From Prison Journalism Project:
On Oct. 27, 2023, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a 125-year-old veterans service organization, opened its first-ever post inside a prison, at Sterling Correctional Facility in Colorado. The inauguration of VFW Post 12226 was the culmination of years of work by incarceration-impacted veterans, including me, who hoped the post would become the first of many across the country.
Sensing the newsworthiness of the occasion, I wrote a piece I ultimately pitched to VFW Magazine in January 2024. Several months later, my article appeared in the magazine’s August issue. I was ecstatic. For years I had written fiction, and occasionally submitted articles to prison-run publications, but this was my first time being published in a “real” magazine.
I couldn’t have imagined the impact the story would have. But the elation I felt being published was quickly replaced by disappointment when a YouTube user used my article to destroy the program I sought to highlight. Continue reading >>>
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