Barbara Fair is a social justice activist and founding member of Stop Solitary Connecticut. The Stop Solitary CT campaign is aiming to eliminate the utilization of solitary confinement in Connecticut’s jails and prisons, substituting it with humane and practical alternatives. This legislation was passed in 2021, but Governor Lamont stopped it from becoming law. The organization reintroduced the Protect Act in 2022, which became law. This did not stop Barbara Fair from fighting; she claims she is just getting started.
I sat down with Barbara via Zoom on April 3, 2023, to discuss her work as a social justice activist, mother, and grandmother who has been affected by the criminal justice system.
Rehana Konate: Thank you again for taking the time to sit down with me today. To begin, can you please tell me a little about yourself and what sparked your interest in activism?
Barbara Fair: First of all, I’m a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and longtime activist. That started with the arrest of my brother as a teenager. He was 17 and I was a year younger. This was the first time I experienced the court system, as I did not know what went on. My brother was innocent of what they charged him with, which I believe was purse snatching. At first, we were not worried about him being convicted, as the lady pressing charges had made a mistake. We assumed that we had nothing to worry about because we didn’t know anything about the system. Instead, he was convicted as a first-time offender and sent to prison. While in prison, my brother stayed in close contact, which is how I found out what goes on inside of prison.
You will hear legislators say it takes a lot to go to prison. But I remind them that in their community that may be true but in mine it is not the case. And from that, as I said, [since I had been] clueless to the whole system, I sought out a group of women in the New Haven community called Citizens for Humanized and Criminal Justice. I attached myself to about four or five middle-aged white women to see what I can do about what’s going on in prisons. And it started from there. One of the big things that we were able to accomplish in that group, that little, small group, was the prison officials agreed to have some trailers on the ground. So on the weekends, family members who signed up could spend the weekend in the trailer with their families. And at that time it was only one prison. This was long before mass incarceration. But now our people are filling up prisons all across this nation. The highest number of facilities we have had has been 18. I think now we’re down to maybe 14 or 15. But that’s where it all started for me. And then, just through the years of watching generation after generation spend time in prison, the work will never end for me. I mean, I have a grandchild there now. So it’s like I can’t see this work ending for me until I just can’t do it anymore.
Thank you for sharing that. Is there anything you wish you’d learned before you began working as an activist?
Well, one of the biggest lessons I learned is I thought we could reform the system. It took me about thirty years of doing reform work to realize I was wasting my time. I realized that reform work was a way of not doing anything significant, just tweaking the system a little bit to appear like we were trying to improve it. That was one of the major parts of my years of activism. Now, I don’t talk about reform work. Now I ask how we deconstruct this system. How do we tear it down, beginning at the roots? Another thing I realized is I was trying to change the system without actually addressing the root. These are things that led to this long history of incarcerating African people.
Interesting you say that because, as I mentioned, I’m a junior studying political science with an individualized major in crime, law, and justice. You mention starting with reform and I take a look and I’m like, okay, maybe reform is a good first step. But now your story gives me a different perspective.
So I had to learn that because it took me a long time to get there. I’m glad I finally got there because I would have continued to try to work at reform. But reform is just tweaking the system and making it appear like we’re trying to tear it down when really that’s not in the plan at all. It’s always how to maintain the system, and they do that through policies and directors within the Department of Correction. And then DOC reaches out to legislators to help them maintain their system through laws that they pass or don’t pass.
Well, since we are on the topic, my third question is about the War on Drugs leading to mass incarceration in the United States. As an advocate for prison reform, how would you describe the effects of the legalization of cannabis in Connecticut for current prisoners? How would you describe the impact of policies that are trying to remedy the legacies of disproportionate enforcement of the cannabis ban in Black and other non-white communities?
Well, to me it’s laughable that we spent so many years talking about marijuana instead of looking at the real problem and that is the War on Drugs itself. The War on Drugs was intentionally created by a former president. Nixon began it, Reagan followed, and we have people, even up to former President Clinton, who also strengthened this war. This was truly a war on Black and brown communities. Black people are the highest number of people across this nation that are behind the bars, and brown people are second in line. But more African people are filling up these cells. This was achieved through the War on Drugs. There was a notion that Black people are a problem in America. We have to devise a system [to take] care of that without making it appear like that. It’s been waged intensively on our communities since then. If we look at the War on Drugs, we would think that Black and brown people are the only ones that use and sell drugs. When, in fact, drugs are sold and used in white communities, even at a higher number than in our community.
I have to be honest, I thought when Obama got in office [that] this was going to be the person that was going to bring awareness to what this war really was about and end it. But that was another eye-opener for me. I recognized that one president cannot go in there and undo over fifty years of a legacy of oppression against Black people. Now, to talk about regulating marijuana when you have people who have spent their lifetime behind bars for things like marijuana, we have to question who is going to benefit. It’s not going to be the communities who were devastated by marijuana arrests. It’s gonna be white communities because you have to have the money to invest in this whole thing that they’re doing.
