A ll Square is a nonprofit social enterprise in the Twin Cities that invests in the minds and lives of formerly incarcerated leaders. Founded in 2016, we exist as a response to the exclusion of formerly incarcerated family, friends, and neighbors from economic freedom and forward momentum. Post-incarceration exclusion ties intimately to poverty and recidivism. We intentionally direct our resources to those impacted by this exclusion and systemic ills stemming from racism and oppression. Currently, All Square channels its investments through a 12-month entrepreneurial fellowship— a portion of which is carried out through our craft grilled cheese restaurant in South Minneapolis (yes, we said grilled cheese!) . Each year, we invest in bi-annual cohorts of formerly incarcerated leaders in the areas most important to them. This investment includes courses in business, wealth building, and personal development, plus individual and family therapy—for those who choose to leverage it—and employment in our restaurant. The pandemic’s irrevocable reach forced All Square and our fellowship to innovate at an unprecedented speed and allowed us an opportunity to think critically about our strategic growth. This time of reflection, coupled with the murder of George Floyd and the demands of our community, provided All Square’s roadmap for collaboratively expanding into jurisprudence.
with low-level offenses (such as DUIs) but not to those with felony convictions. Consequently, the legal field is largely devoid of this critical segment of our community.
This lack of representation—which ties to race, as Minnesota incarcerates our Black and Native communities at 9.1 and 14.3 times the rate of our white community—is halting critical progress towards a legal system that is wholly representative. As a result, the legal discipline is not benefiting from, and laws are not advancing with, the array of generational legal knowledge held by currently and formerly incarcerated scholars and those whose lives have, in many cases, been upended by legal instruments and mass incarceration. As aptly summarized by Kevin Reese, Founder of Until We Are All Free, a criminal justice organization led by formerly incarcerated experts who provide frontline resources to those in prison, “The law was the language of the bars. It was the language of the keys. It was the language of the cells. It was a language that was written to us, not for us.”
ACCESS TO LAW DEGREES FOR INCARCERATED SCHOLARS
Incarcerated scholars do not have access to ABA- accredited law degrees because the American Bar Association (ABA), which oversees law schools, has historically required “in-person, synchronous learning.” In addition, morality clauses disqualify those with criminal records from gaining admission into law school and sitting for the bar exam. Some law schools and bar associations are amenable to individuals
Philanthropy Rules! All Square | 39
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