Omar Gent
The Lion
His Mission: FreeOurBrothers.com
Omar Gent is the light they tried to dim, but failed. As that light flourished in his youth they tried to constrain him in a cell but that light only grew, bursting brighter from his mind as he grew wiser within those walls— and now that light adorns him as a mane, eternal. The lion that could not be slain— or tamed, for he already forged his own noble regality. He is a supreme value, who I am fortunate to have illuminate me, so that I may glow brighter for my family and loved ones.
Omar runs the mission FreeOurBrothers.
Through his mission he seeks to address the unfair practices he’s experienced first hand within Colorado’s correctional facilities. Omar has been fighting against Colorado’s illegal “no indictment machine” to exposing his wrongful conviction and to help others from injustice.
Any system or process that can take years from a person’s life, forcing them into a life of labor and abuse is just slavery by a new name.
Through his platforms Omar provides knowledge to illuminate, educate, and activate others so that we may all be empowered to help correct something deeply unfair occurring on nearly every backyard.
I met Omar in the later half of 2022 when I came across his story on twitter. There’s a period where I realized there was a name for the state I was placed in— criminalized survivor. As I began looking deeper into the criminalization of Black and marginalized people, I came across Omar and his amazing mission. And so, I hit him up.
To be honest, I felt embarrassed to speak to Omar at first concerning my plight. This man had spent 14 years in a Colorado prison for the crime of simply existing Black. And while the threat ahead of me was and still is very real, these folks trying to criminalize me looked like characters from the Swedish version of The Office
(no lie…like—there they go practically. jesus, sigh)
In our first conversation Omar met me with a compliment, recognizing the humility I approached him with and I returned the compliment as I recognized his. In that moment I think there’s a truth we both intrinsically understood—
We each have a piece of the puzzle.
Omar is a scholar, a warrior, a Black Genius, and someone I’m happy to call an amazing friend.
(and we stay talking and chuckling about these people trying to run us down but only proving our greatness 😆)
Connect with Omar through his social to see more of his work.
And please support and spread awareness of
Published 2.25.2023