Words by Spencer Wu-Chin PZ ’28

Graphic by Blue Byrnes PZ ’27

On April 17 and April 18, the 5C Prison Abolition Collective hosted Freedom First, a jazz and poetry concert series that tours the country. Freedom First is the project of Catalan jazz pianist Albert Marqùes and writer, activist, and poet Keith Lamar, who describe their shows as “a call for justice, an invitation to renew one’s faith in humanity, and an emotional ride.” 

Lamar is a prisoner on death row in Ohio, set to be executed on Jan. 27, 2027. For the past thirty years, he has been kept in solitary confinement, joining Freedom First to perform live from prison over the phone. With Marqùes and a rotating band of guest musicians, Lamar works to raise awareness for his own campaign against a wrongful conviction, as well as issues around incarceration and the death penalty.

On April 18, Students and community members filled the chairs and pews in Balch Auditorium at Scripps College, listening to introductory speeches from organizers and members of 5C Prison Abolition. Then, Marqùes phoned the Ohio State Penitentiary, and Lamar’s voice crackled through a speaker set on the stage.

“Keith is someone that moves people,” 5C Prison Abolition member Leila Riker, PZ ’25, said.  “He has a way with words. He’s musically talented, he’s personable, and even just his voice has] something really warm about it.” 

Through a personal connection, Riker brought Freedom First to the 5Cs for the first time last academic year.

“My music teacher [Marqùes] heard that I was doing abolitionist organizing out here and reached out to me through my mom,” Riker said. At the time, Freedom First had only performed in New York and Spain, and Marqùes was interested in taking the show to California.

At first, other members of 5C Prison Abolition had been apprehensive about inviting Lamar. Lamar’s campaign, Justice for Keith Lamar, centers around his innocence. Organizers were worried that this emphasis might give students the idea that prison abolition is only concerned with wrongful convictions.

Riker felt that they, as well as other members of 5C Prison Abolition, were experiencing a “purity issue” as a result of being disconnected from the complex reality of abolition in practice. 

“They were worried… because it was such a large part of his own campaign,” Riker explained. Potentially, “the audience would basically think that the point was, ‘if you’re innocent, you shouldn’t be in a cage’, not ‘cages are bad.’”

Ultimately, organizers agreed to host Freedom First for their first concert in Claremont in October 2023.

“[Keith] is able to bring people in, which we saw is actually really useful,” Riker said. “If people can accept that Keith shouldn’t be in a cage, then it’s easier to get them to accept that no one should. It might not be that they go to this one concert and leave an abolitionist, but it’s bringing them into this world and forcing them to confront a system that disappears people.”

Tickets to the show sold out, and people lined up around the building for a chance to get in.

“[Lamar’s campaign manager,] Amy, and the band expressed that they’d been to a lot of universities, but they hadn’t seen such a mobilization [before],” Riker said. “[So many students showed up] to work, volunteer as ushers and greet the band and run a book club after. There was really beautiful engagement.”

Riker particularly appreciated the chance to bring Lamar and Freedom First back to the 5Cs after their success last year.

“It’s been awesome to see and so special to have, like a relationship that’s continued,” Riker said. “[Usually, inviting speakers is] a transactional experience, and a lot of the people who are working have also been in the book club or spoken to Keith and built a continued relationship. We’re working together on the same campaign.”

Riker sees hosting and building relationships with people like Lamar as a critical part of 5C prison abolition and organizing.

“PrisAb is such an incredible opportunity and can be such an incredible space for learning, but if it’s not working with directly impacted people, I feel like there’s something missing,” Riker said.
“When I first joined … it was mostly a political education club … [but] now, there’s really amazing work happening that’s involved with local orgs like Critical Resistance and Justice LA.”

As a whole, Riker saw the opportunity to work with Freedom First as a chance to bring a different, but important, kind of activism to the 5Cs.

“Something I have felt lacks a lot, especially in [the] Claremont organizing scene, is joy, music, art, and food,” Riker said. “Every time I engage with Keith or with Amy or with the group of musicians, I leave uplifted. We’re laughing. Even though we all know we’re fighting a really ugly fight and that Keith has two years till he’s supposed to be murdered by the state of Ohio. He knows that, but he also knows that none of us can keep going if we don’t find ways to be joyful.”

To Riker, organizing necessitates making space for joy through events like Freedom First.

“Being able to not just imagine the world that we’re trying to build, but make it a reality, even if it is just for the duration of a song or for the hour that you’re dancing and making art is crucial,” Riker said. “If we forget what that’s like, if we don’t make it our reality, then we might forget that it’s possible. And once we stop being able to imagine the world we want to live in, we’ve lost.”