To my fellow brothers and sisters, I know firsthand the pain of being locked away, stripped of my right to be a father, while the system that caged me took my son’s life in cold blood. My son, Oscar Grant III, never got to know his father outside of prison walls. While I was serving a life sentence, BART police officers murdered my child at Fruitvale Station, and I was powerless to protect him. That pain—that rage—stays with me every day. But I refuse to let it define me.

The Two Lives of Oscar Grant Foundation was born out of that pain, but it exists for something bigger, to fight back, to rebuild, and to break the cycle of poverty that the criminal justice system forces on our people. Too many fathers are being ripped from their families, leaving behind children who grow up without guidance, without support, and without a fair shot. This isn’t by accident—this is by design. The same system that put me in chains before my son was even born continues to punish fathers for being poor, criminalizes survival, and forces families into struggle.

The Two Lives of Oscar Grant Foundation is here to change that.

We are demanding Guaranteed Housing Assistance, so when a father comes home from prison, he’s not sleeping on the streets or shuffled into another cycle of instability. We are pushing for Universal Basic Support, because a man can’t rebuild his life if he can’t even pay for a bus ride to a job interview. We are creating an Employment Equity Program, ensuring that returning fathers and mothers are first in line for state workforce programs, not last. And we are establishing a Statewide Reentry Hotline, so no brother or sister coming home is left without a lifeline.

This is because the system doesn’t just punish the incarcerated—it punishes families, forcing families to struggle, children to grow up without their fathers or mothers, and whole communities to bear the weight of an unjust cycle. For example, in California, Proposition 36 is putting more of our people behind bars for poverty crimes, while the rejection of Proposition 6 keeps prisoners working for pennies, resulting in modern-day slave labor.

We refuse to accept this. We are organizing, we are mobilizing, and we are building a future where fathers return home to opportunity, not more punishment.

We’re also telling my story. The Two Lives of Oscar Grant Graphic Novel Series will be released in 12 volumes, documenting my journey—from fighting for my life sentence to be overturned, to re-entering my community, to building this foundation. Each volume will capture the lessons I would have shared with my son if he were still here. This is more than a comic book—it’s a blueprint for resilience, a teaching tool for the next generation, and a call to action for justice.

Our Cutting Barriers Initiative is breaking down employment obstacles for returning citizens by helping them obtain barber licenses and gainful employment. We’ve already secured commitments from 19 barber schools across the Bay Area, because we know that a career is more than a job—it’s a pathway to stability, dignity, and self-sufficiency.

We are reclaiming our names, our futures, and our lives. The Two Lives of Oscar Grant Foundation isn’t just about me, and it isn’t just about my son. It’s about every father behind bars, every child growing up without them, and every family fighting to break free from this system.

Join us. Stand with us. Because we are stronger together, and we will not be silenced. We will fight, we will build, and we will reclaim our future.