1. MAYHEM
"Everybody who works at Hickman's, get up! Pack your stuff-you're being moved today!"
Corrections officers swarmed the Santa Rosa Unit at the Perryville women's prison in Goodyear, Arizona, barking orders and handing out trash bags for belongings. Many women were alarmed. We're being moved to Hickman's? How?
The officers weren't sharing a lot of details. The women would be loaded into vehicles, that much was apparent, then dropped off at one of the company's properties not far from the prison. Those who refused to go would automatically lose their jobs at the commercial egg farm, officers said. There was vague talk of other disciplinary action too, a frightening possibility.
It was March 25, 2020, and the world outside was plunging into crisis. COVID-19 was a deadly new pandemic. At Perryville, lockdowns were rapidly taking effect. First, visitors were barred from entering the grounds. Then came rumors that prison officials would be shutting down all jobs beyond prison walls-jobs on the fire crew, jobs in a state hospital kitchen. All the outside jobs, that is, except for those at Hickman's Family Farms, one of the Arizona prison system's biggest clients.
Many women at Perryville needed their jobs to pay for basic necessities-things like regular soap and toothpaste and to help build a financial cushion for after their release. Working for an outside client paid better than working for the prison itself, where you might make 25 cents an hour as a groundskeeper. Still, even the highest-paying outside jobs paid far less than minimum wage after deductions by the prison, and some gigs were more grueling and dangerous than others.
This story is from the Issue 01, 2023 / February - March 2023 edition of Cosmopolitan US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 01, 2023 / February - March 2023 edition of Cosmopolitan US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
the venuture
One summer 2009 night, Julia's manager pulled her aside. A silver-haired gentleman's date was being kind of loud and messy-Julia should intervene, be extra nice to him. She got the okay to take the man up to the roof for a quiet smoke. This guy must be a big deal, she thought.
VICTORIA
Monét fans are having a thrilling 2024. Almost perfect, really, thanks to the artist's seven Grammy nominations, including Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, and Best R&B Performance.
SOUND OF NOW
Thanks to our three cover stars-Kim Petras, Victoria Monét, and Kali Uchis-the future of music looks like something entirely new. More original, more exciting, more f*ck-yesput-this-on-my-playlistright-now. Which is exactly what each of them has been manifesting all along.
You Deserve to Take a Dating Sabbatical
And dare we say...you probably should?
The Chicest Places to Elope Right Now (Sorry, Mom)
An unforgettable vow-filled vacation with your soulmate vs. a lukewarm catered dinner with people you were forced to invite. Yeah, you get it too.
We Need to Talk About the Fentanyl in Your Party Pills
The potentially deadly substance is virtually impossible to see, smell, or taste and it's creeping into drugs you might have once considered \"safe.\"
I Hooked Up With My Friend's Dad on Vacation in Spain
It was an accident. It was also inevitable.
Black-Owned Is for Everyone
A friendly and very important-reminder from beauty editor-at-large Julee Wilson.
Becoming a Surrogate Impacted Every. Single. One.of My Relationships
It looks great on The Kardashians. But the reality can be...messy.
We Need to Talk About Perimenopause
It's a milestone health experience that may come for us all...so why are we so clueless?