There is so much to celebrate from our 2024 KEMBA impact campaign. Behind each metric are countless conversations sparked, perspectives shifted, and new advocates joining us in reenvisioning our justice system. Check out these 5 highlights and read the full report.

Each Ambassador brings unique perspectives from their lived experience with the justice system. The cohort represents six of the nation’s top 20 states with the highest incarceration rates: California, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, and Oklahoma. This alignment is intentional and reflects Represent Justice's commitment to investing in leaders whose communities bear the greatest weight of mass incarceration. By uplifting their stories, we challenge the perpetuation of harmful narratives and initiate change where it is most urgently needed.

At the July 2025 Ambassador Film Showcase, Represent Justice welcomed to the stage Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director of Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs, to announce a new offering for Represent Justice Ambassadors through Sundance Collab, Sundance Institute’s year-round digital space for global artists to learn, create, build a community, and champion independence in filmmaking.

The 2025 cohort of the Represent Justice Ambassador Program, comprising ten system-impacted storytellers, created a powerful collection of short films, each offering a firsthand perspective on the justice system and the resilience of those affected by it. The 2025 Ambassadors will celebrate the completion of their film projects and the launch of their film impact campaigns on July 23, 2025, with a red-carpet-style showcase in Los Angeles, California.

Represent Justice condemns the violent ICE raids terrorizing Los Angeles communities, urges solidarity with immigrant families, and calls on the public to reject systems of punishment in favor of compassion and collective care.

We at Represent Justice stand in our unwavering support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the public media ecosystem, and our incredible partners at PBS. 

Represent Justice is awarding its 2025 Open Call Impact Campaign to The Strike! This award-winning documentary tells the story of a generation of California men who endured decades of solitary confinement and, against all odds, launched the largest hunger strike in U.S. history.

Through this new program, we will continue to uplift the extraordinary ecosystem of system-impacted movement leaders, artists, campaign leaders, filmmakers, and film participants who work day in and day out with us to transform the legal system.

For the past 30 years, I have spent Mother's Days with my mom, Michelle West, in prison due to a mandatory federal life sentence that wouldn't be imposed today, and I urge you to support her clemency so she can finally come home.

Represent Justice's first-ever Open Call impact campaign will support the feature film "Kemba," which tells the story of Kemba Smith, a college student sentenced to over 24 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute drugs despite not handling them, highlighting the disproportionate impact of harsh drug laws on women of color and mobilizing audiences to support reform.

Represent Justice CEO Daniel Forkkio has been selected as a 2024 Elevate Prize Winner, recognizing his leadership in social impact alongside nine other global nonprofit leaders, and supporting their mission to transform the criminal legal system through storytelling and collective action.

Sansón, an individual currently incarcerated in Tehachapi State Prison, shares his life story in the new film "Sansón and Me," highlighting the harsh realities of the judicial and immigration systems, and encourages society to advocate for a more just and fair system.

As we reach the halfway point of the school year, the mental health crisis among U.S. youth is escalating, with rising rates of anxiety and depression, and suicide becoming the second-leading cause of death for those aged 10 to 24, highlighting the urgent need for a supportive, rather than punitive, approach in schools.