Instead of Prisons
Our Community Reporting Fellows spoke with New Orleans youth about their views on punishment, prison and abolition. Here’s what we heard.
Behind This Story: Louisiana currently has one of the highest imprisonment rates in the world, but our communities don’t feel any safer. What are the alternatives to mass incarceration? Our Fall 2023 Community Reporting Fellows spent several months researching abolition concepts and talking with local advocates and formerly incarcerated people to learn more about why so many people are locked away, what impact that has on communities and how we might be able to change course. The result is our Scrap the Cells reporting series, which includes a community info guide, articles and short documentaries that aim to increase the access community members have to information on the local prison abolition movement. Have questions or comments? Email us at ledeneworleans@gmail.com.
What would New Orleans look like if there were no jails and prisons? What support is needed to get there? And how might we spend our tax dollars differently?
Last November, our Community Reporting Fellows met with the young people at Be Loud Studios to talk about the real-life impacts of punishment and mass incarceration, and share visions of a New Orleans future without prisons. Be Loud Studios, a local nonprofit, works with children to help amplify their voices and build their confidence through radio and digital media production.
The Community Reporting Fellows documented their conversations with Be Loud DJs, ages 10–14, through group circle discussions and audio interviews.
The topics of their conversations ranged from unpacking concepts like the carceral system and abolition, to sharing experiences with punishment in schools.
It was the first time most of our fellows had talked in-depth about big topics with a younger generation. During the interviews, Be Loud DJs asked questions of their own, curious about the perspectives of their older peers. (Our Community Reporting Fellows are ages 18–25.)
The following are excerpts with interviews from Be Loud DJs Camille, Colby, Lola, Se’Rhyah and Riley, who are all between ages 10 and 14. Here’s what we heard.
Note: These conversations have been edited for length and clarity.
Where should the city invest money instead of jails and prisons?
Se’Rhyah: We should invest in people that lives on the streets and schools and libraries and homes for people who don’t have one and don’t have enough food… We should put that money towards them so they can live that life and get towards their dreams.
Camille: If we start to abolish prisons, [more money] should go towards libraries and schools and really things to help kids with their education and to help them and to guide them.
What needs to change to keep young people out of prison?
Lola: If the people committed these terrible crimes, then maybe you should figure out why they did these things. Do they need help? Because these prisons aren’t helping these people.
Kendyll: I think we should just be there for people. For mentorship, I’d go to a trusted adult–like, your favorite adult ever. This could be a parent. It could be a teacher, an aunt, an uncle, an older cousin, an older sibling. Just go to someone that you know you can trust. I like it when someone is just there for me, they don’t have to talk.”
Riley: I think a more free New Orleans would be people having therapy, people being able to go to rehab… Some people just want company sometimes because they feel alone. Most of the time when they feel alone and they don’t feel like themselves, it’s because their feelings aren’t right at the moment.
Colby: You shouldn’t go hard on your child, if they’re talking in class [for example], because that’s what you’re gonna have to do when you grow up. You’re gonna have to talk. Punishment isn’t really good discipline. Maybe you can just, like, have a talk with your child? Because if you give them a really bad punishment, they can feel really bad about themselves.
What do you think about prison abolition?
Camille: I think [abolition] would just make it much easier for people to live their normal lives, especially people of color. At least from what I know, lots of people are imprisoned for things that they didn’t really deserve to be imprisoned for at all. Especially for the amount of time that they were imprisoned for.
Why is it important for kids to speak up about punishment and mass incarceration?
Demi: I think talking about these issues is important because some children can end up in prison for some of this stuff… If [your child] gets in trouble at school a lot they can have a talk with their parent or at least go talk to someone, like, at school, like a counselor or something.
Lola: We’re trying to help the community. We’re trying to help the youth grow. We’re trying to help our society become better, right? Keeping these people [captive] isn’t gonna help anything.
Fellowship Producer Nijah Narcisse edited and produced this piece. She is a New Orleans born-and-bred creative writer and journalist, and an alumni of the Community Reporting Fellowship at Lede New Orleans.
This article is available to republish under a Creative Commons license. Read Lede New Orleans’ publishing guidelines here.
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