Literature Link for July 17, 2022 — Doing Time

• “To Prisoners” A Poem by Gwendolyn Brooks — and More This is a blog post by formerly incarcerated lawyer, Mark Roseman, which also has a link to the video “‘My World’ — Poem and Interview on School to Prison Pipeline,” [5 mins] https://medium.com/@markeroseman/to-prisoners-a-poem-by-gwendolyn-brooks-and-more-843a778dd346

• Derailed: How Being a lawyer taught me to survive prison by Mark Roseman. “ How did Mark Roseman, a well-known California attorney, end up in prison? How did he endure losing his freedom and being in a starkly different culture, complete with its own language and unwritten rules? And how did he put his life back together when he got out after two years? Mark shares the story of his transformative journey in this book — part memoir and part scathing indictment of the American justice system.” “ Roseman’s self-disclosures are refreshingly profound.”

https://www.amazon.com/Derailed-Lawyer-Taught-Survive-Prison/dp/099723413X

• Failing Marks: The School to Prison Pipeline This is a panel discussion with experts from education and justice work, a sheriff, a lawyer from the NAACP, among others working on restorative justice. [90 mins] Lots of data which shows the racism in our systems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPfBLdXUmr8

• ‘I see you. You’re there. You’re not forgotten.’ The Church of the Larger Fellowship’s Worthy Now Prison Ministry Networkconnects people inside and outside of prison in beloved community and supports Unitarian Universalist communities undertaking prison ministry and reform. Its aspiration echoes the UU First Principle: “We declare that all persons are worthy of love, respect, and support.” https://www.uuworld.org/articles/clf-prison-ministry And here is a note from the Director of the Worthy Now network. https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Welcome-to-Worthy-Now-.html?soid=1110781876086&aid=6PmtZQOhpiI

• Prison Conditions

Millions of Americans are incarcerated in overcrowded, violent, and inhumane jails and prisons that do not provide treatment, education, or rehabilitation. EJI is fighting for reforms that protect incarcerated people.

From the Equal Justice Initiative comes this blunt, factual article and their efforts fighting for reforms. The section on private corrections companies being enriched is particularly horrible. https://eji.org/issues/prison-conditions/

In faith,

Dale Dunnigan