Inside mentorship: #DawudTaughtMe

Inside Pennsylvania prisons there are so many people who serve as incredible teachers and mentors, both to other incarcerated people and to people on the outside. In this series, the LifeLines Project is highlighting some of the amazing incarcerated mentors and what they bring to their communities. It is essential we free these mentors and others from prison and allow them to do the amazing work they do out in their communities rather than behind prison walls.

The first person we are highlighting in the series is LifeLines member Dawud. David “Dawud” Lee is a cofounder of One Hood United and a founding member of the Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration and the LifeLines Project. Originally from Philadelphia, he has been serving a Death By Incarceration sentence for over 30 years. Those years have been dedicated to educating himself and others, to utilizing his education in an effort to advocate for social and economic justice. He is a prolific writer, mentor, and friend to many on both sides of the prison walls.

Dawud has applied for commutation, and has made it through the first several stages of the process. He will have a hearing before the Board of Pardons, likely in the Spring of 2022, and will need to receive unanimous approval from the Board and a signature from the Governor in order to be released. We are organizing the #DawudTaughtMe social media campaign in order to highlight some of the ways Dawud has touched our lives.

To contribute to the #DawudTaughtMe campaign, send a photo of yourself and what you have learned from Dawud to LifeLinesPhilly@gmail.com. We will feature these photos on our social media and on this website.

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