I created this space because that’s the only way to have the unfiltered discussions about systemic racism, the criminal system, and all the other issues plaguing our communities without being forced to ignore the elephants in the room.

Olayemi Olurin is a movement lawyer, political commentator, writer, and abolitionist thinker. Olurin was born and raised in Nassau, The Bahamas, where she lived until she moved to America in 2008. She received her JD from St. John’s University School of Law and her BA from Ohio University where she studied Political Science, African American Studies; and Law, Justice & Culture. Olurin is a public defender at The Legal Aid Society in NYC, where she represents people who cannot afford representation, who unfortunately and uncoincidentally, make up the vast majority of the people churned through the criminal system. Olurin educates people about systemic racism, abolition, and why we should divest from the prison industrial complex.  She’s a prominent voice in the movement to decarcerate and close Rikers, an infamous pre-trial detention center in NYC where 18 people have died in the last year. She’s been published in Teen Vogue and appeared on many media outlets like The Hill, MSNBC, CBS, Yahoo News, VOA News, Brut Media, BNC, The Law & Crime Network, and more.