The Sayings of Nan Hill

In the Introduction to The Sayings of Nan Hill, Straight Ahead's Director of Strategic Partnerships (formerly Amistad's Legislative Director), Sean Damon, writes:

"Thirty-eight years ago, at the urging of a family friend, a woman walked into the visiting room of a juvenile facility. She was checking in on a young man she did not know and in some ways she never left.

Sandra Hill has spent decades walking side-by-side with her adopted godson Asafo as if he was her own flesh and blood. She followed him when he was sent to state prison at the beginning of the age of mass incarceration. She followed him further, from prison to prison, as a carceral constellation was constructed across the mountains and hinterlands of Pennsylvania. She wrote him letters and offered her ear. She spoke out for him when his voice was muffled by agents of the state or geographic distance. Before there was much of a movement against mass human caging, she smuggled his words out of prison and spread them among her grandsons and the broader community.

So it was only natural that when people started to get organized, she connected with them right away. In groups such as the Human Rights Coalition and Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration, she found kindred spirits, and she brought something to share: her words. I like to call her our metaphor master."

That's why Amistad Law Project came together with the Abolitionist Law Center to create a book of poetry and homespun wisdom by Sandra Hill titled The Sayings of Nan Hill. We teamed up with local artist Erik Ruin, who created original artwork for the project and designed it from top to bottom. 

Sandra has been called CADBI’s poet laureate. In this slim volume, she has given us fuel for the road ahead. Place it in your back pocket. Open it and read it straight through or flip to a page and see if it speaks to you. We hope it softens you and gives you fuel for the fight ahead. 

Download The Sayings of Nan Hill here.  

Take a moment of silence for the fallen comrades who transition while in the struggle!
For those who were granted commutation or a re-sentencing we send our blessings for a safe exit into the free world.

We welcome all
We need you to stand with us until we bring them all home.

- Sandra Hill