Higher Education in Prison
September 18th, Fall 2020 Workshop
Image credits: "Protest" by chaddavis.photography
In recent months, we have witnessed massive protests across our nation and around the globe in response to the murder of George Floyd and the numerous Black men and women murdered by police, including Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and so many more. Peaceful protests have generated violent government and police responses as well as growing pressure on elected officials and policy makers to address demands for the reform, defunding, and/or abolition of police and for racial justice and an end to institutionalized racism.
The discussion has expanded beyond policing to encompass the racial inequities that pervade the entire criminal justice system, including the prison system. An important dimension of the calls to reorient prisons from punishment to rehabilitation, and to ensure that those leaving prisons are well prepared to reenter society as productive citizens and good neighbors, involves instituting programs of higher education for inmates.
This online workshop discussion focused on the politics of punishment, the failure of mass incarceration, and the nature and impact of contemporary efforts to provide higher education to those behind bars. Participants examined the successes, challenges, and opportunities facing educators working within prisons and explore the visions of those who are working to create a more just system of punishment that offers everyone a second chance.
Meet Our Panelists
Education Specialist, Minnesota Department of Corrections
Former Director of the Bard Prison Initiative, Professor of Law and Humanities at Bard College
Professor of Sociology and Affiliate Faculty in the Law School, University of Minnesota
Professor of Political Science, Morehouse College
Dr. Jones’s research focuses on political policy that relates to the black experience, as well as the history and politics of black Americans. Currently, work from her Ph.D. thesis The Voting Rights Act Under Siege: The Development of the Influence of Colorblind Conservatism on the Federal Government and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is being adapted for publication in various research journals. At Morehouse College, Dr. Jones also teaches a variety of courses that focus on politics, race and law in the American context.
Professor of Political Science, Morehouse College
Sophia Howard is a Senior Comparative Women’s Studies major and Philosophy minor from Nashville, Tennessee, at Spelman College.
While in college, she has studied extensively the intersections of white supremacy and patriarchy through the reproductive rights of incarcerated women. Through this study, Sophia has been led to create and work for organizations centered on supporting and advocating for incarcerated people.
Sophia is a social justice fellow at Spelman College where she founded Unlocked Minds, a book club in Whitworth Women’s Facility, a minimum and medium-security prison in Hartwell, GA. Sophia is also the Vice President of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE) at Spelman and is the lead organizer working to create the Spelman College Period Project. She is also the student leader of The Learning Club, an alternative sentencing and mentorship program at the Fulton County Juvenile Court, serving boys ages 12-17.
Upon graduation from Spelman College, Sophia plans to attend law school in order to become a public interest attorney serving incarcerated citizens in the United States.
Our Cities in the News
Minneapolis
"Minnesota prisoners study to obtain four-year degrees" by MPR News, April 6, 2019
"College at Prison pilot program expected to launch next fall" by Liz Sawyer, Star Tribune, December 29, 2019
"Resilience and Resistance: Fighting for Higher Education in Prison" by Lyle C. May, Inside Higher Ed, March 18 2020
"Minnesota will close 2 prisons to prepare for budget shortfall. Other agencies face holes, too" by Dave Orrick, Pioneer Press, August 3, 2020
"From prison to playwright: Minneapolis woman is 'a voice for those who don't have one'" by John Reinan, Star Tribune, February 14, 2020
"MN corrections commissioner: Early inmate releases possible for COVID-19" by Tom Crann and Nina Moini, MPR News, April 9, 2020
Atlanta
"Second-Chance Pell Opens Up Aid for Prison Education" by Georgia State News Hub, May 29, 2020
"Prisoners’ Education is Essential: Emory Must Expand Prison Learning Programs" by Daniel Meek, The Emory Wheel, January 28, 2020
"South Georgia prison on lockdown after riot" by Joshua Sharpe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 2, 2020
"Ga. inmate dies from COVID-19 as virus hits more prisons" by Joshua Sharpe and Christian Boone, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 27, 2020
"Study urges Pell grant funding for prison education programs" by Eric Stirgus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 21, 2019
"UGA students expand educational opportunities for inmates" by INSPIRE ATLANTA, November 4, 2019
Washington D.C.
'The Dr. Muhammad Experience' by Erin Perry, Howard Magazine
In Their Words: Where Education Is Couture: The ‘Dr. Muhammad Experience’ at Howard by Bahiyyah M. Muhammad, Ph.D.
