The Free US Project is a grass roots organization born out of the abolitionist spirit of "Little Hayti," a monicker worn proudly in the 1800s by residents of the lower Hill District which then comprised all of Black Pittsburgh. We believe that abolition is building not destroying. By building what our communities need we reduce harm and ultimately stop cycles of poverty, violence, and systemic dependency which include incarceration.
At The Free Us Project We believe that the "people are our most valuable natural resource and all natural resources should be free!" Incarceration, therefore, is a means by which to deny our communities access to some of their most valuable resources thus keeping them trapped in poverty.
We acknowledge that injustice within the criminal justice system is vastly the product of due process violations therefore, it is our duty to raise awareness, organize, and strategize to offer practical solutions to combat injustice. One of our proposed solutions is the implementation of a Conviction Integrity Unit which reviews Due Process violations in Allegheny County.
While physical liberation is paramount, we are not limited to issues concerning criminal justice. Oppression is multifarious and we aim therefore, to educate and liberate on multiple fronts. The Free US Project also aims to combat the school to prison pipeline and offer culturally sensitive mental health support groups to aid in healing our communities.
Join the fight to Free US as we demand transparency within the criminal justice system. Support our Petition, "What Do You Have to Hide?" at Change.org.
In the 1800's Pittsburgh's Black population was concentrated in "Little Hayti," what is now known as the lower Hill District. An integral part of the abolitionist and anti colonization movements, Black Pittsburghers created benevolent societies that provide services to the Black community. R.J.M. Blackett described one benevolent society as a "secret society whose main objectives were the protection of the community, the abduction of slaves from slaveholders visiting the area, and a link, if not the most important arm, in the Underground railroad in Pittsburgh and Allegheny City."
To liberate the bodies and minds of marginalized and disadvantaged persons incarcerated as a result of misconduct, corruption, and injustice in Allegheny County.
The Free US Project recognizes that incarcerated persons are a part of the natural resource that is humanity. All natural resources should be free!
Facilitated by formerly and currently incarcerated people and their allies, The Free US Project focuses on raising funds for defense and appeals, educating the community, and creating a social network that will work toward the goal of freeing US.
A major focus of The Free US Project is fighting to preserve and advance our rights to due process. The Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment of the Constitution promises that:
"No person shall...be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law."
Without the guarantees of due process, people of color have suffered great injustices including public executions (also known as lynching) and arbitrary imprisonment (otherwise known as enslavement). These injustice have persisted in various forms. We see examples of due process violations with modern day public executions of unarmed civilians, murdered by police, or when prosecutors hide evidence, or tamper with witnesses.
Due Process rights are perhaps the most protected and the most violated because of the lack of transparency in our most powerful institutions such as the prosecutors office. Noam Chomsky gives us the answer as to why we must fight for transparency in order to ensure our rights to due process:
"Power is increasingly concentrated in unaccountable institutions." —Noam Chomsky
Due Process is a concept that developed out of the idea that the laws a government makes should be fair to all of its citizens. In America, "due process" language is found in the 5th and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution. The Fifth Amendment says that the federal government cannot take away a person's life, freedom, or property without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment uses similar language demanding that State governments adhere to the principles of due process as well. Due process protects the rights of individuals citizens by requiring that all of their government's actions be done through orderly and regular methods. In other words, the government is not allowed to create a law or policy that can be used to restrict peoples' rights whenever, wherever, and however it sees fit.
There are two kinds of due process. The fist is called "procedural due process" and it focuses on the methods or practices governments use to carry out the policies they create. It guarantees that the process the government uses to regulate the peoples' conduct or to penalize them for their conduct is fair. Generally, this means that before the government can take away an individual's rights, the person must be notified in advance and given the chance to be heard. A person's "chance to be heard" is usually a public hearing where they have the opportunity to present their defense or their reasons that the government's policy is being unfairly applied. These procedures are listed within the 6th Amendment of the United States Constitution which states:
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense."
"Substantive due process" is the second type of due process. It requires that the laws or policies a government makes are fair, reasonable and just. Government policies can deny a person substantive due process she. they restrict a person's rights for reasons that are not logically related to good government or if the laws are so vague that citizens won't be able to predict when or his their conduct might violate the law. An example of this would be the Jim Crow laws of the old South which instituted segregation.
The two Due Process Clauses give the US Supreme Court regular opportunities to consider and define what is fair. The heart of the matter is always reasonableness and fairness.
The FUP is a grassroots nonprofit comprised of the formerly incarcerated, currently incarcerated, and their loved ones and allies. We are dedicated to protecting the right to due process, demanding and creating modes of transparency, exposing injustices, and freeing the Black community from cycles of harm.
Pittsburgh's Black community, just as is in every community, the most valuable natural resource is the people. Therefore, over-incarceration is a denial of valuable resources meant to aid in combatting cycles of harm such as gun violence and incarceration.
The corruption that leads to the injustices within Allegheny County's criminal justice system is not unique. It is the direct result of the pattern and practice of historically denying Black, brown, and other marginalized groups the right to Due Process. We cannot afford to let what goes on behind closed doors to remain hidden. We must always demand transparency.
1. We will unite with other organizations, advocates, allies and accomplices to demand that the city/county implement a Conviction Integrity Unit to review evidence of wrongful convictions and sentences.
2. We will provide resources to those fighting wrongful convictions.
3. We will provide a platform for those affected by misconduct, corruption, and injustice to share their stories and expose injustices within the criminal justice system.
4. We will provide online/ in-person discussions in the form of peer support groups that invite participants to explore trauma, heal, and rebuild communal connections. These projects will be culturally specific to the Black community and encourage participants to view Mental Wellness as a part of the Black revolutionary process.
5. We will fight to protect our youth from these cycles of harm and imprisonment.
6. We will educate.