Check back here for updates regarding the

new legislative session Jan 2027

When You Understand the Process, You Appreciate the Progress

We Are Joint Venture, Inc. would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our supporters, family members, volunteers, partner organizations, and everyone who has stood in solidarity with the men and women incarcerated and sentenced to Life Without Parole under the joint venture theory.

We understand that this legislative session did not go the way we had hoped. However, we are proud of the progress we made as an organization and as a movement. The reality is that creating new law and changing longstanding policies has never been easy. But one thing is clear: joint venture reform is alive and well in Massachusetts.

Over the next several months, We Are Joint Venture, Inc. will focus on preparing for the next legislative session. We will evaluate the bill that was drafted, determine whether any language needs to be strengthened or improved, meet with our legislative sponsors, and prepare to refile early in January.

We will also develop a comprehensive campaign strategy for the next session. We recognize that there were things we did well during this past session, as well as areas where we can improve. We will approach that evaluation with

humility, honesty, and a willingness to learn. As a collective, we will have the difficult conversations necessary to become stronger advocates and a stronger movement.

We also plan to host a Zoom meeting with our outside supporters to share our campaign strategy for the upcoming session and, most importantly, create space for our supporters to contribute their ideas, insight, and experiences. This movement belongs to all of us.

After every legislative session, I choose a book to read and learn from as I reflect on my advocacy work. Following this session, I chose Civil Rights and Structural Attacks by Jesse Strauss.

While reading the book, I gained significant insight from Walter Riley, particularly around the importance of building a collective approach—one that requires us to understand, respect, and work with the people around us while honestly evaluating how we ourselves fit within the larger movement.

One of the most powerful lessons for me was the reminder that social change cannot become centered around individuals wanting recognition or importance. We may all have personal reasons for wanting change—for our communities, our families, and the people we love—but when the focus becomes too much about ourselves, we can lose sight of the larger purpose.

That reflection brought me back to Mel King, a man I once had the privilege of running errands for and who took the time to sit with me at the neighborhood computer center he founded. Mel King left behind a legacy that continues to remind us what it means to invest in a community and create opportunities for others.

Our civil rights leaders of the past possessed an undeniable will to fight for humanity, liberty, and dignity. Their work was not about being important. It was about the sacrifice required to create meaningful change.

That lesson continues to shape how I view this work.

We Are Joint Venture, Inc. will remain committed to this civil rights struggle—a struggle that is much bigger than our organization. It is about justice, accountability, dignity, and the lives of people and families impacted by joint venture laws and Life Without Parole sentences.

So, to our supporters:

Stay disciplined.

Stay humble.

Keep the faith.

Continue to learn.

Continue to organize.

And above all, continue to spread kindness and love.

The work continues.

Sincerely,

Executive Director, We Are Joint Venture, Inc.