From prison to justice
Calvin Duncan’s fight to free himself and others from a broken system — an interview by Bernard Smith.
Category
In the N.O.
Orleans culture
‘We helped each other. We taught each other the law.’
Calvin Duncan, one of the finest inmate counsels to ever file a writ from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, releases his autobiography today, July 8. The Lens is honored to publish an excerpt from this highly anticipated book, The Jailhouse Lawyer.
‘Ride for Peace’ Brings New Orleanians together to interrupt violence and build community
Part protest, part celebration, the Ride for Peace Sopped at City Hall and pedaled through neighborhoods long affected by violence.
‘Sometimes we forget our own majesty’ — capturing the cadence of New Orleans on Juneteenth
On Juneteenth this year, one elder spoke of freedom still being unfinished. A young teacher reflected on what it means to shape free minds in a system that often feels bound. A mother talked about raising Black sons with love and fear in equal measure.
The towering legacy of the House of Detention
“This building’s architecture tells one story. But its human history tells another— and we need to confront both,” said Loyola Law School professor Andrea Armstrong
Dan Bright was my brother. Death Row didn’t kill us, but it tried.
We can’t keep losing our brothers to the aftermath of injustice. We can’t call it “freedom” if we’re still dying from what they did to us.
‘No Kings Day’ draws 6,500 into New Orleans streets
Protesters carried handmade signs, chanted slogans, voiced concerns about mounting threats to democracy and billionaire-first politics, and — because it’s New Orleans — they blew bubbles.
Her hips uncover the truth about America’s music history
Dancer Chipo Kandake along with New Orleans drumming legend Herlin Riley present a show on Saturday that tells the story of what we call American music, which, she says, started with the Black community.
Only those who have experienced jail can understand the bigger picture
In New Orleans, where incarceration touches nearly every block, jail population counts are much more than numbers – they represent families fractured, futures derailed, and communities under pressure.
The New Orleans jailbreak: crisis, blame, and a system built to break
Some of the loudest voices talking about problems that led to the jailbreak are the same ones who’ve supported underfunding and cuts to social services, education, and mental-health programs—drivers of crime and incarceration in the first place.
