On Tuesday, December 5, the Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign hosted a 10 Year Anniversary Gala to celebrate their first decade of working for freedom for families and incarcerated people. RAPP was founded in 2013 by three formerly incarcerated leaders, Mujahid Farid, Laura Whitehorn, and Kathy Boudin (also CfJ's co-founder), and civil rights attorney Soffiyah Elijah.
At their Anniversary Gala, RAPP honored CfJ's co-founder Cheryl Wilkins with the Kathy Boudin Award for her work supporting formerly and currently incarcerated women. Kathy and Cheryl, along with Professor Geraldine Downey, founded the Center for Justice together a few years before RAPP's founding. Cheryl and Kathy met inside Bedford Hills Correctional Facility where they first worked together to bring the college program back to Bedford and built a network of women that has continued after prison and inspired our Women Transcending Collective Leadership Institute.
We are so proud of and grateful to Cheryl for all the ways she leads and inspires us to continue fighting for women and all people in prison and beyond.
Watch Cheryl's award presentation and speech here
