By Jen Marlowe

In February of 2021, a group of Muslim men incarcerated at a Missouri prison was violently pepper sprayed and brutalized while gathered to pray in the common area—for no other reason than the fact that they were praying. This brutal incident, while harrowing, was not isolated. Rather, it is emblematic of the twin pillars of anti-Black racism and Islamophobia that undergirds so much violence within prisons, as well as the inhumanity of the prison system overall. Donkeysaddle Projects Founder Jen Marlowe launched an in-depth investigation of the event, which took her deep into rural Missouri, where she talked to the impacted men in three of the prisons in which they are currently incarcerated, and tracked down and interviewed the former lieutenant whose actions initiated the attack, among others. Al Jazeera English just published the resulting story, The prisoners pepper-sprayed while praying. 

We are hopeful that sharing this article widely, exposing this incident, and amplifying the voices of those harmed can challenge this system that enacts violence on so many, in so many ways, every day. Please read this article and share it with your networks.