Going Home and Staying Home
What?
While watching the documentary, College Behind Bars, they covered many details in regards to the ways in which education is the practice of freedom.
Throughout the film, they highlight the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) and how it is a program that has aimed to provide people in prison with access to education. It is one of the few college degree granting programs that is offered in United States prisons today. Through this program, prisoners are able to seek an education that allows them to develop a critical consciousness and the ability to think freely. With an education, prisoners will be able to have a better chance of getting out of this loop of being in and out of the prison system. Instead, they will be able to thrive in their environment by finding employment, which will hopefully lead to an increase in income. This increase in income that education brings allows for individuals to be equipped with the freedom to choose the lifestyle that they desire most.
James Baldwin, in A Letter to Teachers, argues that the purpose of education is to teach people to “look at the world for [themselves] and encourage them to make their own decisions about it. (Baldwin, 1). Similarly to what they are trying to say in the film, College Behind Bars, Baldwin is advocating for how education helps to bring freedom to individuals. Baldwin adds onto this encouragement of education that promotes critical consciousness and he claims that we all should have the right to examine and judge things in our own way.
Within part one of the film they discuss how incarcerated students are no different from any other student. It is as if the wealthy and the privileged are given greater access to better educational opportunities while those in oppressed communities are deprived of these educational opportunities. Those who are taught violence at a very young age tend to live in impoverished or rough neighborhoods while those in nicer, more privileged neighborhoods are more likely to thrive and stay out of the prison system. Those who are from impoverished, rough neighborhoods also tend to be ethnic minorities. Through the BPI, prisoners are given the chance to experience an education. They emphasize how being in college serves “as a buffer against prison life” (College Behind Bars). A majority of students will be sent back to communities and will be better educated in a way that is meaningful to them. They are trying to do something with the time they are spending in prison.
There is this common misconception that “prisoners have lots of ‘free time’” and this is not true (College Behind Bars). Many students that are attending college while in prison are studying at 12am or later because this is when the prison is the most quiet. There are school bells that keep them on a routine, they have to wake up early, and the chaos of a prison is challenging. They emphasize how “people on the outside do not understand what it is like to completely lose your liberty” and how lonely prisons can actually be (College Behind Bars).
During the second part of the film they discuss freedom and how it is very “hard to visualize” (College Behind Bars). Although the BPI is striving to provide these prisoners with an education that will hopefully bring them more freedom, it seems as if these prisoners are still stripped of their right to speak their voice. One of the prisoners, Rodney, tells the story of how an officer flagged his college paper as inappropriate even though it was not directed towards anyone. He was “charged… with ‘harassment’ for using explicit language in his short story. After confining him to the SHU, [solitary], for seven days, they dropped the charges” (College Behind Bars). Even though education works to bring these prisoners freedom, it still feels that higher up authorities are able to stand in the way of this basic human right of free speech, as highlighted in Rodney’s story.
In addition, this film illustrates how “college opportunity is a central part of criminal justice” (College Behind Bars). Education is the easiest and cheapest way to reduce violence and increase public safety. If we do not provide these prisoners with higher education opportunities, we are not giving them a chance to learn or get out of this loop. The film explains how “nearly half the minorities that go to prison come out and go back through the revolving door again” (College Behind Bars). Furthermore, a study by the Rand Corporation found that “every dollar spent on higher education in prisons saves taxpayers 5 dollars” (College Behind Bars). When we are younger we make more irrational decisions and some learn to fight back when living in a rough community. We would be paying to further educate these prisoners which will allow them to stay out in the future rather than end up right back in. In general, programs like BPI would be good for the United States in the long run. We should not be taking tools that could help to rehabilitate these individuals within the prison system.
This film, College Behind Bars, reminded me of the importance of groups like Women Helping All People and how they aim to prevent youths within their communities from ending up in this kind of situation to begin with. WHAP’s mission is to “develop… children’s young minds so that they may become successful scholars, who display a strong sense of self-worth, purpose and community responsibility. [They] provide a loving, nurturing and supportive environment that enables… students to strive for excellence and to become “Godly” leaders of tomorrow.” It is through this mission that my community partner is able to help youths, in a primarily oppressed neighborhood, to gain the freedom that education provides them with. With education, these students will be able to, hopefully, gain a critical consciousness, seek a college education, and thrive in the workforce, which can help them to have a better income. Income is a major contributor that allows us to have the freedom to live the lives we choose. WHAP is providing these youths in the community with the opportunity to have access to similar educational tools, and this helps these students to try and stay out of this loop of ending up in poverty, committing crime, and then being placed into the prison system.
So What?
When listening to the film, College Behind Bars, the prisoners discussed the importance of finding your purpose and how they were able to find hope through their thoughts of their families and a furthered education.
