Christopher Blackwell

Christopher Blackwell is Washington-based award-winning journalist currently incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center. He is serving a 45- year prison sentence for taking another human's life during a drug robbery--something he takes full accountability for. He has been incarcerated since 2003.

He was raised in a mixed Native American/white family in the Hilltop Area of Tacoma, Washington. During his childhood, Hilltop was one of the roughest places to live in the country - ravaged by over-policing, gangs, violence, and drugs. His first experience of incarceration came at the age of 12. By the age of 14 he had dropped out of school and followed in the path of neighborhood role models by becoming a drug dealer. He was in and out of juvenile detention centers until the age of 22 when he was given his current prison sentence.

A lot has changed in the 30 years since his first experience with incarceration. Today he's earned a college degree, become a leader in prisoner-led mentor programs, a restorative justice facilitator, and a voice for many behind prison walls experiencing extreme injustices on a daily basis.

Christopher and his wife, Dr. Chelsea Moore, co-founded Look 2 Justice, a grassroots organization led by criminal legal system-impacted people that works to transform the legal system by providing civic education and empowerment programs for incarcerated people and their loved ones.

Having experienced the injustices and traumas of the system — long stints in solitary confinement, abuse at the hands of staff, and retaliation — Christopher has opened up to share his and many others’ stories in hopes of educating society.

His work has been featured across the country in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, HuffPost, Marshall Project, Insider, Jewish Currents, BuzzFeed, The Appeal, and many more. He is currently in the process of working on a book manuscript about solitary confinement.

Christopher works closely with Empowerment Ave, a nonprofit organization that uplifts the voices of incarcerated writers in the mainstream media. This partnership has helped him connect with publishers across the country. Christopher founded and leads the Writers Development Program, a branch of Empowerment Avenue. Through this program, Chris has mentored two cohorts of incarcerated writers. In the program’s first year, Chris’ mentees collectively published over 70 pieces in outlets across the country.

Being a voice for so many who are often not able to do so for themselves is something he finds to be an honor and quite humbling.