Justin Farmer is a twenty-five-year-old Legislative Councilman in Hamden, Connecticut running a grassroots campaign for Connecticut State Senate’s 17th district. Farmer is running on what he calls a Black Liberation Agenda, a platform that includes defunding state police, divesting from prisons, ending cash bail, and reinvesting resources in communities with a homes guarantee, a Green New Deal for Connecticut, quality education, and health care as a human right.

Farmer, who was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome at age seventeen, considers himself an activist elected official and has been endorsed by Sunrise New Haven and Sunrise Connecticut. He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has been endorsed by a number of local chapters as well as the national organization.

Farmer spoke with Jacobin about his campaign and his personal experiences with the criminal justice system. He is the only black elected man on the Hamden Legislative Council. This interview has been edited for clarity.