[Ppnews] Political Prisoner Eddie Conway Speaks to Ujaama
Political Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Tue Oct 26 13:44:25 EDT 2010
Political Prisoner Eddie Conway Speaks to Ujaama
http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2010/10/25/political-prisoner-eddie-conway-speaks-ujaama
October 25, 2010
<http://cornellsun.com/users/lawrence-lan>By
<http://cornellsun.com/users/lawrence-lan>Lawrence Lan [8]
via Nattyreb
Political prisoner and former Black Panther Marshall "Eddie" Conway
spoke via telephone to an attentive crowd of students, staff, and
faculty to spark Sunday evening's Ujamaa Unity Hour discussion on
prisons and their impact on the African-American community.
Conway, who is currently serving the 40th year of his life sentence
at Jessup Correctional Insitution in Maryland, touched on the
prison-industrial complex as it manifests in Maryland, where the
majority of prisons are located in rural areas characterized by
predominantly white populations. He also discussed his work in
creating a mentoring program that emphasizes the need for positive
role models in the Maryland prison system's youth population.
Prof. Margaret Washington, history, contributed scholarly analysis to
Conway's lived experience, citing large increases in the
incarceration rates of African American males in the United States
since 1980. She also stressed the fact that the notion of economic
labor cannot be divorced from that of incarceration.
"With the current [economic] situation being what it is, African
Americans are no longer needed as laborers. When a huge population
that has always served as labor no longer serves that function, what
do you do with the surplus labor?" Washington said. "From an economic
perspective, prison is a form of slavery, or you can say it's a form
of concentration camp."
The historical context provided the framework for Prof. Mary
Katzenstein, government, to contest the notion that prisons offer
local benefits to their surrounding communities in the form of
employment opportunities. She cited the example of Five Points
Correctional Facility, saying that high-paying prison jobs discourage
the predominantly white local population from pursuing higher education.
Speaking to the perception that prison successfully rehabilitates
inmates, Katzenstein pointed out that people who spend long periods
of time in prison exhibit the lowest rates of recidivism, while those
who spend brief periods of time in prison most commonly become repeat
offenders.
Jim Schechter, executive director of the Cornell Prison Education
Program, added to the discussion, noting the strides that the program
has made at Auburn Correctional Facility and Cayuga Correction
Facility since its inception, especially for the prisoners. The
program provides a pathway to an Associate of Arts degree for men
incarcerated at the Auburn and Cayuga Correctional Facilities.
"[The Cornell Prison Education Program] contributes to people's
self-esteem in what we all recognize is an otherwise dehumanizing
environment," he said, adding that the classroom functions as a
"sanctuary" from the rest of the prison experience.Cornell faculty
who participate in the program report a higher level of engagement
from the inmates than from Cornell students, according to Schechter.
"There's no sense of entitlement, no Blackberries, no laptops,"
Schechter said. "The students at Auburn come to class having done the
readings two, maybe three, times."
Janet Nwaukoni '12, president of Project Lansing, and Adam Baratz
'11, president of Art Beyond Cornell, explained the work their
organizations do on campus to immediately address the needs of
prisons near Ithaca.
Members of Project Lansing interact weekly with young females at
Lansing Residential Center to build mentorships and friendships that
foster intellectual and personal growth. Members of Art Beyond
Cornell bring weekly art lessons to Lansing Residential Center and
MacCormick Secure Center to offer a means of expression and growth
for the institutionalized youth.
"We want these young women [at Lansing Residential Center] to know
that there are African American females who come from similar
backgrounds and that it's possible to succeed," Nwaukoni said.
"These facilities are extraordinarily understaffed, and Cornell has
such a vast array of resources to help fill that void," Baratz said.
"The work we do is really important because the youth there really
look forward to it each week."
Ken Glover, residence hall director of Schuyler House and former
residence hall director of Ujamaa, identified flaws with the prison system.
"If you wanted to change the rates of recidivism, you'd require
[inmates] to get a GED," Glover said, referring to a statistic
mentioned by Schechter that approximately 250 out of 1,800 inmates at
Auburn Correctional Facility have GEDs or high school diplomas. "How
can you support your kids [when you get out of prison] if you can't
get a GED and you can't get a job?"
He also brought the discussion back to Conway and the issue of
political prisoners.
"The question of political prisoners goes beyond the context of the
United States," Glover said, citing notable political prisoners
including Nelson Mandela, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Patrice Lumumba.
"Whenever there's been a movement for social change, people who speak
out [for change] are imprisoned."
"The discussion revealed how prevalent the incarceration system is
just in upstate New York," Khamila Alebiosu '13 said. "While we like
to stay within the Cornell bubble, there's so much we can do to reach
out and change this system that has dehumanized and degraded people
that have come largely from the African American community."
Theoria Cason, the residence hall director of Ujamaa, found the
discussion informative and saw hope in the various Cornell programs
that try to address needs of institutionalized people in local facilities.
"This discussion helped me recognize the dissonance that exists
between Ithaca and the facilities that lie just 20 minutes down the
road," she said. "I really appreciate the work that is being done in
the immediate areas around Ithaca."
The discussion, entitled "Prisons and Race: The Impact On Our
Community," was organized by Black Students United.
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