Our Mission
TheChangeUp | Midnight Coalition is a Grassroots political action committee dedicated to addressing and finding solutions to what we are confronted with today, which is a form of slavery carried out within Michigan's Justice system which includes the institution of correctional slave labor run by the prison industrial complex. Thus, The Change Up works to restore the humanity of those touched by the Criminal Injustice System. Through legislative action, political education, and mobilizing justice-impacted citizens, we aim to eradicate prison slavery and promote a system that respects human rights. . With our justice-impacted base, we will help to heal victims of Post Incarceration Syndrome and encourage them to advocate for the enfranchisement of returning citizens, ending slavery and involuntary servitude, prisoner voting rights, and emerge as leaders urging their communities to vote.
Our Vision
Our Vision is to create a base composed of members of the justice impacted community, and equip them with the tools to emerge as leaders in the fight against slavery i.e involuntary servitude. So they will encourage their communities to help remove slavery by using their vote to inspire policy change.
Our Why
On the Underground Railroad, the code name for Detroit was "Midnight". For those escaping the horrors of chattel slavery, Detroit was their final stop before reaching freedom. Today, we are confronted with a 21st-century form of slavery carried out through the Criminal Justice System. Thus, this Peculiar Institution of Plantation Slavery run by slave owners has now been replaced by an institution of correctional slave labor run by the prison industrial complex.
We proudly established the Midnight Coalition as the action arm of our organization, inspired by the courageous legacy of the Underground Railroad in Detroit. Dating back to the early 1800s, this network of local abolitionists and sympathetic citizens risked everything to create a pathway to freedom for enslaved individuals, with Detroit serving as a critical crossing point into Canada. Code-named "Midnight" for its role as one of the final stops on the journey to liberty, we honor this history by continuing the fight for justice and equality through the Midnight Coalition.
Membership Goals
To educate and awaken our Members to their strengths, while empowering them to become more civically engaged and enlightened to the policies, practices, and social structures that cause inequality. Empowering those who have served time to reclaim their future, we envision a world where every individual will have the opportunity to:
- Rebuild their life with dignity and purpose
- Overcome barriers and achieve their goals
- Find support and community in their journey
- Discover their worth and potential
- Break free from the cycle of incarceration, Post Incarceration Syndrome and other forms of oppression.
Together, we can create a brighter future where every voice is heard and life is valued."
“ There is no such thing as a tough or soft-on-crime politician. There’s only pro or anti-slavery..”
Marcus Kelley, The Founder
Problem
Currently, within Michigan’s Constitution Article 1 Subsection 9, there remains an exception clause that allows Slavery and Involuntary Servitude to continue if a person is convicted of a crime. Said exception perpetuates the Dred vs. Scott’s ruling which has never been overturned. To this end, Michigan Black residents are disproportionately represented in Michigan’s broken prison systems, and according to Prison Policy Initiative “ Black people in Michigan are incarcerated at a rate 6.5 times higher than white people and make up more than 51% of all incarcerated inmates.” This crisis was no accident. Every facet of the system is by design and begins with the exception clause of criminality. From the courtrooms to the jail cells, every aspect of this institutional dehumanization was put in place by policy-makers with a distinct purpose: the moval of access to self-governance for black communities. American policymakers have proven time and time again the great ease with which a government can impose a broad range of criminality onto a subpopulation within its borders. With slavery conditionalized as criminal punishment, American efforts to synonymize criminality with blackness have emboldened their removal of black communities’ access to self-governance under the guise of democracy. However, we have discovered the aspect of this collective atrocity that those responsible had not predicted nor had they prepared for. Prison Policy Initiative’s latest indicators estimate a voting-age person population of 113 million Americans with an incarcerated family member. This is a voting block twice the size of either dominant political party in our democracy.
Impacts
The trauma due to ongoing stress directly associated with the inhumane treatment of justice-impacted individuals has led to increased risk of mental health, and other negative consequences. According to The National Association on Mental Illness, “ About two in five people who are incarcerated have a history of mental illness (37% in state and federal prisons and 44% held in local jails). This is twice the prevalence of mental illness within the overall adult population.”
Solutions & Initiatives
We seek to remove Slavery and Involuntary Servitude from the Constitution. The current slave trade built on the backs of justice impacted individuals according to research conducted by Statista noted that “ Private prisons make an estimated profit of $374 million annually.” We believe a greater proportion of this revenue should be filtered back through our communities to ensure a reality-ready transition for justice-impacted individuals to return home, equipping them with the necessary skills needed to not just survive but to thrive.
Mario Martinez
“What the Change Up is for me is about not having to go back to prison. Understanding Post Incarceration Syndrome in a space with people with shared experience. I've learned a lot about myself such as recognizing and dealing with my feelings and emotions. I'm really grateful for Marcus Kelley, the Change Up…”
ACTION
We plan to execute our strategic plan by
● Rallying together the support of our local churches, community, and stakeholders to organize and advocate for the removal of slavery and involuntary servitude from Article 1 Subsection 9 of the Michigan State Constitution.
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