The last time Jeffery Robinson and Jacob Ivan Schmitt were in the room were under very different circumstances. Now, 26 years later and out of a courtroom, they sit and discuss the realities of the prison-industrial system, what makes someone vulnerable to hate groups, and if someone can truly change.

About Jacob: Jacob Ivan Schmitt is the founder and director of Just Us Solutions, LLC, where he leads with both vision and lived experience. A childhood trauma survivor who spent more than thirty years in institutional settings as an avowed white supremacist, Jacob transformed his life through self-education in law, strengthening his moral reasoning and cultivating a deep understanding of accountability. These hard-earned lessons now shape his work developing strategies that bring hope and structure to those who remain entangled in trauma and the criminal legal system. About The Who We Are Project: The Who We Are Project is a nonprofit organization challenging the dominant narrative of our nation’s founding, demonstrating how anti-Black racism was and remains a central part of U.S. history, and working to promote education, discourse, healing, and change.

The Who We Are Project produces media and educational resources about our history of anti-Black racism and how our past has shaped our present – so that we can know who we are.

Learn more at https://www.thewhoweareproject.org/

Photo Credit: Lauren Klain Carton Designed by: Juliette Hemingway