Mic Check

On the August 17, 2025 episode of Mic Check, host Mike Merli sat down with Barbara Fair.

Born and raised in New Haven, Barbara graduated with an MSW (Master’s in Social Work) from Southern Connecticut State University, who presented her in 2022 with a Presidential Gold Medal naming her as a woman of distinction for her many years fighting for prison reform. Barbara is currently Director of Stop Solitary CT, and has spent much of her life in the struggle for racial and social justice in Connecticut and across the nation. Barbara’s most rewarding role in life is as a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

During the discussion, they touch on two important events happening this week:

On Thursday August 21, from 6pm to 9pm, Stop Solitary CT will hold their monthly Community Meeting, at the Whitneyville Cultural Commons (1253 Whitney Avenue) in Hamden, Connecticut. The discussion will bring together private Defense Attorneys, Prosecutors, and civil rights activist Abraham Santiago.

On Friday August 22, at 9am, Barbara and Stop Solitary CT will be gathering in front of Hartford Superior Court (95 Washington Street) for a vigil before a hearing where the court will decide whether or not to publicly release the video of J'Allen Jones' March 2018 death at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown.

Barbara Fair can be reached at:
barbfair848@gmail.com.

More info on Stop Solitary CT at:
www.stopsolitaryct.org/
x.com/stopsolitaryct
www.instagram.com/stopsolitaryct/

More info on the death of J'Allen Jones at:
www.ctinsider.com/news/article/jal…uit-19813830.php
www.wfsb.com/2024/10/18/frustra…to%20be%20released
www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/h…eath-of-an-inmate/
www.nhregister.com/news/article/ac…ecount=MA%3D%3D

What is Mic Check?

WPKN’s ½-hour weekly public affairs and community discussion program. Our diverse roster of hosts presents a wide range of topics for discussion: focusing on global, national, and regional issues and their effect on the local Connecticut community. Just as the phrase “Mic Check” was used to mobilize people to create a human microphone during the Occupy Movement, this weekly program will amplify our local community’s many concerns and voices and bring them to the air-waves.