And I haven’t seen them announce reparations. You have to repair the damage that you did before you move on to making more money off it. One thing I’ve found in Connecticut is that once something was a crime, admittedly, they locked it in and intended to devastate our communities. I’ll take alcohol. African Americans from the South used to make their alcohol but then it became a crime. My parents were among those people who supplemented their income by playing numbers. Now you can see that we can play numbers every day, twice a day, seven days a week. And it’s okay. And then here we go with marijuana. Now, it was a crime for all these years, and, all of a sudden, the government finds a way to get some money out of it and now it’s no longer a crime.
So that’s the way the laws tend to operate. They begin by criminalizing Black communities, and then they move on when they realize they are wasting time. You’re not going to stop people from drinking. You’re not going to stop people from using drugs. You’re not going to stop people from gambling. And so they find a way to make money off it which makes it okay. It’s a game that they have played in Black communities for decades.
I think that’s a perfect segue to my next question. Imagine you’re in a room with college students thinking about getting involved with activism. Based on your experience, what advice would you offer?
Well, I have to say, depending on who I’m talking to, I would give different advice. Because there are white activists that have worked along with me who have never experienced what I have experienced. My life has been pure hell. I started with activism around policing. The police were targeting our families. It was easy to target me and my family. So my kids and I have lived that living hell. So if I was [talking with] a marginalized group, I would make sure that they realize the rights that they have even though their rights may not be respected, like they would be if it was a white activist protesting. You have to be dedicated and committed to the cause. Because those people that are in power will try to tear you down. They have tried and tried and tried. But I’m a determined African. I’ll fight until I can’t fight anymore. I don’t care what you throw at me.
Thank you so much for that. How do you see the role of new technologies and social media impacting your activist work?
It plays a major role because I use social media a lot to get information out, organize, and engage people. In the process, we have reached thousands and thousands of people. This movement would not be as powerful, not only in Connecticut but across the nation, without social media. Although my work is based in Connecticut, I started out working with groups across America, beginning in California, where there was Critical Resistance. I testified in the first public hearing ever in Philadelphia on solitary confinement many, many years ago. As I worked with these other groups, I started taking a look at Connecticut and I said, “Wow, we have a huge problem here.” We are not exempt from what’s going on across the nation. That’s when I started focusing my activism in Connecticut. Although I still engage with other groups around the country, I started looking at how Connecticut had a bigger struggle because we are such a segregated state. The people in power are a very segregated group of people. This makes it incredibly difficult to have these people fighting with you because it does not impact their lives at all. This is the biggest problem I find. I use all of the platforms except Instagram which I haven’t gotten used to. So yes, social media has played a major, major role in this work.
I know you touched on this a little, but I know as part of your activism, you’ve had to work with various federal and state agencies. Who or what have been the greatest challenges to achieving your organizational goals? How have you dealt with these challenges?
Well, my organizational goals are primarily [reforming] policing and corrections. I’ve been putting a lot of focus on corrections and I find the biggest obstacle is the Department of Corrections, and next to that is the legislators. I engaged with the Commissioner of Corrections because I know I can’t fight this fight without them, but it would be less of a burden if we could be on this journey together. If I could get the Commissioner to see through my lens that humans suffer and how he could make a change. The correctional unions and police unions are like mobs, so it’s hard to get them to move anything. In other words, you would have this powerful union of people who push up against you every step of the way. So those are the biggest obstacles. On top of that is legislators, because those two entities [the correctional and police unions] both have a lot of power, even over legislators. Legislators are the ones who can enforce and establish policies to bring down change. But even then, if they’re not monitoring it then the struggle continues.
Right, how have you dealt with these challenges in the past?
Just knowing that it is an uphill battle to move either one of them because it’s so entrenched with racism. Recognizing that all these little symbolic gestures or one piece of good law is not going to change until we look back at the history of how this all started. They are trying to pacify you with a little tweaking of the law because they want you to go away. But because I can see the system for what it is, it helps me remain focused. I always hear the voices of the people in my head that are suffering. It makes me feel like I have a duty. Throughout all these years of activism, I remember the voice of my professor when I was in school. She said to us one day, “Just because you are a social worker doesn’t mean your job consists of you counseling people in an office. You are agents of change.” These are the three words that keep me pushing and pushing and pushing against this system. I’m not supposed to learn how to navigate the system, I’m supposed to learn how to change the system. I can’t do that if I don’t address the roots that hold the system together.
Thank you for that, Barbara. My last question for you is: can you please tell me about any upcoming events or campaigns that you and your organization are working on? How can people like me get involved?
