 1800-1865” by Gerald Horne

What myths are shattered with his newest work?

The current political moment compels a clear analysis of history to understand the forces shaping today's material and political conditions. 

Dr. Horne’s analysis, research and intellectual production bring clarity to a moment defined by uncertainty, confusion and chaos. His diverse body of work includes over 40 books as settler colonialism, (racial) capitalism and white supremacy became the focus of his scholarship in recent years. 

He is frequently interviewed as a recurrent guest on several radio shows and podcasts to share his observations and analysis of recent developments in national and global politics. 

Dr. Horne recently visited Sista’s Place in Brooklyn, New York to discuss his newest book, “The Capital of Slavery: Washington D.C. 1800-1865”.  The book is another installment in his body of work, highlighting the counter-narratives and contradictions dispelling those strongly held myths of American history, particularly around the nation’s founding.   

Is the first step to take a Second Look?

words by Charles Brooks 

One of Maryland's newest laws can drastically alter the racial disparities in Maryland’s state prison system caused by years of mass incarceration of Black by people. 

On October 1st, Maryland joined a steadily growing list of states along with the District of Columbia, and the federal government that will now provide a process to review the sentences of those who served at least twenty years for possible sentence reduction.  

In Maryland state prisons, the racial disparity is particularly profound in the overall prison population and the prison's aging population. Although statistics paint a disturbing picture for Black folks in Maryland who make up about 30% of the state population and 71% of the prison population, the law’s eligibility criteria actually limits its potential reach to fully address these disparities. 

How are community-based organizations addressing crime in Baltimore City?

words by charles brooks 

“…the power of the community is demonstrated in the decline of crime…”, Maryland State Public Defender, Natasha Dartigue

From 2015 through 2022, the murder rate exceeded 300 bodies every single year. Then the murder began to decline. Significantly. In 2023, there were 262 bodies. In 2024, barely 200. At the June half-year mark in 2025, the count sits at 68.  

There’s a different story unfolding in Baltimore with a new chapter being written. Not by Hollywood scripts or media narratives, but by a network of committed organizations dedicated to their community and neighborhoods. Their story starts with meeting the moment with a heightened sense of urgency in the neighborhoods and communities where trauma is amplified yet muted.