Kevin Reese

Kevin Reese is a visionary leader, social justice advocate, published author, and performing artist using story as a tool for transformation and working to reshape the criminal legal system through art, advocacy, and cultural strategy. Born on Chicago’s South Side and raised in Minneapolis, and shaped by 14 years of incarceration, his work sits at the intersection of art, justice, and cultural memory. Grounded in the belief that liberation must be imagined, organized, and built at the same time, Reese has dedicated his life to advancing equity, healing, and systemic change.

He is the founder of Until We Are All Free, a platform rooted in storytelling, service, and advocacy, and the force behind X It Us Media, a narrative infrastructure company producing films, books, journalism, and cultural artifacts that document struggle and help communities see themselves clearly. His creative work includes the book Luckily Fish Don’t Need Raincoats, years of writing with the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, and performances that merge poetry, testimony, and movement-building.

Reese co-founded Minnesota’s Re-Enfranchised Coalition, helping restore voting rights to more than 50,000 Minnesotans, and co-chaired the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act Committee to support pathways for early release and second chances. He also serves on the National Criminal Justice Association’s Equity in Criminal Justice Funding Committee.

Honored with the NAACP Freedom Award, the Virginia McKnight Binger Heart of Community Honor, and the Minnesota Black Collective New Suns Fellowship, Reese continues to work toward reframing narratives around justice and healing. Above all, he is a father, committed to breaking destructive cycles and helping build a world where his daughters inherit more freedom than he did.