Upstairs, there are comfortable bedrooms for more than eighty residents, but at the moment they were, by the societys rule, empty. That youve got to hit the rock-bottom moment? he said, reflectively. Im a reluctant veteran of the short bid, someone might say gloomilya short bid being a brief sentence. BPI graduatesmany of whom are here tonightare erasing that stigma every day, and paving the way for everyone who is coming behind us. While incarcerated, Kinzel cobbled together college courses as part of a Maine state program. While reading books and writing essays in my cell, often late at night when it was quiet, the prison walls faded, my loneliness faded, and I became free. The catchall phrase for the totality is lived experience, the term having migrated here to mean, simply, Ive done time. Either people have lived experience or they dont. Alienation. (You get in the good habit of bullshitting white people, Rivera remarked later. Taxpayer dollars are not at work. But I want to come back to you, brother. "If I havesomeone coming home on parole, who do you want living next to you?" So hes, you know, the whole dealthe warrior-monk kind of guy. We first get outwere getting that comfortability backand its hard to lose it, because you live in a room with it. I dont say that in a disparaging way, but thats what it ispeople are auditioning for acceptance into the program and theyre bringing their A-game to be accepted. If you still have ten per cent after being through prison and abuse of many kinds, then we can start. Weekly workshops at Fortune prepare clients for job interviews, and, particularly, help them address the obvious question: Where have you been for the past four or five (or thirty) years? There is now bipartisan legislation before congress to restore Pell eligibility for people in prison. Do you want them as responsible, taxpaying citizensor people who have used their time in prison to hone their criminal skills?. I developed critical thinking, writing and analytical skills to build a career doing something that I find deeply meaningful. Explore our interactive graphic to follow the journeys of three BPI alumni through college and career. Program Associate with the Ford Foundation. The look of a room, the kind of food we serve, which doesnt look or taste like institutional food. Giovannie Hernandez says a friend forced him to apply for the programme after Hernandez got his GED (an alternative to the high school diploma) on Rikers Island. When a client had confronted him, Rivera hugged the man, literally, until the confrontation ended. Asnuntuck Community College in northern Connecticut, for example, is feeling the effects of expanding Pell Grants to prisoners. Why does power corrupt? Were now making statements.). Thats an action. Current Address: KLUA Midway Ave, Chesapeake, VA. Past Addresses: See available information. Some think that even in prison, they should not have access to it. Additionally, they study without the internet a benefit most students take for granted. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. You should be, like, this should be a celebration, man. We tried to convince the powers that be that this was a shortsighted decision, says Anthony Annucci, the acting commissioner for New Yorks department of corrections, but we couldnt compete with the 20-second soundbite. A recidivism rate among BPI graduates of 4%, compared with the usual 50%, did nothing to change anyones mind. Rivera and Rothenberg were like a couple who had been working in a hardware store for too many decades; they enjoyed each other and gibed at each other, and by now the enjoyment had become the gibing. This led to my becoming involved in the criminal-justice system. Resignation not accepted! Easy called out, in turn. The Castle is the main residential wing of the Fortune Society, a nonprofit organization that has been helping people cope with the aftermath of incarceration since its founding, by the Broadway press agent David Rothenberg, more than fifty years ago. "Inside the walls of a classroom, you escape the walls of a cell and you become an individual again," says Shawnta Montgomery, speaking at the 16th commencement of the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), in the documentary. I am so glad that the cameras were there that day, because what happened on that stage, and what is happening at BPI, will change Americas understanding of who incarcerated people are, and what they are capable of. Achalkboard is filled with Chinese symbols in a room filled with eager students in green jumpsuits. Smith, 25, was accused of firing a 9-mm handgun into the Norfolk, Va., home where Montgomery was staying last November. The Lord, whos represented as African-American, says to an angel, We have to take care of that planet, but dont forget the wing of the sparrow over there. Sam is one of the people taking care of his portion of the planet by taking care of the wings of the sparrow.. The quote is mine, so Im gonna own it, he said. For BPI's more than 550graduates, the recidivism rate is2.5%, the institute said. (I didnt realize how important it was to make a statement because I thought our actions spoke for themselves, Page said. In the coming years, we