Felix Sitthivong
On the Fence Line: Answering reader questions for inaugural Mail Call #1
Mail call is the best time of day for us on the inside — when the guards pass out our mail! For some, this time of day is the best because of the letters...
On the Fence Line: Celebrating unsung hero Andres Pacificar for AAPI Heritage Month
Okay, I’m not going to lie. Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is something new to me. Honestly, I didn’t even know it existed until just a couple years ago, and only because...
On the Fence Line: Pii Mai Lao ປີໃໝ
Pii Mai Lao, which is how we say “Lao New Year” in my language, marks the new year that begins in mid-April, generally between the 15th and 17th. Khmer New Year is also celebrated...
Introducing ‘On the Fence Line’
Hey, friends! Your boy Felix here.
I want to take this opportunity to welcome everybody and formally introduce you to my new IE column: “On the Fence Line.” You may have already read a...
On the Fence Line: The DOC is cutting peer-led education for inmates
Throughout the years, peer-led education and programming have been an essential part of prisoner rehabilitation within the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC).
Many of these self-sustaining programs – such as Black Prisoners Caucus' T.E.A.C.H....
On the Fence Line: No real resources for trauma in prison
Some pain in this world we will never get over -- somehow, we just learn to live. Others are a little more complicated...
I will never forget September 30th, 2021. It was an unusually warm...
On the Fence Line: Cultural awareness groups in Washington state prisons under threat
Cultural awareness groups within the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) have a long legacy of resistance, tradition, and love. They provide prisoners with a platform for true growth and liberation through cultural preservation...
On the Fence Line: Honor those we’ve lost in tragedy by continuing to love
As reports of another attack on the Asian American community flooded news outlets after a night of Lunar New Year celebrations, another piece of my heart that held any sort of optimism and hope...
What you do for the people you love
As the nation is struggling to recover from a tumultuous year of the coronavirus, a summer of social unrest, and a contentious election -- the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is gearing...
Socially distanced translations
As I'm sitting in my cell on a mandatory, precautionary quarantine/restricted movement, I'm finding it difficult to make sense of everything that's going on or what's not going on.
It seems as though at the...