It all began with an idea.
A prison is a community, similar in some ways to the communities on the other side of the walls that surround it.
Songwriters have always been at the forefront of defining who we are as individuals and as a nation. There are songwriters and storytellers in prison as well. And like those artists on the outside, they are observers who distill the human condition into song. These are the “inside voices” we’re working to give a wider voice to.
Our goal at Inside Voices United is to help these inmates tell their stories to the outside world through songwriting workshops, recording sessions and instrument donations. And as way to preserve these stories, we’ll post their songs online, and their origin stories in a Podcast.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, our systems of incarceration in this country hold almost 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,850 local jails and 1,510 juvenile correctional facilities. While recognizing that there are a myriad of reasons for incarceration, we are better as a people and as a nation when we strive to give hope and a voice to the voiceless and to lift ourselves and others up.
We invite you to join us on our journey of giving back to the communities on both sides of the wall.