After Violence Project

[Trigger warning: Mention of substance use and death.]

Dark green background with blue abstract shapes. Reads Tomeka Hayes in conversation with Brother Rob. With excerpts from interview that says "Once I become an adult, it becomes my responsibility to change the generational curse... If you're not going to be part of the change, you're part of the problem.

This month we honor the spirit of Tomeka Hayes 🕊️ -- a Black mother in AL, interviewed by AVP's 2024 VAV Fellow Brother Rob. Her story holds enduring love amid criminalization and loss, and a steadfast refusal to give up on her people.

🎧 Interview: bit.ly/4b6GtZq
💸 Support her family: bit.ly/4cK3DWP

If Federal Museums Aren’t Allowed to Tell the Truth About the Past, it’sTime to Start Supporting… By Michelle Caswell and Bergis Jules

As the Trump administration audits federal museums, defunds libraries, and pressures institutions to erase the past, community based archives remain vital sites of resistance.

We're honored to be feat alongside @invisiblehistories.bsky.social , Shorefront Legacy Center, & Community Archives Collab

Tonight!

Donate to César Fierro, free after 40 years on death row, organized by Laura Tansey Para español siga este enlace: https://www.theyearsoffierro.com/gfm Cés… Laura Tansey needs your support for César Fierro, free after 40 years on death row

The fight doesn’t end with release. César received no meaningful repair or compensation from the state and continues to face barriers to reentry. If you’re able, support his return home and access to dignified care:
🔗 bit.ly/4sQ9Mqb

LA LIBERTAD DE FIERRO (THE FREEDOM OF FIERRO) Join us for a special screening and panel with the filmmaker and César Fierro on the impact of solitary confinement and life after release.

📽️ LA LIBERTAD DE FIERRO (The Freedom of Fierro)
🗓 Wed, Jan 28 | 7–9:30 PM
📍 Austin Film Society Cinema
🎟 Free | RSVP: bit.ly/libertad-fie...
🎤 Panels after both screenings w/ the director, César Fierro (via Zoom), and legal advocates.

Film poster with bald brown man with text that says special screening of los años de fierro (the years of fierro)

📽️ LOS AÑOS DE FIERRO (The Years of Fierro)
🗓 Tues, Jan 27 | 6–9 PM
📍 UT Austin School of Law, Francis Auditorium (Rm 2.114)
🎟 Free
📩 Questions: LLTANSEY@GMAIL.COM

Graphic flyer featuring an older man wearing glasses and a tilted hat, seated outside with a warm campfire glow illuminating his face. The photo appears on the left side as the background image. On the right, bold text reads: “Save the Date – Special Screenings. Los Años de Fierro, Tuesday, January 27, 2026, 6–9 PM at University of Texas School of Law. La Libertad de Fierro, Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7–9:30 PM at Austin Film Society Cinema, 6406 North IH-35.

César Fierro spent over 40 years on Texas death row for a crime he didn’t commit—despite evidence of police corruption and a forced confession. Convicted at 23, he was released in 2020. Join us next week for a two-part documentary on his time inside and his ongoing fight after freedom. 👇🏽

🚨 Just Published: New Essay by AVP community member, Chanel Jones.

Drawing from her years of incarceration, she exposes the devastating consequences of neglecting mental health behind bars—and the racial & class disparities that determine who is deemed worthy of care.

Read more: bit.ly/45HpL00

Texas Officials Say They Didn’t See the Flood Coming. Oral Histories Show Residents Have Long Warned of Risks. After a tragedy, records from local archives can help us understand how a community understands itself. Here’s some of what we learned following the devastating July 4 flooding in Texas.

When officials say “no one saw it coming,” archives tell another story.

@propublica.org reporting shows how oral histories from Kerr County, TX reveal decades of community warnings about deadly floods—warnings long ignored by those in power.

Donate to Help Bring Hope & Healing Behind the Bars, organized by Robert Lilly Lest we forget the prisoners✊ Help Bring Hope & Healing Behind Bars This ye… Robert Lilly needs your support for Help Bring Hope & Healing Behind the Bars

🖤 Support Brother Rob's continued work:
Rob’s work doesn’t end when the cameras stop. Support his continued leadership supporting community healing.
bit.ly/3IK7QNc

📣 Texas fam — mark your calendars!

