In 2020, Beyond the Bars embarked on a mission to empower people impacted by incarceration and transform the oppressive and exploitative system by addressing the cost of incarceration in Miami.
By 2022, the organization had achieved a remarkable 70% reduction in the cost of jail calls and persuaded administrators to eliminate a daily subsistence fee of $2. This victory brought significant benefits to the Miami-Dade County community, saving impacted families over $5 million annually and erasing $55 million in jail debt. But that’s not all—during a span of 2.5 years, they grew their team from the ground up to include 160 members. They accomplished this by nurturing the leadership of formerly incarcerated individuals and their families through organizing and narrative practices.
Join us on October 4th at 11:30 am Eastern Time to discover and celebrate the successes, challenges, and insights from their extraordinary organizing campaign!
We will be joined by the dynamic team from Beyond the Bars responsible for this achievement: Maya Ragsdale, Executive Director; Katherine Passley, Deputy Director; Angela Pinder, Membership Coordinator; and Organizing Fellows Angela Toribio-Beltres, Ingrid Caputo, Freddie Pierre, and Akeel Williams. Come listen to and celebrate their stories and experiences of reclaiming their voices and power. Explore the lessons learned from their outstanding organizing journey.
This session will be moderated by Nneka Akubeze, and we are honored to welcome Marshall Ganz as a special guest.
What: Organizing for Freedom: How Beyond the Bars Is Challenging the Carceral System
When: October 4th, 11:30 am – 1 pm Eastern Time / 5:30 pm – 7 pm Central European Time
How: Fill out the form below (Registration deadline: October 3rd)
This session is open and free for everyone, so please invite your team, colleagues, and community members!
About the speakers:
Maya Ragsdale is the Co-Executive Director of Beyond the Bars (BTB) and is passionate about a bottom-up approach to organizing and advocacy. She founded Beyond the Bars, a worker center in Miami that organizes people with criminal records and their families. Prior to her work at BTB, she was a staff attorney at Dream Defenders, where she provided legal, policy, and strategic support to organizers on campaigns to divest from policing and incarceration. She also created and supported bail funds throughout Florida, built legal defense networks to respond to the George Floyd uprisings, and engaged in various other community and movement initiatives. For her work, she has been supported by fellowships with organizations including Law for Black Lives and Justice Catalyst, was selected as Miami’s Best Activist in 2020 by the Miami New Times. Her movement work builds on her on personal experience with the carceral system, in addition to her direct representation of people with criminal charges when she was a public defender.
Katherine Passley, a Miami native, joined Beyond the Bars as a member in 2020 after her father’s incarceration. She quickly took up a leadership role within the organization, drafting agendas and leading meetings, engaging in policy advocacy work, and preparing other members for delegation meetings with elected officials. She became a staff member of BTB in 2021, sharing her intimate knowledge of the prosecutor’s office and police departments to benefit BTB members with open criminal cases. She also brought with her extensive experience with restorative and transformative justice, having been trained in faith-based transformative mediation practices to restore relationships, civility and good will at home, work and church.
Now as the Co-Executive Director of BTB, Katherine now leads the organization’s programmatic work. She develops and leads organizing trainings’ for BTB’s members, member-leaders, and fellows, coaches systems-impacted people to hone their organizing skills, and develops programs to support healing from trauma and conflict resolution.
Angela, a resilient single mother of two, found her purpose in the heart of Miami, where she has resided for over a decade. Her unwavering dedication to addressing issues that plague underserved communities in Miami-Dade County led her to the doors of Beyond the Bars. Angela’s involvement in BTB began as a member, driven by the legal challenges her children faced within the carceral system. She then became a community organizing, building on experiences she had canvassing with local power-building organizations. Now, as the Membership Coordinator at Beyond the Bars, Angela develops programming for all organizational members. She is also a poet and budding music producer, using her creativity to shed light on the injustices faced by her community.
Akeel Williams is a devoted father of six daughters and two grandkids has spent over three decades in Miami, where he moved from Oakland, California. Akeel is a compassionate soul who finds joy in aiding his elderly neighbors, including those with unique challenges. With a knack for fixing things and a passion for assisting others, Akeel learned about BTB through his cousin Anthony Swain’s transformative experience after a four-year incarceration and his ascension to the board. Upon joining, he devoted himself BTB’s work, from court watching to narrative trainings, to being active in two campaigns so far. As an impacted Black male navigating a society that targets people with criminal records, he found solace in BTB’s advocacy and support. His involvement in the organization revitalized Akeel’s sense of worth and purpose, fueling his determination to challenge misconceptions and uplift those entangled in the web of the carceral system. Akeel proudly stands with BTB as a Graduate of the 2022 Fellow class and current canvasser, firm in the belief that every life holds value and potential for change.
Ingrid Caputo‘s life has been a testament to strength and transformation. Born in Miami, Florida, she navigated a challenging path, dropping out of school in twelfth grade and finding herself ensnared by trouble in her late teens. From selling drugs and battling addiction, she emerged as a survivor of violence, enduring an attack in 1995 that was a turning point for her. Between 1995 and 2013, she faced the revolving doors of jail due to various charges.
In 2021, a pivotal moment arrived when Ingrid joined Beyond The Bars, drawn to the organization by false accusations and criminal charges her friend faced. Her journey with the organization led to remarkable growth. She graduated as a Fellow in 2022 and now stands as the Chair of the Organizing Committee. Ingrid’s unwavering commitment to BTB as a volunteer underscores her belief in the transformative power of Beyond The Bars to empower and organize those impacted by the carceral system.
Freddy Pierre, a native of Miami’s vibrant Little Haiti, was born at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Growing up with his two brothers and hard working parents—an electrician father and a Publix employee mother—instilled in him a drive to work hard for the best in life. However, economic struggles and the prevalence of crime in his neighborhood led him down a challenging path that resulted in his incarceration. A fortunate encounter introduced him to Beyond the Bars, an organization that transformed his trajectory. Embracing community and public speaking, Freddy found his voice, advocating before influential figures and fellow community members in Miami. Through BTB’s fellow program, he achieved a milestone, crossing a stage as a graduate after learning skills such as community outreach and relationship-building. Now a Member Leader of Beyond the Bars, Freddy treasures the lessons he’s learned and the connection between personal growth and supporting others—a journey that reshaped his perspective about the power of unity.
Angela Beltres, a resilient mother of seven and a devoted faith-based leader, proudly calls North Miami her home. Originally from the Dominican Republic, she immigrated to the United States with dreams of a better life. However, when her husband was arrested in 2020, Angela found herself navigating uncharted territory, seeking guidance from her daughter who introduced to Beyond the Bars. Officially joining the organization in 2021 as a volunteer, Angela quickly became a committed member. Her involvement expanded to the Participatory Defense program, where her passion was ignited as she supported Spanish speakers in understanding the criminal legal process that they and their loved ones were navigating. Driven by a desire to empower her community further, she joined BTB’s inaugural fellowship class in 2022 and successfully graduated. Angela now serves as an canvasser, a testament to her unwavering dedication to building relationships in her community.
