On Saturday, August 8, Crookd Crown Publishing will proudly participate in the Justice for Us 5-on-5 Youth Basketball Event—an event that represents something much bigger than basketball.
This isn't simply a community gathering. It's a movement built on the belief that when communities invest in young people, support rehabilitation, and create opportunities for connection, everyone benefits.
We are honored to stand alongside Deaunteze "Bobo" Bobo, Jermaine F. Ferguson, and the many organizations and individuals committed to making a positive impact, including The Agape Movement, the Boys & Girls Club, Talent Workz, Kandi's, and the W.I.F.C. (Wrongfully Incarcerated & Convicted Families Council).
More Than a Book
At the event, we'll be sharing It Just Works: Real Stories & Behavioral Science From the Earned Living Unit, a book that documents one of Minnesota's most unique prison communities.
Written by Brandon D. Cox and Jermaine F. Ferguson, It Just Works explores how leadership, accountability, behavioral science, mentorship, and community have transformed the culture inside the Earned Living Unit (ELU) at MCF-Stillwater.
The book asks a simple question:
What happens when people are given an environment where growth is expected instead of failure?
The answer is found in the lives of the men who are choosing accountability, service, and leadership every day.
Bringing the ELU Into the Community
One of the greatest lessons we've learned through the ELU is that positive culture spreads.
When people encourage one another, hold each other accountable, and work toward something bigger than themselves, communities become stronger.
The Justice for Us event gives us the opportunity to take those same principles beyond prison walls and invest directly in the next generation.
Instead of simply talking about change, we have the opportunity to live it.
By engaging with youth, families, and community members, we're helping create conversations around leadership, violence prevention, mentorship, emotional growth, and personal responsibility—conversations that can change lives long before incarceration ever becomes part of someone's story.
Every Book Gives Back
We're especially grateful that this event allows our mission to extend even further.
Every copy of It Just Works purchased at the event creates a direct impact.
Fifty percent of the proceeds support the Boys & Girls Club, helping provide opportunities, mentorship, and positive experiences for young people in our communities.
The remaining fifty percent supports initiatives within the Earned Living Unit, allowing the men inside the ELU to continue developing leadership, mentorship, educational, and community-focused projects that demonstrate what rehabilitation can truly look like.
This isn't about selling books.
It's about creating opportunities.
Community Is Built Together
Crookd Crown Publishing was founded on the belief that stories can inspire change.
Whether through books, music, education, or community partnerships, our mission has always been to create work that serves a purpose larger than ourselves.
The Justice for Us event represents that mission perfectly.
It brings together organizations, businesses, community leaders, families, mentors, and individuals who believe that prevention, rehabilitation, and opportunity should exist side by side.
We're incredibly thankful to everyone who made this event possible.
To The Agape Movement, thank you for creating opportunities for meaningful community engagement.
To the Wrongfully Incarcerated & Convicted Families Council (W.I.F.C.), thank you for your continued advocacy and commitment to justice.
To the Boys & Girls Club, Talent Workz, Kandi's, our fellow speakers, volunteers, and every supporter behind the scenes—thank you for believing in this mission.
And to everyone attending on Saturday...
Thank you for choosing community.
Thank you for choosing hope.
Thank you for helping us prove what we've believed all along:
When people come together with purpose, positive change isn't just possible...
It Just Works.