Many of the prisoners had photos, letters, etc that served as “reminders of everything that [they needed]” (College Behind Bars). They had people in their families that they looked up to. While some families felt ashamed of their child who ended up in the prison system, others were very supportive. The constant reminder that they had someone or something that was waiting for them helped them to get through their time in prison.
Additionally, prisoners found that a furthered education and finding something that they were most passionate about helped them to find a sense of purpose. Access to education allowed them to mature while discovering some of their interests. This also allowed for them to start planning for the future and life outside of the prison system.
Similarly, Ke and Miguel talked about the importance of hope for them. Ke mentioned how his “family, hope, and his faith in God” helped to get him through his prison experience. The on site program at San Quentin made him realize that he had an opportunity to get out and make a difference while staying out. For Miguel, he explained how he realized he could die in prison and for a while he had given up; however, his family helped to keep him grounded. Although “[he] made the choices that put him there, having [his] family there made him feel motivated.” He started doing the college program offered at San Quentin and his desire to get his GED and AA degree helped him to find his purpose; to make sure that people who are home stay home.
To add, many of the prisoners in the film discussed their background stories. When listening to the video it was noticeable that growing up in a harsh environment and being a part of a poor education system was heavily correlated with ending up in the prison system. Many had experienced traumatic events and the feeling of having to take care of themselves and others at a very young age. They grew up in areas with large groups of minorities. Everyone around them seemed to be a part of a gang, drug dealing, etc. Growing up in a violent area has caused them to have a “don’t think, just act” mentality and they were never surrounded by areas where they could express themselves. For many of them, the school systems in their neighborhoods were not challenging enough and they explained how they felt “cheated by their childhood education” because they were never given the opportunity to “reach their potential” (College Behind Bars). It is unfortunate and upsetting how many of these prisoners lived in an environment that failed to engage and protect them from harm. Similarly, we got to hear Ke and Miguel’s stories of their lives before prison. Their stories were very relatable to those within the film in how they grew up in poor, rough neighborhoods where violence was the way to survive. It was a matter of engaging with the wrong group of people and committing a crime, like murder, at a very young age somewhat unexpectedly that put them in the prison system.
After listening to this documentary and the presentation from Ke and Miguel, my views on my own purpose were expanded. By listening to the ways in which they found their purpose, I started to think of my own purpose and what drives me. This film and their presentation mainly made me think about my major, pre-occupational therapy, and why I chose it. In short, I chose this major because of my past experiences and my passion towards working with others to help them along their rehabilitation journey. It was through these past experiences, volunteering in the hospital, residing with my great grandparents and now my grandparents, that I was able to truly commit myself to being an Occupational Therapist — to spend my days making positive impacts on people’s lives.
Now What?
When looking at organizations listed, I chose to look at College & Community Fellowship. Their mission is to “enable women with criminal convictions to earn their college degrees so that they, their families, and their communities can thrive. [They] advocate for equity and opportunity for the communities [they] serve” (CCF).
This organizing helps women to earn their college degree by helping them to “build their networks, resources, and social capital” (CCF). It is through this that these incarcerated women are able to gain a better sense of community and more support. They are offered many direct services like “programs focused on education, career, financial development, and community-building” (CCF). College & Community Fellowship strives to provide these women with financial aid, assistance in applying to college, guidance on applying for financial aid, academic counseling, and financial support for supplies, transportation, etc. They are also given the resources to thrive with the use of technical assistance programs. While their organization works on mainly helping women who have been impacted by incarceration, their campaigns work to reach a large audience that focuses on offering higher education for all individuals within the prison system no matter what their gender is.
Barbara Martinsons is the woman who founded this organization. Their website explains how she is a sociology professor that had realized her students did not have the appropriate resources to receive their college degree. She realized her purpose would be to fight this injustice by providing better services. She is able to provide these incarcerated women with a peer mentor program, and this program provides them with tools for success like a mentor who is able to relate to them. Through expertise of people who are knowledgable of these structural issues and are involved in criminal justice, these currently incarcerated women are able to “create the most compatible and successful partnerships” (CCF). Through these understanding relationships, these women are able to experience “more meaningful connections, [they] are seeking women with criminal justice histories and college degrees to serve as mentors” (CCF). Unlike Ke or Miguel, Barbara Martinson has not necessarily experienced what it is like to be in prison herself. But, by providing these incarcerated women with peer mentors that are experienced in criminal justice and are knowledgeable about these structural issues, I feel that the women are able to build stronger relationships and gain the support that they need.
Overall, lack of educational opportunity strips individuals of the opportunity to thrive within their community and avoid the prison system’s “revolving door.” Through education, these oppressed communities will be able to thrive within their environment and gain a sense of freedom in their ability to express themselves the way they want to.