To take this professor’s criminal justice class, you have to go to jail by Leah Simone Scott, WUSA9, January 6, 2020
Howard University Assistant Professor of Criminology creates "Policing Inside Out" Course by GOOD MORNING WASHINGTON, January 12th 2017
"Prisoners free their minds in Georgetown University class behind bars" by Nick Anderson, The Washington Post, December 27, 2019
"In DC, Teachers Run the Jail. It’s Turning Inmates Into Students" by Rebecca Koenig, Ed Surge, October 3, 2019
"D.C. jail inmates write, take photos and design their own monthly newspaper called Inside Scoop" by Keith L. Alexander, The Washington Post, January 4, 2020
Former D.C. inmates use virtual meetings for support, encouragement as they adjust to life outside prison by Keith L. Alexander, The Washington Post, July 9, 2020
"‘Girl power’: For women inmates at the D.C. jail, participation in mock trial inspires confidence" by Keith L. Alexander, The Washington Post, January 26, 2020
Organizations Involved in Higher Education in Prisons
National Conversation
Articles
"Report Shows Benefit of Prison Education" by Ashley A. Smith
"Education Opportunities in Prison Are Key to Reducing Crime" by Kathleen Bender
"Prison Education: Guide to College Degrees for Inmates and Ex-Offenders" by The Best Schools staff
"DeVos Expands Second-Chance Pell Institutions" by Madeline St. Amour, Inside Higher Ed, April 27, 2020
Podcasts
Beyond Prisons is a podcast on incarceration and prison abolition that elevates people directly impacted by the system.
NPR In Black America "is a long-running, nationally syndicated program dedicated to all facets of the African American experience. John Hanson profiles a diverse selection of current and historically significant figures whose stories help illuminate life in Black America. Guests include civil rights leaders, educators, artists, athletes and writers describing their experiences, achievements and work in chronicling and advancing the quality of African American life."
Scholar's Strategy Network Podcast- No Jargon presents weekly interviews with top researchers on politics, policy problems, and social issues: Episode #225 (“Black Lives Matter, Police, and America’s Democracy”, Interview with Vesla M. Weaver, JohnsHopkins U.- June 24, 2020; Episode #222 (“Violence in Resistance”, interview with Ashley M. Howard, U of Iowa, June 2, 2020; Episode #206 (“Creating Inclusive Campuses”, interview with Bedelia Nicola Richards, U. of Richmond, Feb. 12, 2020); Episode #207 (“From the Tea Party to the Resistance”, interview with Leah E. Gose, Harvard U, Feb. 20, 2020)
Books/Reading Lists
College for Convicts: The Case for Higher Education in American Prisons by Christopher Zoukis
The United States accounts for 5 percent of the world's population, yet incarcerates about 25 percent of the world's prisoners. Examining a wealth of studies by researchers and correctional professionals, as well as the experience of educators, College for Convicts shows that recidivism rates drop in direct correlation to the amount of education prisoners receive, and the rate drops dramatically with each additional level of education attained. This volume presents a workable solution to America's mass incarceration and recidivism problems, and demonstrates that great fiscal benefits arise when modest sums are spent educating prisoners. Prisoner education results in a reduction in crime and social disruption, reduced domestic spending and a rise in quality of life.
College in Prison: Reading in an age of Mass Incarceration by Daniel Karpowitz
College in Prison chronicles how, since 2001, Bard College has provided hundreds of incarcerated men and women across the country access to a high-quality liberal arts education. Earning degrees in subjects ranging from Mandarin to advanced mathematics, graduates have, upon release, gone on to rewarding careers and elite graduate and professional programs. Yet this is more than just a story of exceptional individuals triumphing against the odds. It is a study in how the liberal arts can alter the landscape of some of our most important public institutions giving people from all walks of life a chance to enrich their minds and expand their opportunities.
Words No Bars Can Hold: Literacy Learning in Prison by Deborah Appleman
Words No Bars Can Hold provides a rare glimpse into literacy learning under the most dehumanizing conditions. Deborah Appleman chronicles her work teaching college- level classes at a high- security prison for men, most of whom are serving life sentences. Through narrative, poetry, memoir, and fiction, the students in Appleman’s classes attempt to write themselves back into a society that has erased their lived histories.
