#1 Brand

The KUFISNAPBACK brand is like the premier destination for the latest in streetwear with a message and the rawest barbers.

Product Description

The Inside Bulletin is independent publication of nonprofit media organization KUFISNAPBACK, dedicated to sharping community understanding of the drug addiction and overdose crisis in America, including the overlapping factors of: stigma, trauma, childhood neglect, mental and behavioral health, incarceration and criminal justice, reentry and family reunification, treatment access, culture, immigration, and much more.

Mission

Our mission is to reduce the destructive impact of unresolved trauma, substance abuse, and criminality in America's most disadvantaged and marginalized populations, especially the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, both youth and adult.

Impact

Our distinctive Writer's Development Group inspires, uplifts, empowers, and nurtures the voices of overlooked men who have endured the harsh realities of trauma, incarceration, and substance abuse. These individuals emerge with valuable insights that are essential for reaching back and assisting men and young men still trapped in the destructive cycles of gangs, drug addiction, and criminal activities.

Origin Story

KUFISNAPBACK is the vision of incarcerated writer, addictions counselor and barber, Jovan "Aqeel" Strong. After struggling to find freelance writing work from prison, he was motivated to create from scratch his own multimedia platform to give himself and other creatives who face the same barriers to a greater opportunity at exposure, acknowledgement, and appreciation.

As a Muslim, it was a night in Ramadan 2023 when he unveiled his idea for a stripped down version of a magazine prototype - proposed as a newsletter - and received unanimous support from the congregation to push forward with not a simple newsletter but the full-length and full-featured magazine that was the true goal. Now after months organizing, writing and editing content, compiling photos, and working with an outside graphics artist, the team is finally releasing its first edition.

As a nonprofit 501c3 charitable organization, the magazine is distributed as a free resource for readers in institutions, through prison and jail libraries, youth detention centers, and inpatient/outpatient drug programs with the help of grants from different governmental departments and private foundations. In addition, everybody in the outside world will be able to purchase their own print and digital editions of the magazine (and merch) online!!!

Single copies are AVAILABLE NOW at https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2870158

If you represent a community center, youth program, barbershop chain, rehab, or so on, contact us directly for DISCOUNTED BULK ORDERS at Kufi.sbtv@gmail.com and text "Bulk Order" in the Subject bar.

*Subscription not yet available.

Editorial Sections

• Transformative Justice

At KUFISNAPBACK, we proudly advocate for rehabilitative programs aimed at supporting incarcerated individuals. The motivational experiences of our members demonstrate that investing public funds in these initiatives yields significant benefits. We showcase it with this section.

• Popular Culture

At KUFISNAPBACK, it's a foundational element of our organizational DNA to weigh in on the current state of popular culture and Hiphop, and to proceed with critical analysis. The inescapable influence of the entertainment industry on the youth makes it crucial for us to address its messages, its messengers, and behind the scenes.

• We Flow Like the Nile River

All the great ancient civilizations were built around major rivers like the Nile, Euphrates, Ganges, and Yellow River. The seasonal floods enrich the soil, enabling conditions for the cultivation of enough crops for abundant harvests that could support thriving metropolises. So life itself flowed from these waterways.

Just as still waters can become stagnant, leading to decay and ultimately death, life itself is characterized by movement and must flow like the river's current.

A genuine and vibrant culture is essential for life, while a fake or corrupted culture puts a people to sleep, leading to the servitude and eventual death of a community. Therefore, the catchphrase of this section embodies universal truths, aimed to inspire youth from all backgrounds. This section is dedicated to celebrating heritage and sharing impactful historical stories and lessons.

• Spirituality & Addiction

"In the African-American community, organized spirituality is key to promoting recovery. Faith-based treatment programs in church settings are more effective than traditional treatment settings. In one study in Arkansas's Mississippi River Delta region, one- third of a group of drug users consulted with clergy, and everyone reported significant religiosity. Members of the clergy who were interviewed, however, said they were not as prepared or knowledgeable as they should be in the field of substance abuse." (Inaba, Cohen. Uppers, Downers, All- Arounders, p9.58)

This section is not all about Black people. The quote was picked because the image and content of Black struggle has become a universal symbol of struggle and the catalyst for change, again and again, both in America and globally.

In service to all historically underserved communities, including the broad and mulitethnic American Muslim ummah, KUFISNAPBACK is aiming to close the gap between our BIPOC communities and behavioral health services by curating cultural spaces where each can learn about the other in favor of better outcomes.

• Stay Woke

This section is focused on civics, activism, and advocacy. Here we will publish mostly reprints from organizations like San Quentin News, Prison Journalism Project, Initiate Justice, Anti Recidivism Coalition, Marshall Project, ProPublica, LA Times, VICE news, and the ACLU.

• Faith Friday at the Prison Chapel

This special section presents culturally relevant sermons (or in Arabic, khutbah), from peer ministers of the incarcerated Islamic community. The aim is to invite readers in society to experience a small nugget of what the spiritual and religuous lives of incarcerated Muslims looks like.

• College Behind the Razor Wire

Of course, there are some people who advocate bitterly against any public policies that support giving "criminals" access to higher education. However, the truth is that most incarcerated people in America developed their criminal behaviors in response to the disadvantaged communities and dysfunctional homes from where they come. Its unfortunate, but at least by struggling through the truamas of incarceration we might encounter some unfamiliar opportunities for pesonal and professional development. And that's not to mistake that such opportunities are somehow owed to us, because it would be foolish to take them for granted. The statistics say that only 16% of people who leave prison with an Associates degree are ever arrested again, in comparison to 54% for those with only a highschool diploma or GED. So the aim of this department is to give a platform to the students, professors, and researchers who believe in the power of education is this specific setting.

CONTENT INCLUDES: opinion pieces, exclusive interviews, personal essays, open letters, poetry, literary excerpts, original sermons, scripture, film/book reviews, and comics, written, produced, and/or compiled mostly by the incarcerated.

Outcomes

Our initiative plays a vital role in restoring the dignity and self-worth of our participants, who are men recovering from gang involvement, criminal behavior, and substance abuse. This is achieved by tapping into the therapeutic potential of authorship, which requires frequent self-reflection, self-examination, and self-accountability, under the guidance of our writing coaches. By reclaiming personal authority over their self-image and life story, these individuals reshape their self-concept with self-love and insight, and based on a refined code of conduct with clear ethical standards. The process is truly transformational. Research in cognitive restructuring, a key element of cognitive-behavioral interventions, indicates that self-respect is essential for breaking free from the groupthink prevalent in street, prison, and gang cultures.

Founder's Qualifications

✓ Certified Addiction Treatment Counselor registered with CAADE's Addiction Counselor Certification Board of California. (Registration #16798-i) Education and training provided by the Options Drug and Alcohol Counselors School of Options Recovery Services, Berkeley, CA.

✓ Tayba Foundation intermediate-level student in Islamic Studies. Tayba Foundation is an affiliate of Zaytuna College, Berkeley, CA.

*DISCLAIMER

In accordance with CCR Title 15, section 3250, The Inside Bulletin contains articles written by incarcerated person's but it is not "an inmate publication". Section 3237 reads: "Inmate may obtain and retain membership in outside organizations and associationd provided such membership does not threaten facility security or the safety of staff, inmates, or the public; and creates no financial burden on state."

And lastly, "the opinions expressed therein are the author's and do not necessarily represent the position of the facility or department." (See section 3250.2(a))

KUFISNAPBACK Magazine

Culture & Mental Health

Team Members