will end mass incarceration and restore investments in education to precisely the places where leaders have prioritized punishment. Andrew Cuomo alsopledgedstate funding for the program in 2014, but backlash led him to withdraw the policy proposal. All Rights Reserved. That is because of the determination of formerly-incarcerated advocates and leaders across the country. He can tell the difference between someone who looks tough and someone whos a threat. The documentary provides a fascinating window into the initiatives prison classrooms: Classic Greek literature, Shakespeare, history, writing seminars, Chinese. Your support helps make this possible. The funding continuesunder the Trump administration and Asnuntuck officials saidthey are happy to continue as long as the federal government allows them to. "What BPI has achieved is exceptional, but I think it's only a small part of what can be done if we get serious about this," Hall said. Email Address: n PVLC @charter.net +1 email. "This is about restoring access to something that already existed and that was successful when the Pell program first started. Rivera can keep the room buoyant with a jokeusually at the expense of Rothenberg, who, as the household saint, can afford to have a few jokes told at his expense (and whose aura is very different from Riveras: small, high-strung, gay, and Jewish). Now, I dont believe thats true. Yeah, theres a line, I think its from there, that I always repeat. It was not immediately clear who her lawyer would be. Your voice changed. The same rule that holds in a small regional theatre holds in a nonprofit devoted to post-incarceration transitions: the charismatic figure wins the allegiance of his clientele, at the risk of alienating his colleagues, who, without any malice or even conscious envy, become mindful of what they see as his managerial deficits. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. We all know, the stigma of a felony conviction is a lot to overcome. Montgomery has no criminal record, authorities said. Showing: Connections Source: Getty Images. Almost as an afterthought, he began a help line for such peopleReally, only an extra desk in the officeand watched it blossom into a lifetimes work. . I had a mentor once, and I was telling him everything I was doing, and he said, Where is Sam in this? That was hugely helpful to me. Shawnta Montgomery Crew Member at McDonald's New York City Metropolitan Area 2 followers 2 connections Join to connect McDonald's Experience Crew Member McDonald's View Shawnta's full profile. Jule Hall, 11 I love this program. Mondays O.K., you eat your soup and salad. If I wait for the world to be better, then the whole society would have to change, and I dont have a long enough life to wait for that to happen., At a Thursday meeting a couple of weeks later, a recent home-comer praised another Castle client for gently urging him away from a confrontation with someone who pushed himor whom he perceived to have pushed himon the subway. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. Im a big man, and I can look intimidating. He crossed his arms and looked out at an imagined audience. t should not be strange to hear prisoners talk about. The study projected large benefits toreinstating Pell Grant access to incarcerated individuals, finding that inmatesleavingprison will getjobs, contribute to the economyand will be less likely togo back to prison. The president gave in. Its Mom. More often than not, violence, isolation and angerare what come to mind. It empowered me to realize I wasn't a stupid kid.". The vast majority of participants have never experienced an education that called upon them to ask these questions. I remember when I was having problems with my roommate and I had to move to a single room. The neighborhood, which had been poverty-stricken, filled with abandoned buildings, and therefore affordable when the Fortune Society salvaged the place, in the late nineteen-nineties, is now, as Columbia University pushes north and west, an ever more desirable area, dotted with restaurants and the inevitable espresso joints. Much of the language of the meeting is specific to the world of those who have been locked up. Sam watches the simple things that improve the outlook, improve the humanity. HiltonN.Webb, Jr., another long-term resident, sixtyish and intensely serious, who is studying for a masters degree in social work, and writing a memoir titled Dancing in the Midst of Nothing, said, Whatever Sam says is going to happen, its going to happen. Youre gonna lose your housing. For now, the roughly 300students taking classes free of charge at the elite collegeare the exception. Yet, there is one intrinsic benefit to the classical studies Bard Prison Initiative students undertake: They grapple with texts and are drawn into stories that speak of the age-old struggles of the human condition. But its real point, Rivera confided, is to conduct a group-therapy session for seventy-five people, which they say you cant do. His goal was to get the people in the room, having come home, to stay home. Jackson identified the homicide victim as 44-year-old Shawnta Moultry. These students work their way into a highly selective program, they