Prison Education Guide by Christopher Zoukis
Prison Education Guide is more than just a comprehensive guide to correspondence courses for prisoners -- it is an effort to reshape how we think about prison education and its effects on our nation and communities. The most comprehensive guide to correspondence programs for prisoners available today, this invaluable book provides the reader with step-by-step instructions on how to find the right educational program, enroll in courses and complete classes to meet their academic goals.
Higher Education Accessibility Behind and Beyond Prison Walls by Dani V. McMay
Higher Education Accessibility Behind and Beyond Prison Walls examines program development and pedagogical techniques in the area of higher education for students who are currently incarcerated or completing a degree post-incarceration. Drawing on the experiences of program administrators and professors from across the country, it offers best practices for (1) developing, running, and teaching in college programs offered inside jails and prisons and (2) providing adequate support to returning citizens who wish to complete a college degree. This book is intended to be a resource for college administrators, staff, and professors running or teaching in programs inside jails or prisons or supporting returning citizens on traditional college campuses.
"Education of prison inmates: course experience, motivation, and learning strategies as indicators of evaluation" by Åge Diseth et al.
"Course experience, motivational beliefs, and self-regulated learning strategies may be considered to be important indicators of education quality. Inmates taking education in prison may also experience particular problems related to the learning environment and to their own learning difficulties. The present study investigated the level of these variables and the relationship between them among 534 inmates under education in Norwegian prisons. The results showed that the prison inmates are generally quite satisfied with the education quality, that they are highly motivated, and use appropriate learning strategies. However, many of them experience that problems such as lack of access to computer equipment and the security routines in prison interfere with their education."
"Higher Education in Prison: Thoughts on Building a Community of Scholarship and Practice" by Erin L. Castro and Mary R. Gould
"Since first publishing the Call for Papers for this volume (2017), we have spent more than two years “ruminating” with the twelve authors who have contributed to this project and many others in the higher education in prison community who have generously offered feedback, posed questions (and some challenges) and most notably, we express our gratitude to the instructors who have brought these readings into their classrooms, to incarcerated and non-incarcerated students, and rigorously engaged the ideas offered. In this final essay, we touch on three themes that we believe are relevant to the present moment and purpose of this volume and that are central to field building efforts: equity in higher education, the quality and “promise” of Pell grant restoration, and how and why we should foster a community of scholarship and practice."
"Higher Education Programs in Prison: What We Know Now and What We Should Focus On Going Forward" by Lois M. Davis
"Each year, more than 700,000 incarcerated individuals leave federal and state prisons and return to local communities where they will have to compete with individuals in those communities for jobs. In today's economy, having a college education is necessary to compete for many jobs, and the stakes for ex-offenders are higher than they are for others. There are different perspectives about whether postsecondary programs in prison should lead to academic degrees or industry-recognized credentials. Drawing on past RAND research on correctional education and focusing on the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative and the Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education initiative in North Carolina, this Perspective summarizes research on the effectiveness of educational programs in helping to reduce recidivism, key lessons learned in providing college programs to incarcerated adults, and remaining issues that need to be addressed, including how to ensure long-term funding of in-prison college programs and the need for an outcomes evaluation to learn from the Experimental Initiative."
Urban and University/College Organizations
Twin Cities
The ACLU Racial Justice Program aims to preserve and extend constitutionally guaranteed rights to people who have historically been denied their rights on the basis of race.
Black Lives Matter - Minneapolis Facebook page
BLM’s mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes..and more.
BVC aims to center their work in healing and transformative justice principles, intentionally develop the organization's core “DNA” to ensure sustainability…and more.
Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD)
BOLD is a national training intermediary focused on transforming the practice of Black organizers in the US to increase their alignment, impact and sustainability to win progressive change. BOLD carries out its mission through training programs, coaching and technical assistance for BOLD alumni and partners.
BlackOUT Collective is a radical full service direct action organization. We build organizations’ capacity to execute creative and effective direct actions in service of their organizing and advocacy work...and more.
Color of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. Color of Change leads campaigns that build real power for Black communities. We challenge injustice, hold corporate and political leaders accountable, commission game-changing research on systems of inequality, and advance solutions for racial justice that can transform our world.
Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC)
NOC is a member-led non-profit organization focused on the intersection of race, the economy and public policy
Racial Equity Action Support Network (REASN)
REASN brings together racial equity champions and advocates from community, nonprofit, and government organizations across Minnesota providing support.
Swing Left, Anti-Racism Action Hub
Organizations aiming to dismantle systemic racism in America...and more.
Take Action Minnesota is a multi-racial people’s organization building power for a government and economy that works for all.
Women for Political Change (WFPC) holistically invests in the leadership and political power of young women and trans & non-binary individuals throughout Minnesota.
Atlanta
Common Good Atlanta provides incarcerated people with broad, democratic access to higher education so they can develop a better understanding of both themselves and the societal forces at work around them.
We are unapologetically Black in our positioning, and committed to collectively, lovingly and courageously working for freedom and justice for all Black people (and by extension all people) regardless....and more.
Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta strives to be an organization that is not only anti-racist but openly stands in support of our Black colleagues, donors, nonprofit partners and neighbors...and more.
Ending Racism Through Education
The Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation provides individuals, teachers and classrooms with learning materials to help shed light on American history that is often either misunderstood or skipped over.
RJAC’S mission is to engage in transformative organizing to build the grassroots leadership, power, and capacity of marginalized communities to win political, economic, and social transformation in the Atlanta Metro Area.
Racial Justice Action Center (RJAC)
RJAC builds the grassroots leadership, power, and capacity of marginalized communities to win political, economic, and social transformation in the Atlanta Metro Area...and more.
SONG envisions a sustainable South that embodies the best of its freedom traditions and works towards the transformation of our economic, social, spiritual, and political relationships.
At YWCA, we demand a world of equity and human decency. We envision a world of opportunity. We commit ourselves to the work of racial justice. We will get up and continue to do the work until injustice is rooted out, until institutions are transformed, until the world sees women, girls, and people of color the way we do: Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable.
Washington D.C.
Anti-Racism at Fair Budget Coalition
The Fair Budget Coalition advocates for budget and public policy initiatives that address poverty and human needs in the District of Columbia.
NOPE DC Neighbors for Racial Justice
NOPE (Neighbors Organizing for Power and Equality) Neighbors takes action to (1) flip the presidency, Congress, and statehouses from Republican Red to Democratic Blue and to (2) support local (DC and Montgomery County) issues that threaten our nation’s democracy and social and racial justice.
SURJ DC focuses on how to best support Black- and People of Color-Led organizing work and follow their leadership.
Popular Democracy & Popular Democracy From The Ground Up Toolkit
The Center for Popular Democracy works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions.
Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.
Racial Equity in D.C. works toward racial equity in DC in many ways and believes that the government should fight racism, not enable it.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nationwide non-profit, non-partisan, membership organization devoted to ensuring free speech, equal rights, and other civil liberties.
The Equity Lab seeks to disrupt racial and ethnic inequity by engaging organizations in issues of race, equity, diversity, and inclusion (REDI)
Centers and Students Organizing for Social Justice Across 4 Campuses
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Amnesty International at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
A University chapter of the world's largest human rights advocacy and awareness organization that is a non-partisan, non-political and non-religious group of activists working for the betterment of humans all over the world.
Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota (SDS)
Organizations that seek to create a sustained community of educational and political concern; one bringing together liberals and radicals, activists and scholars, students, and workers. It maintains a vision of a democratic society, where at all levels people have control of the decisions and resources that affect their lives.
Minnesota Justice Foundation Student Chapter at the University of Minnesota
Justice Foundation dedicated to providing an opportunity for students to meet and work together with other students on issues of social justice and public interest law...and more.
International Justice Mission at UMN
A group dedicated to ending slavery for good by partnering with the International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org) to advocate for the 40+ million slaves in the world today.
College Democrats at the University of Minnesota
The purpose of the College Democrats at the University of Minnesota is to promote the candidates and issues of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and to work for progressive social change on campus and at all levels of government.
The group’s mission is to eliminate racial bias in the practice of medicine and recognize racism as a threat to the health and well-being of people of color.
Coalition for Progressive Change
A coalition of students building power in our community through grassroots organizing and activism.
Human Rights Student Association
An avenue for the U of M community to be able to learn and engage with human rights programming...and more.
Spelman College
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Collage division of the NAACP that focuses on encouraging students to get involved in social change...and more.
