My Mom Is Out of Prison, But I’m Still Not Free

The Trauma of Having an Incarcerated Parent Is a Life Sentence of Its Own

An illustration of a pay phone inside an open flowery luggage. To the upper right of the illustration is a dark-skinned left hand presses against a glass. Near bottom right is a card that almost makes out the word "mom" placed inside a flowery heart.

This article is a co-publication of Zócalo Public Square and State of Mind, a partnership of Slate and Arizona State University focused on covering mental health.

I was 12 when I went to prison. Though Mom was the one behind bars, it felt like the system shackled me, too.

Visits to see Mom at Los Angeles County’s Century Regional Detention Facility were rare. Even when I managed to find an adult to take me, I wished I didn’t have to love her this way. Pressing the …

by Angel Gilbert | March 27, 2023

My Modest Proposal for Universal Orphanhood in California

Plato’s Old Idea—Eliminating the Family—Aligns With the Most Cherished Visions of Equity Across the Political Spectrum

by Joe Mathews | January 18, 2022

If California is ever going to achieve true equity, the state must require parents to give away their children.

Today’s Californians often hold up equity—the idea of achieving a just society …

PTAs Are the Opposite of Community

How the Former Champions for All Kids Devolved Into Self-Serving Fundraising Machines

By Joanna Weiss | December 15, 2016

Here’s a quick quiz for anyone who has ever had kids or grandkids or nieces and nephews in school: Can you name all of the fundraising items you’ve purchased from …

It’s Not Your Grandparents’ Fault They Keep Getting Scammed Online

We Could Be Doing a Much Better Job of Educating Senior Citizens About Cybersecurity

By Jamie Winterton | August 16, 2016

In June, a collective “awwwwwh” reverberated across the Internet, as the story of a polite British grandmother who included “please” and “thank you” in her Google searches gave everyone the …

How the Knowledge Economy Delays Adulthood

There Is Life After College: What Parents and Students Should Know About Navigating School to Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow

By Jeffrey J. Selingo | April 29, 2016

In the wake of the Great Recession, story after story appeared about how members of the millennial generation had stalled after college graduation, and were desperately searching for the jobs …

It Takes a Village–Or a Friend’s Parents

They’re Not Mom and Dad. In Some Ways, They’re Better.

by Joe Mathews | August 13, 2012

My oldest friend emailed this past week with a blow to the heart: Joann McArthur had died, of cancer, on her 70th birthday.

It is hard to describe why this news …

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