Prison slavery undermines the freedom and bargaining power of all other workers. It must end.
“The overseer’s whip is now fully supplanted by the lash of hunger! And the auction block by the chain-gang and convict cell.”
– Lucy Parsons, IWW founding member and former slave
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Our Stories
Above all, Hybachi LeMar is a loving and devoted son. He is the only child of his beloved mother Nimmy, who has been paralyzed and wheelchair-bound since she was tragically and horrifically shot in the neck nearly 40 years ago. Hybachi has been Nimmy’s primary caretaker since he was a small child; a friend who has taken on much of her care during his incarceration attested to the “immense responsibility” he has carried “to ensure his mother survives and has the fullest life possible since he was only 10 years old.”
LeMar grew up in brutal circumstances, yet believes in the infinite value of every life. When he’s not locked up, he is taking care of his mom and his community. When he is, he reads, writes, and raises consciousness inside the belly of the beast.
Check out LaMar’s support site and purchase his books for sale from the IWW store.
Shannon Copeland is a criminal justice reform advocate, speaker, and returning citizen with over 15 years of experience in Florida’s women’s prisons following a wrongful conviction. During incarceration, she developed extensive legal and advocacy skills, authoring the article Prison Life and being featured in the documentary Being Michelle.
Since her release, she has spoken nationally to advocates and lawmakers, supported reentry efforts, and completed fellowships with organizations like the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.
Her work has been recognized with the 2026 Stop the Stigma “Barrier Breaker Award” for turning wrongful incarceration into sustained advocacy and community impact. She continues to seek opportunities for speaking, training, and nonprofit development focused on systemic reform and reentry support.
For twenty-seven years, Diamond has navigated life behind bars as a transgender woman. Her conviction for carjacking marked the end of her relative freedom, but her life and her story are still continuing. Diamond found purpose and passion in helping others, and has done so for many over the years.
On the men’s yard where she is housed, Diamond actively works to promote positivity. Through her example, she demonstrates how a person can adapt, grow, and even thrive within the dreary setting of prison.
Her solidarity is not abstract. Diamond is a steadfast advocate, consistently working for the benefit of each and every incarcerated person around her. She is humble and deeply trusted, and her support a reliable constant for those navigating the same constant hardships.
When she looks beyond the yard, Diamond’s mind turns to the stars. Space and science fiction have always fascinated her, offering a vision of vast possibilities. She is an avid fan of the expansive, hopeful futures in Star Trek and the epic sagas of Star Wars. The struggles, principles, and camaraderie that shape destinies in these stories mirror in fiction the resilience she practices every day.
For over four decades, Aaron has navigated life within the confines of a system not designed for indefinite journeys. A single defensive act led to an open-ended sentence that has defined most of his adult life. Yet, within prison, Aaron has authored a different story – one defined by creation, connection, and unwavering resilience.
His world is anchored by his love for his sister and daughter, relationships that stretch across the distance and years, reminding him of his life and family beyond the walls. Channeling his spirit into creativity, Aaron has developed an expertise in audio content, writing, and illustration. His greatest passion lies in authoring children’s books, weaving tales meant to impart valuable life lessons about kindness, courage, and perseverance. Though his work awaits a publisher, it represents a profound act of hope: crafting guides for young minds meant to impart wisdom that he wishes he’d had in his younger years.
Now in his sixties, Aaron meets each day with the discipline of someone who has long prioritized physical fitness. The passage of time, however, has introduced new challenges, and he moves through the prison corridors with the aid of a walker and a wheelchair. This physical reality has not diminished his resolve but has added another layer to his daily perseverance. Aaron’s journey is one of deepening humanity and creative potential through decades of uncertainty. His imagination builds bridges to a world he hopes that his stories, and he himself, will one day reach.
Uhuru is a 49-year-old New Afrikan writer and organizer who recently returned to the community after nearly 31 consecutive years within the Virginia prison system. His journey from incarceration to abolitionist organizing is a testament to the power of political education and collective resistance.
The foundation of Uhuru’s political identity was forged in the harshest of conditions. During the late 1990s, while held in solitary confinement, he encountered the writings of George Jackson. Jackson’s analysis provided a transformative lens, allowing Uhuru to see his own imprisonment not as an isolated event, but as part of a historical continuum connected to chattel slavery and counterinsurgency against the Black/New Afrikan community.
By the early 2000s, this internal shift turned into outward action. Uhuru began writing extensively about the brutal conditions within Virginia’s prisons and started organizing fellow incarcerated people to demand dignity and systemic change.
In 2014, the year the Incarcerated Workers Organizong Committee was founded, Uhuru was recruited into the fold. Joining IWOC marked a turning point in his work, elevating his organizing to a national level. IWOC provided the bridge needed to connect his efforts inside with abolitionists on the outside who provided solidarity and resources and organizers in other prisons fighting the same repressive structures across state lines which helped me to realize that what we were dealing with in Virginia wasn’t happening in isolation.
Now on the outside, Uhuru remains committed to the destruction of the carceral state. His 31 years of lived experience, combined with decades of study and struggle, serve as a guide for the next generation of prison abolitionists.