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Center
An inaugural sites for the first Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Centers at Spelman.
One of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda...and more.
Howard University
Howard University College Democrats
A student-run organization dedicated to advancing the goals and ideals of the Democratic Party.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
NAACP to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race.
National Council of Negro Women
The National Council of Negro Women, Howard University Section is a section of the National Council of Negro Women Incorporated, which seeks to create a just society in which the quality of life is enhanced for all people...and more.
Morehouse College
The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership
AYCGL is comprised of four interdependent institutes (areas of programming) designed to provide institutional, national and international leadership.
Students in this program will both study and emulate these exemplary leaders, both women and men, and they will seek inspiration and guidance from diverse leadership styles or models.
The Institute For Social Justice Inquiry And Praxis
The Institute for Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis serves as a social justice hub of AYCGL that utilizes "freedom" theories - in real time - in ways that teach, develop and implement solutions to social justice inequalities, particularly as they relate to peoples of Africa and its Diaspora.
The Institute For International And Experimental Education
The Institute focuses on co-curricular and integrative learning experiences designed to prepare students for global and domestic leadership.
Student Life or Office of Student Life
The Office of Student Life (OSL), supports the mission of Morehouse College and the retention, progression, and graduation of men by providing opportunities through registered student organizations and Student Life sponsored activities that are designed to cultivate learning, improve student development, provide leadership opportunities, compliment academic programs, and enhance character development.
The Office of Student Life aligns with the college’s mission to s to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service.
Institute for Research, Civic Engagement, and Policy
An Institute whose primary mission is to bring together individuals and groups to study and develop solutions to complex social problems, this institute will lead investigation and problem-solving for the Andrew Young Center of Global Leadership.
Conversations, Seminars, and Workshops
Prof. Bahiyyah Muhammad 'Students In Prison' on Rock Newman Show
Anti-Racism Study Dialogue Circles (ASDIC), provide antiracism dialogue experiences that build awareness, knowledge, communication across structures of domination, motivation and commitment. ASDIC also offers consulting and custom workshops to businesses and organizations seeking to improve their capacity and competence in interacting with communities and individuals of color.
Watch the past conversations here:
WE CAN'T BREATHE: Virtual Conversations on Systemic Racism
Foundational Context: Sunday, June 21
Introduction to immediate events: the complexities of Minnesota’s history with Native & Black communities, the Minneapolis police (history of reforms without cultural change), and the history of racial injustice in Minnesota. How is Minnesota a reflection of the United States’ history with race and other core issues?
Understanding: Sunday, June 28
Joe Feagin will present with two local antiracist activists. How does the killing of George Floyd manifest the White Racial Frame? What is meant by systemic racism and how it is evidenced in the killing of black Americans? What is some of the relevant history here?
Actions Required: Sunday, July 12
Joe Feagin will present with two local antiracist activists. What are the political-economic causes and impacts of the Black revolts in Minneapolis? How should we understand the underlying conditions that caused them, as well as the police violence that precipitated the events?
The Way Forward: Sunday, July 19
What does a meaningful response look like? We will discuss police reform, addressing racial injustice and inequity in Minnesota. What would systemic change look like? What should be the community’s response?
East Side Freedom Library, hosting a series of conversations how the crises are impacting the way activists are thinking about issues ranging from police violence to climate change, labor rights to voting rights, public health to neighborhood wellbeing, and more broadly, incremental reforms versus deeper change.
Georgetown Law, Rethinking Policing Series: Activism and Reform: Includes "Justice for George Floyd: Understanding Responding to Minneapolis”(June 5th); “Transforming the Police" (June 11th); “Preparing the Next Generation: Activism and Healing”(June 18th); “Police Abolition: What Does It Mean” (June 24th)
University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Center for the Study of Politics Governance Zoom Webinars:
“The Minnesota Paradox” with Dr. Samuel Myers, Dr. Joe Soss, and Dr. May Dao Hang, Tuesday, June 30, 12:00-1:00pm; watch here.
“Black Lives Matter and the 2020 Elections, with Professor Michael Minta (U of MN), Ashley Jardina (Duke U), Christopher S. Parker (U of Washington-Seattle), and LaFleur Stephens-Dougan (Princeton U); Wednesday July 15, 12:00-1:00 pm CT; watch here.
