About Brilliance Behind Bars

Mission Statement

Brilliance Behind Bars is dedicated to the humanizing of incarcerated peoples through the expressive vessels of literature, art, and philosophy. It is our aim to show that men and women who have found themselves on the wrong side of society are intelligent living, breathing, self-contemplating individuals, who are more than the sum of the mistakes they may have made in their lives.

Our ultimate goal is to secure scholarships for incarcerated individuals seeking to reach their higher education goals prior to their release, and aid in their re-entry by guiding them into careers suitable to their specific interests.

Why We Exist

We exist to increase purpose amongst the incarcerated intellectual community by providing a showcase displaying their work to a broad audience, that otherwise would have been unlikely.

We’ll enhance resumes, annual reviews, and exposure through meaningful activity and writing exercises.

We want to build experience and help connect ambitious re-entering citizens to careers where industries may benefit greatly from wide, unique perspectives and diversity of thought.

We exist not only to reduce recidivism, but to build successful contributors to society, who can help in driving the world forward.

Long Term Ambitions

While we just started the website and organization this year, we have plans to expand writing opportunities into more facilities in Virginia as well as the recently released community. We also have ambitions to expand our organization in the next couple years. This includes:

Organizing: Become an official non-profit in Richmond, Virginia. This would include a small volunteer team, and possibly a 501c(3).
Fundraising For Education: Fund scholarships for men and women behind bars, who want to pursue an associate’s or bachelor’s degree while in prison.
Mentorship: Implement field-specific mentorship program to connect professionals, with incarcerated people who are pursuing that field.
Creating New Opportunities: Work with companies in specific industries to expand felony accepted professional jobs. Allow them to be certified to accept those with criminal backgrounds.
Humanizing: Create additional content outlets to catapult our content into the world, included but not limited to: features in additional media outlets, podcasts, and merchandise.