Getting to know More Than Our Crimes

What is your organization’s issue focus?

More Than Our Crimes (MTOC) is focused on changing the narratives of and about people who are or were incarcerated. We believe that the stories society tells about people impacted by incarceration often become the stories they begin to tell about themselves. Through storytelling, advocacy, and civic engagement, we work to create opportunities for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, particularly DC residents incarcerated throughout the federal prison system, to reclaim their voices, reshape public perceptions, and build pathways toward leadership and community participation.

What is something your organization is currently prioritizing?

One of our current priorities is launching a correspondence course in partnership with Georgetown University’s Civic Engagement Lab. The course will teach incarcerated DC residents how government works, why civic engagement matters, and how communities build power to advocate for policies that directly impact their lives. Our goal is to help participants understand that civic engagement does not begin upon release; it can begin while they are still incarcerated. We want to help transform a population that has often felt disconnected from decision-making into informed advocates who recognize the value of their lived experiences and understand that they deserve a seat at the table.

Do you have an “Advocacy Tip” or “Lesson Learned” to share?

One lesson we have learned is to never underestimate the power of meeting people where they are and speaking in a language they understand. Too often, communities that have been historically excluded from civic spaces already possess the skills necessary to be effective advocates; they simply have never been told that their lived experiences are a form of expertise. Our job is not to create advocates from scratch, but to help people recognize that they already have the tools—they just need the confidence to use them.

How have Bolder Advocacy and/or the Justice program helped you?

We have not yet had the opportunity to formally work with either Bolder Advocacy or the Justice program, but we see both as a natural fit for our work and would welcome the opportunity to collaborate. Advocacy is central to our mission, and our correspondence course is being developed for that very reason: to help incarcerated individuals build the knowledge, confidence, and civic capacity necessary to advocate for themselves and their communities.

Who inspires you?

Halim Flowers inspires me. Like me, he was incarcerated at age 16 and spent decades in prison before returning home. Today, he uses his art, voice, and platform to challenge harmful narratives about people impacted by incarceration. He reminds us that we are all more than our crimes and that the “superpredator” label imposed on an entire generation of young people was never an accurate reflection of who we were or who we could become. His life is a testament to the fact that people change, and that redemption is not a theory—it is real.