Empowering Descendant Communities (EDC) to Unlock Democracy is a joint initiative of the Mindich Program for Engaged Scholarship at Harvard College, Healing Our Land, Inc. (HOLI), the African American Coalition Committee (AACC), and the Democracy Behind Bars Coalition (DBBC).

Recognizing that the exclusion of eligible jail voters and the disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions erode political power and worsen the racial biases of the criminal legal system, this project aims to address systemic inequities affecting descendant communities within. We are pursuing this through two mutually supportive paths: establishing jail-based voting and civic education programs, and building the necessary infrastructure to restore voting rights to thousands of individuals.

We will be circulating a petition to repeal the Massachusetts constitutional amendment (CXX) that took the right to vote away from people serving felony sentences.

The official signature pages won't be ready until early September, but you can pledge to sign now. Then, someone from our field organizing team will contact you for your signature, as soon as our petition is approved by the Attorney General, with several signing locations near you. Thank you for helping us build a stronger democracy!

Upcoming events

  • Unlock Our Power Session with Suffolk County Jail & JBV Ambassadors

    September 5th | 9 am

    Join us for food, fellowship, and special presentations on Reimagining Democracy from the Jail-Based Voting Ambassadors of the Empowering Descendant Communities (EDC) Project

    RSVP

  • Massachusetts State House Hearing

    September 16th | 1 pm

    Hearing for accompanying voting rights bills H.874/873 and S.524 for local and presidential elections. Please attend and share written testimonies and in-person testimonies. Have any questions? Please reach out to Chrissy Cassa

    Contact Chrissy

I wrote this piece from prison. Why shouldn’t I vote from
here too?

Voting would strengthen my connections to society.

A powerful article published by The Boston Globe, written by Maurice Skillman - an incarcerated organizer and dedicated advocate for voting rights restoration. Maurice plays a key role in building support for the coalition by identifying potential endorsers and organizations aligned with the mission to end felony disenfranchisement.

A graduate of the Emerson Prison Initiative with a BA degree, Maurice also serves as a board member of the African American Coalition Committee (AACC) at MCI-Norfolk.

By Maurice Skillman