Celebrating and commending Martha Williams for her commitment to her communities, family and people across Philadelphia, and for her insistence on seeing the humanity of people who are incarcerated, on the occasion of Black History Month.

Celebrating and commending Martha Williams for her commitment to her communities, family and people across Philadelphia, and for her insistence on seeing the humanity of people who are incarcerated, on the occasion of Black History Month. WHEREAS, Martha Williams has been a Philadelphian all her life. She was born and raised here, went to school here and has worked to better her community here. She has two children she raised here, and her son is serving a life-plus sentence. When Martha first walked into a Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration (CADBI) meeting, she saw a mom she knew and another friend from outside that space. It struck her, as she did not know what to expect, and it opened her eyes to how important this work is; and WHEREAS, Martha comes from a community where she was not a stranger to folks being incarcerated, but it was that moment that touched a nerve. She knew then that it was necessary to participate and make her voice heard. She has supported individuals who are incarcerated, educated and learned about the impact incarceration has on communities and families, and lived in community with others who could relate to what she was feeling as a mother; and WHEREAS, Translating that experience into conversations with legislators and officeholders, Martha has worked to turn her story into change. She has worked on issues from second-look laws to oversentencing to the need for holistic programming that reduces recidivism to creating avenues for people wit…