🎬 Da'Cipher 360 premiere
🗓️ Sat, Aug 23 @6pm
📍 Paramount Theatre — 52 Cypress St, Abilene TX
🎟️ Free!

This doc follows AVP community partner Brother Rob through his reentry + organizing journey as a peer support leader & formerly incarcerated Black organizer

SAVE THE DATE: JULY 18
🔗 RSVP: bit.ly/4lmqJUY

Sanctuary Fridays are spaces of refuge for those impacted by state violence. This month we'll be preparing for the Former Incarcerated People's March (7/19) by making posters & practicing some useful grounding exercises. Refreshments & snacks provided.

Repro-Justice Report | TCRP

A new report from @lionessjiwa.bsky.social and @txcivilrights.bsky.social reveals the systemic neglect of reproductive and women’s healthcare in Texas prisons and jails. Nearly 200 incarcerated women reported a lack of access to medical care, menstrual supplies, and dehumanizing treatment by staff.

Join us on June 25th for our #Pride edition of Sanctuary Friday, an abolitionist space for and by people impacted by state violence. Together, we celebrate and reflect on the legacy of Pride and movements that dream of a world without state violence.

🔗 RSVP here: form.jotform.com/251524715141...

Jorge Antonio Renaud's The Restlessness of Bound Wrists - Infrarrealista Review The Restlessness of Bound Wrists is a high-voltage letter of resistance against the Texan carceral system. It’s a prayer of recognition to those touched by addiction. The speaker’s voice is a quiet lu...

#AbolitionReads: AVP community member Jorge Antonio Renaud published The Restlessness of Bound Wrists, with key themes of. resistance, and compassion. Congrats Jorge!

The book also features an introduction by AVP’s Executive Director, @gdsolis.bsky.social.

📖 Read & order your copy: bit.ly/3HymG8W

And we stand in the moral mandate to abolish carceral systems-- that punish harm with more harm.

To learn more about the devastating landscape of executions in Texas, read the 2024 Texas Death Penalty Developments Report: bit.ly/4mqT3qd

At the After Violence Project, we mourn the loss of Matthew Johnson and hold the fullness of his life, his complexity, and his humanity. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family and children, and to the loved ones of the victim, Nancy Harris.

Mainstream media has reduced Matthew to a crime and a conviction. But criminalization robs people not only of their individual humanity—it harms their families and communities. Matthew was a father and was always remorseful for his actions. Like all people, he deserved the chance to heal.

We mourn the loss of Matthew L. Johnson—and we reject the state of Texas’s continued use of the death penalty.

On May 20th 2025, Texas executed Matthew Johnson—the fourth person Texas has executed this year, and the 18th in the U.S. so far in 2025.

Welcome our Communications Director dre jácome! 🎉 dre is an Andean storyteller, artist, and strategist based on Lenapehoking lands (Brooklyn, NY). Her work weaves collective narratives across traditional and digital technologies to support memory work, cultural organizing, and collective liberation.

Sign up for our Access to Treatment Initiative June training series! This training is for students, clinical interns, and licensed therapists to learn about how to support family members of individuals who have been sentenced to death.

🔗 bit.ly/43EWuCE

An Interview with Gabriel Solís, After Violence Project [Systems Leadership Series #01] — Educopia Gabriel Solís of the After Violence Project discusses systems leadership through the lens of abolitionist advocacy, community archives, and restorative operations

AVP’s Executive Director, Gabriel Solís (@gdsolis.bsky.social) had a conversation with Educopia about endangered forms of knowledge, restorative operations, and throwing out the rules as part of their Systems Leadership Series.

Read the full interview here!
educopia.org/blog/an-inte...

🔗 May 7th: bit.ly/44gRUej

🔗 May 19th: bit.ly/44NlkRe

We're deeply grief-stricken by the recent dismantling & defunding of essential sites for community knowledge & cultural heritage. Join us for conversations & grounding exercises where we can share our experiences of loss in this moment & discuss how to move forward together.

Links in the post below

They shared about teaching workshops on memory & personal archiving at Travis County Jail in Austin, & about building out consent processes for an exhibition & archival collection that emerged from these workshops. The conference took place at the University Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour.