"That's how she was. Miss Naomi (Mello-D) was very, very positive. I don't know how. She would say God. She would say the Love of Jesus is what kept her positive, but I've just never seen her have a distasteful moment. She was able to get her freedom. She filed out for commutation. They denied her all five votes, and then her roommate just was like, you need to do it again, file paperwork again.

So she wrote the letter, and she said she put it in her Bible and just forgot about it. And she said, one day she came in her room and something... "God just said, send that letter." And she sent it in and the five nos turned into five yeses, in a matter of a year or so. And now she actually works for Lieutenant Governor Fetterman of Pennsylvania. She's the Commutation Specialist. So she assists other lifers in trying to get out and get their freedom. So her story is just amazing and really powerful and it's inspiring. And I'm just, I'm just glad to be along for the ride."

Fury Young and BL Shirelle are the powerhouse team behind Die Jim Crow Records, the first non-profit record label in United States history for currently and formerly incarcerated musicians. DJC Records’ mission is to dismantle stereotypes around race and prison in America by amplifying the voices of our artists.  As a pair, Fury Young and BL Shirelle form a perhaps unlikely, but unstoppable duo.  Young is a Jewish New Yorker who has not experienced incarceration. Shirelle is a queer, Black woman from Philadelphia who has been heavily impacted by police violence and incarceration. The two formed an inseparable bond. As friends, musical collaborators and now Co-Executive Directors of Die Jim Crow Records, their leadership and commitment to values of representation, fairness, passion for the cause, and a love for art, are at the core of DJC.

www.diejimcrow.com

http://www.blshirelle.com

http://www.furyyoung.com

www.creativeprocess.info
www.oneplanetpodcast.org