Painting of Martin Sostre by Jerry Ross. Effecting change from within the brutal, racist, and dehumanizing confines of U.S. prisons has long been a dangerous and difficult endeavor. Black people, already overrepresented in prison systems across the country as a result of racism at every stage of the criminal legal system, endure harsher punishment ...

Late last year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued a directive that effectively grants police wide discretion to forcibly remove any person who “appears to be mentally ill and displays an inability to meet basic living needs” from streets and subways and transport them to the hospital. The policy is ineffective at best and dangerous at worst. I ...