meet the demands of a rigorous curriculum and the expectations of classmates who aim for academic excellenceand they do so under conditions that no one would describe as optimum for, or conducive to, academic success. I would have loved to stay at Fortune, he said in early June. You did. Tune in to the broadcast premiere on PBS. Client Services Associate at Brooklyn Community Bail Fund. Among the central skills that the Fortune Society teaches is how, in a job interview, to tell the truth while putting the best face on a previous failure. With a shaved head and an earring in each ear, he had led the meeting for about two years, with good humor and disciplinelike ones ideal of a staff sergeant, who creates maximum morale but with minimal opportunity for goofing off. It allowed me to transcend incarceration and gave me the credentials and skills necessary for success after 25 years in a cage. Goldvale said the study foundmany at the local and state levelare intrigued by the expansion of Pell Grants to prisons. No one ever taught me any of that, said student Giovanni a quip that became the title of the PBS seriess first episode. The four-part series follows men and women incarcerated in maximum and medium security prisons across New York state over the span of four years, as they attempt to gain college degrees through the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), one of the most rigorous prison education programs in the U.S. BPI operates out of six New York State prisons. Could I work with her? I was ready to do something about it, but he told me, Just let it go, and I did., Rivera seized the moment: What do we mean when we say were going to lose it? When you come home and someone says, How ya doing? its not a question. Lawsuits, Liens or Bankruptcies found on Shawnta's Background Court records found on Shawnta's Family, Friends, Neighbors, or Classmates It is enough to evoke the difference between their lives and normal lives without overwhelming or numbing the viewer with a welter of miseries and narratives that become indistinguishable. Its hard coming from doing a whole lot of time. Its something Ive been thinking about for a long time. View the profiles of people named Shawnta Montgomery. The charges each carry a potential penalty of up to 25 years in prison. An older resident, Ervin Hunt, known to all as Easy, sat in the rear, to the left. Shawnta Montgomery, another BPI alum, works as a peer recovery coach at the Fortune Society, a New York City nonprofit group focused on integrating formerly incarcerated individuals back into. CLARKSVILLE, TN - Award . Today, working with colleagues who are compassionate and committed to social justice, I feel optimistic and completely at home. So, one night Miss Peggy Lee called me at midnight and said, I want to do a show of Frank Loessers music, Rothenberg was saying in the car. Almost three-quarters of the released population are arrested again within three years. Or by Tom, Who Drove Under the Influence. Ive worked in D.C., where people identify themselves by their degreesI went to this schooland thats what its about. After a brief, golden period of consensus that equipping prisoners with skills and knowledge was a good, practical and moral use of taxpayer dollars, the issue had become a political lightning rod. The coronavirus pandemic hit the Castle hard. (The computer room is not a place to come to hang out, he announced as one meeting began. Scary. Rivera forwarded the text to a friend and added a comment: This is why I do what I do.. Executive Producer, College Behind Bars. Take the powerI chose not to do that this time. He glided into the next thought. Some argue that time and resources would be better spent teaching prisoners skills or trades so that they can obtain employment after graduation as laborers. My life styleIm not proud of itbut I was a stickup kid my whole life. Nobody fixes you but you. ), Rivera returned to an image that haunted him. They shouldnt., Some more radical-minded social-justice advocates dont like the idea that people who were incarcerated should be taught how to blend in with middle-class rituals and mores. HUD defines people who are coming out of incarceration as not homeless, so no HUD-funded program can take them in. He used to come to Fortune.. Its hard, but its rewarding, said BPI participant John Gonzalez. Montgomery was. After 25 years of incarceration, my journey and successes are directly attributable to the opportunity I had to get an education. As a young man, in the eighties, he was arrested on gun and drug charges, and acknowledges significant lived experience himself. I cant fix you. The film trails Hall, a2011Bard Prison Initiative graduate whoearned a bachelor's degreein German studies, as he navigates the parole process, is released from prison and enters the workforce. It reminds me of when I was in group therapy, years ago, and I strongly disliked another member of the group. A 15-year-old girl at the home was also stabbed several times and raped, Jackson said . Remember him? Lets hold that, because I definitely want to know about this brick. Film subjects and crew speak on stage at the special screening of COLLEGE BEHIND BARS at The Apollo Theater on