Teaching Ourselves New Examples to Uplift People

Who We Are

T.O.N.E. U.P. stands for Teaching Ourselves New Examples to Uplift People.

We are a justice-impacted-led organization rooted in a simple belief: the people closest to the challenges are often closest to the solutions.

Our work sits at the intersection of reentry, healing, leadership development, advocacy, and community power-building. Every day, we walk alongside people returning home from incarceration—connecting them to resources, opportunities, and relationships that support successful reentry while working to transform the systems that have historically excluded our communities.

From reentry navigation and leadership development to Clean Slate implementation, civic engagement, and policy advocacy, we are building power—not just programs.

Honoring Fathers in Our Community

This Father's Day, we celebrate the fathers in our community, especially justice-impacted fathers who are working every day to rebuild relationships, strengthen families, and create new legacies.

We see fathers showing up for their children, reconnecting with loved ones, breaking cycles, and building new foundations for their families. Their commitment often happens quietly, without recognition, but its impact is felt for generations.

Strong fathers help build strong families. Strong families help build strong communities.

To all the fathers in our network and beyond, thank you for continuing to show up, grow, and lead.

Happy Father's Day.

Juneteenth: Freedom Then, Freedom Now

Juneteenth reminds us that freedom has always been worth fighting for.

As we honor the ancestors who endured, resisted, and organized for liberation, we also recognize that the work continues today. Freedom is not just a historical idea. It is access to opportunity, dignity, housing, employment, healthcare, education, and the ability to fully participate in our communities.

For justice-impacted people, freedom also means removing barriers that continue long after a sentence has been served.

We honor those who came before us by continuing the work of creating a future where everyone has a genuine opportunity to thrive.

Celebrating Six Years of T.O.N.E. U.P.

June 2026 marks six years since our founder, Antonio Williams, came home from prison and immediately began building what would become T.O.N.E. U.P.

What started as a commitment to help others navigate reentry has grown into a statewide movement rooted in leadership development, healing, advocacy, civic engagement, and community power.

Over the last six years, we have supported hundreds of individuals returning home, helped people access housing and employment opportunities, trained new leaders, advocated for policy change, and created spaces where justice-impacted people can connect, heal, and organize together.

Most importantly, we have proven that justice-impacted people are not problems to be solved—we are leaders, innovators, parents, advocates, and experts in our own experiences.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey.

Join Us for Our Community Freedom Celebration

Saturday, June 20, 2026
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

As we celebrate Juneteenth and six years of T.O.N.E. U.P., we invite the community to join us for an afternoon of connection, food, fellowship, and celebration.

Highlights include:

• Free food for children and justice-impacted individuals
• Bouncy houses and family-friendly activities
• Community resource tables
• Community conversations and a featured panel discussion
• Opportunities to connect with organizations, services, and community leaders
• Music, fellowship, and celebration

This event is about honoring our journey, celebrating our community, and continuing to build the relationships that make our movement stronger.

We hope to see you there.

RSVP For Free

Celebrating Leadership Development

This month we proudly celebrate two T.O.N.E. U.P. community members who graduated from the Minnesota Restorative Practices Training Program, Cohort 2.

Congratulations to:

• Sammy Burch
• Carlos Smith

We are incredibly proud of both Sammy and Carlos for continuing to invest in their growth, leadership, and development.

Their commitment to learning reflects the values we strive to cultivate throughout our community. We look forward to seeing how they continue to use these skills to strengthen relationships, foster accountability, and support healing in the communities they serve.

Congratulations, Sammy and Carlos.

In the Media: A Conversation About Reentry

This month, our Founder and Co-Executive Director, Antonio Williams, joined host Vineeta Sawkar on WCCO News Talk 830 for a thoughtful conversation about reentry, second chances, and the realities facing people returning home from incarceration.

During the interview, Antonio shared his personal journey, discussed the barriers many justice-impacted people continue to face after release, and highlighted the work T.O.N.E. U.P. is doing to support successful reentry while building long-term community power.

Conversations like these matter because they help shift public understanding, challenge harmful stereotypes, and elevate the voices and expertise of people with lived experience.

We are grateful to Vineeta Sawkar and the WCCO team for creating space for this important conversation and helping bring greater visibility to the experiences of justice-impacted Minnesotans.

We invite you to listen to the interview and share it with your networks.

Listen to the full interview!

T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesday

Date: June 9, 2026 | Time: 7:00PM | Location: 23 SE 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55414

T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesday continues to be one of the most important spaces we hold for our community.

This month's gathering will feature a community partner presenting important information about surveillance technologies, public safety systems, and how these tools impact our neighborhoods and communities.

Participants will have an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and engage in meaningful discussion about issues affecting our communities today.

As always, T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesday remains a space for relationship-building, resource-sharing, political education, and collective growth.

Antonio Williams Named a 2026 Bush Fellow

We are proud to announce that our Founder and Co-Executive Director, Antonio Williams, has been selected as a 2026 Bush Fellow.

This recognition reflects years of service, leadership, advocacy, and commitment to justice-impacted communities throughout Minnesota. From grassroots organizing and legislative advocacy to public conversations about reentry and second chances, Antonio has consistently used his platform to elevate the voices, experiences, and leadership of people directly impacted by the criminal legal system.

After serving 14 years in prison, Antonio returned home determined to create pathways for others returning from incarceration. That vision became T.O.N.E. U.P., an organization built on the belief that people closest to the challenges are often closest to the solutions.

Antonio often reminds us that leadership is not about individual achievement. It is about helping others discover their own leadership and creating opportunities for people to step into their power.

The Bush Fellowship will provide an opportunity for Antonio to invest in his own growth, healing, learning, and leadership development so he can continue supporting the next generation of leaders and strengthen the work of T.O.N.E. U.P. for years to come.

Antonio shared:

"I am deeply grateful to the Bush Foundation for believing in me and investing in my growth. This recognition belongs to the many people who have walked alongside me throughout this journey. My goal has always been to help develop other leaders, and I look forward to continuing that work."

We extend our sincere thanks to the Bush Foundation for recognizing Antonio's leadership and investing in a vision rooted in healing, community, and justice-impacted leadership.

Congratulations, Antonio. We are proud of you.

Showing Up Daily: Real Support, Real Impact

Every day, our team continues to walk alongside community members navigating the challenges of reentry.

Over the past month, we have continued supporting individuals with housing, basic needs, employment opportunities, community connections, and reentry navigation. We have also continued helping community members understand and access opportunities created through Minnesota's Clean Slate law.

While this work may not always make headlines, it remains at the heart of everything we do.

Thank You to Our Funders, Partners, and Supporters

Nothing we build happens alone.

To our volunteers, community members, supporters, funders, and partners—thank you.

Thank you for believing in our mission.
Thank you for investing in justice-impacted leadership.
Thank you for helping us create new examples.

Because of your support, we continue to build stronger communities, stronger families, and stronger leaders across Minnesota.

We are especially grateful to the many foundations, organizations, public partners, and individual donors who continue to invest in our vision and trust justice-impacted people to lead.

Together, we are building something bigger than ourselves.

In Solidarity,

The T.O.N.E. U.P. Team