Well, just recently, we got the Protect Act passed, which was about trying to regulate the Department of Corrections [DOC]. Part of that is putting together an oversight committee because we wanted independent oversight over the DOC. The reason for this is that Connecticut is one of the few states that has no oversight over the agency. We’re working with this group out of Hartford, the YWCA, to get medical oversight over the DOC. We found that too many people have been leaving prison with chronic illnesses or ending up dead. They leave these facilities broken spiritually, mentally, and physically.
So we currently hold public meetings, as a committee, to address this issue. You can find this information on the CGA [Connecticut General Assembly] calendar. We are hoping to find someone to lead this, an independent person who aims to fight to improve the quality of life of incarcerated people. This is something we make clear during the interview process, as you aren’t working for the state.
We are also working on ending routine strip searches. We did a lot of work around it. I mean, we’ve got voices from people incarcerated, written letters, we had people formerly incarcerated. We want to focus a lot on children because strip searches are happening to children in our system. These searches are degrading and dehumanizing. I find myself in tears just hearing about the experiences of these prisoners. When people think of strip searches, they think you just take your clothes off. No. You take your clothes off. You hold up your breasts. If you are a male, hold up your testicles. You have to bend at the waist so they can look up at your anus. To me, it’s very perverted, right? But if we think about the history of how America has treated African people when they came here, putting them on the auction block and showing their bodies. That was bad enough. But what we’re doing is beyond just showing our bodies.
And we made it clear to legislators who may not want to hear it. Although the Commissioner will say that it’s all about safety and security, we know, for a fact, as far back as when my brother was in prison, correctional officers brought drugs and other contraband inside the prison. They need to recognize this as it continues to happen.
The legislation is no longer about routine strip searches. It’s about giving the Commissioner until 2024 to come up with an RFP [ Request For Proposal] on how he’s going to get body scanners and assistance. When they do things like that it is their way of not doing anything but pretending they’re doing something. That’s been the journey as I try to change things inside. They never want to do the real work, but they want to act like they’re doing something. So I’m very disappointed and planning protests and rallies sometime this month. Additionally, we will be going into communities to educate them. Right now we’re thinking, if Connecticut won’t do it on its own, then we’re reaching out to the Supreme Court. Many organizations have challenged this on a national level and I want to put Connecticut on this map. The last vote that I’ve seen for the Supreme Court was a five to four, so it was a close vote. It is difficult because they are giving weight to corrections as they claim to ensure safety and security.
I want to prove that it’s not about safety and security, it’s about power and control. Men won’t even talk about it. They said it’s just too humiliating to talk about what they’re doing to them. The pain and trauma are something these individuals carry for the rest of their lives. The trauma does not go away when they leave prison. What happened to them is still inside their bodies. Many of these prisoners are just so grateful that I challenged this because they believe that no one hears them. So I’m honored really to be doing the work.
But I feel like I can’t rest until strip searching ends in Connecticut. I tell everybody that when you talk about experts, it is people who’ve lived the experience. As I mentioned earlier, I have a grandson in the system, so he provides me with a lot of information. I get letters that say I’ve given them hope they never had. But I asked my grandson about the strip search. He said for instance [that he is] strip searched when [he] goes to court, when [he] leaves, and after [he] leaves the court. What is all that about?
A lieutenant was just recently arrested in Enfield. He photographed a young teenager without her knowledge. So my question was, did he come in with that voyeurism? And now he is enjoying being able to strip search everybody? Or did he get that as a result? These are things no one wants to address. This is why I argue that if Connecticut’s prisons were over 70% white as opposed to 70% Black and brown, I wouldn’t even have this fight. This fight would have been over a long time ago. But when we look at who we are, the small population that we are in Connecticut, it’s easy to just turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to human suffering. I can’t do that. History is just recycling and reform just makes it look different.
Thank you so much, Barbara. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me today. I want to thank you not only for your time but your work.
You know, it’s always an honor to talk to young people because, after all of these decades doing this work, I want to pass down the torch to the next generation. This is your work. I’m just planting the seeds with everyone that I educate and talk with. I feel that’s my job to make sure a part of planting that seed is making sure that our young people know exactly what is going on and they’re not clouded by America. People always ask me when I am going to retire. Retire? This is my life. So I’m looking forward to just sitting back and watching the young people soar and just end what America thought they could never end. Just remember what Maya Angelou once said: “We may face many defeats, but we should never feel defeated.” As I lost out on the strip search, I lost this session, but I’m not defeated. I’m ready to go to the Supreme Court. If Connecticut won’t do it on its own, we’re going to force them to. I’m not going to let this go. I’m tired of our people suffering in this country. We built this country that everybody wants to come to enjoy.
Rehana Konate
Rehana Konate is a senior at the University of Connecticut studying Political Science with an Individualized Major in Crime, Law, and Justice. She is extremely passionate about crime, race, and mass incarceration in the United States. Through her studies, she is analyzing whether she wants to practice in the fields of legal reform, international, or humanitarian law. Her goal is to advocate for voices ignored and silenced in society.
