b'Secunda Joseph, aka For The People Bae, is a devoted and conscientious activist-organizer based in Houston, who promotes organic, community-based approaches to solidarity work and activism. As Co-Founder and Director of Smart Media & Organizing with ImagiNoir/BLMHTX, she usesHouston is one of the most diverse cities in the nation Black abolitionist principles and mutual aid& one of the most inequitable.We are number two in concepts to create, build, and work alongsideevictions in the nation, in inaccessibility to affordable vulnerable communities toward more liberating life options for future generations born to inequity.housing and our jail is one of the largest mental health Founded in 2014, The Peoples Paper Co-opfacilities in the state. Our work directly impacts folks (PPC) is a women-led, women-focused, women- whose real lives are impacted by these statistics. This powered art and advocacy project at the Villageaward highlights the work we do but also brings more of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia. Theattention to the very significant issues Black, Brown, PPC looks to women in reentry as the leading criminal justice experts our society needs to hearand disenfranchised folks face.from and uses a variety of art forms to amplify Secunda Josephtheir stories, dreams, and visions for a more just and free world. Their posters, prints, and t-shirt sales have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in bail funds to free Black mothersWe have spent years working with women coming and caregivers annually.home from prison to create public art that reaches large The celebratory program inside the Chapelaudiences and literally frees women, and our annual art on March 26, 2023, included a moving awardsfundraiser has raised over $200,000 to bail out Black ceremony followed by an insightful moderatedmothers and caregivers. This award will help us flood conversation facilitated by Omar El-Halwagi, The Anti-Discrimination Attorney PLLC, Co-FounderPhiladelphia with public art advocating for a world where of Grassroots Islam, and Rothko Chapel Boardall women are safe, free, and thriving. Member & Program Committee Chair. Each awardee discussed the collaborative nature of Courtney Bowles, The Peoples Paper Co-optheir work, as well as how imagination, creativity, and spiritual connection sustain their work and drive their actions for a more just world. The program was followed by a reception on the plaza during which attendees interacted with the awardees, including students and faculty from La Promesa High School, who studied Saint Romeros life and work, witnessing connections to his ongoing legacy in Houston and beyond.9'