The group organizes a pen pal program, distributes a prisoner-written newspaper to its incarcerated members, provides court accompaniment, and educates people on their rights.

[1] Black and Pink was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2004–2005 by Jason Lydon, a Unitarian Universalist minister and prison abolitionist.

Lydon had been active in prison justice work as a teenager, and decided to form Black and Pink after spending six months in county jail when he was twenty years old.

The newspaper contains submissions from incarcerated Black and Pink members, as well as material from people who are not in prison.

Because art supplies are difficult to obtain within many prisons, some of the pieces use unconventional materials such as envelopes and ink made from melted magazines.