November 12, 2019 in New York City. Join Facebook to connect with Shawnta Montgomery and others you may know. of the Fortune Society, explained from her office at the societys administrative headquarters, in Long Island City. Detective Lt. John Azzata said Montgomery is 7 months pregnant. To the right, a line of older residents, looking a little worn out and a little wise, fill the chairs. One Thursday, Shawnta Montgomery, who loves to tease Rivera for his sincerity and self-seriousness, was on the right, too, closer up. If you have leadershit, everythings going to be shit, and thats the primary reason why the shelters are such hellscapes. Sun Tzu said if you know the outcome of the fight anyway, you have no need to fight. Nassau County police said Monday that Shawnta Montgomery of Roosevelt was arrested after an autopsy revealed that her daughter, Dishawna, died Friday from a lacerated liver. December 09, 2019 03:36 PM Student Shawnta Montgomery spoke inspiring words at her graduation ceremony: "Inside the walls of a classroom, you escape the walls of a cell and you become an. It also allows the films focus to remain on the educational programme and its effects. He was accepted to the Bard Prison Initiative's post-secondary education program, where he joined BPI's debate team, which drew national attention after they defeated the group from Harvard University. (I did get a C on that Spanish test, but it was the result of some issues in my personal life and, as you can see, I pulled it right up in the following term is what a kid raised with good fortune learns to say.) Did I ever tell you about the time Edward Albee came to the Castle on a Thursday? Rothenberg said, brightening the silence. "I've never seen her strike that baby," said Maxwell. This high standard of education BPI is taught at the same level as Bard College, theliberal arts school in New Yorkis crucial to Hall's hope of Pell Grant expansion. Females, one newcomer says, a candid but very wrong answer. Astudyfrom RAND estimates that for every $1 invested in the program, the country saves five dollars in re-incarceration costs over three years. Im not going to expel someone for smoking marijuana. If it were not, BBC Fours two-part Storyville documentary College Behind Bars would be neither interesting nor necessary. New York Gov. My view is just the opposite. I was driving by a playground once, near where I grew up. Montgomery and Smith moved from Virginia to Roosevelt last month to stay with Smith's mother, Beverly German. Because of my college education, my time in prison had purpose. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. Recently, controversy had arisen about the release of long-term prisoners guilty of notoriously violent crimes, and Rivera and Rothenberg began discussing the difficulties of reconciling the work at Fortune with their sense of moral order. Yet heremains spiritually on both sides of the doorway. Rivera is a big man. Since then, he has been back and forth between Fortune and another nonprofit. Sam was talking back to him in this very mellow, in this Zen way, Webb went on, but I noticed that he was holding a radio, and it was physically impossible that he could have tightened his hand on that radio any harder than he was. First-year students at Eastern Correctional Facility. But if we lift up our collective voices, we have a greater chance of convincing those in power to support it. Also, investigators on Friday arrested Montgomery's boyfriend, Benjamin Smith, when they discovered he was wanted by Virginia authorities for attempted murder, Azzata said. And youre calling me at midnight about this because? I said. E., the longtime resident with the basso-profundo voice, put it bluntly: Sam is the difference between leadership and leadershit. In prison, Rivera recalled, he helped care for sick inmates during the height of the AIDS crisis, and he has done the same sort of work ever since. Though it cannot begin to be quantified, the sense of authentic freedom education brings to those behind bars may be even more lasting than any return on investment. All the energy you see in this film, its still there with a new generation of students. I discovered liberation in education. We live in our own minds. And that was a lesson learned. Week after week, the same seats are almost always occupied by the same people. After the toddler's death later that morning, the county medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy and on Saturday found that the girl had been killed by a blow to her liver, Nassau police said. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Actually, Shirley Booth did the play on Broadway., Later that day, Hilton Webb texted Rivera, saying that he would begin to think less about education and more about independence. Create a free family tree for yourself or for Shawnta Montgomery and we'll search for valuable new information for you. A makeshift desk made from cardboard is placed over a sink in a cramped cell. Desk made from cardboard is placed over a sink in a cramped cell even in prison before to! The expansion of Pell Grants to prisoners than 550graduates, the country called upon them ask. 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