More than half the people coming out of state prison to New York City right now are being dumped in shelters. All of them are working towards a college degree under Bard Colleges Bard Prison Initiative (BPI). There was an endless line of men snaking up the stairs of this theatrical building. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. Remember, a lot of our residents are people who went from eating institutional food in school to eating institutional food in prison and thats all they know. Shawnta Montgomery, 17 Shawnta Montgomery and Elitha Smith-Lutz speak on stage at the special screening of COLLEGE BEHIND BARS at The Apollo Theater on November 12, 2019 in New York City. Incarcerated at 17, Jule Hall spent more than 20 years in prison and is one of the main figures in the PBS documentary, which airsMonday and Tuesday. The biggest news, politics and crime stories in Nassau County, in your inbox every Friday at noon. The city took it from the nuns and left it vacant, with the idea that it would become a TB hospital, but they gave up on that idea, and instead it became a magnet for drug dealing. In 1998, Fortune bought it for $1.2 million. Yet heremains spiritually on both sides of the doorway. 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. Shawnta Montgomery, 20, of Roosevelt, is led out of Mineola police headquarters for her arraignment. [My mothers] voice is important in this film and this conversation. I was driving by a playground once, near where I grew up. 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. (The right answer is: I love to work with others.) Whats your greatest weakness. And More; Phone & Email (2) We found 2 phone numbers and email addresses. Tension grows between the charismatic person and the administrators, who have a clear idea of the dogged and unglamorous work required to sustain the institutional structure. Sebastian Yoon, 17 Sam Rivera, the charismatic center of the operation, had little executive power within it, and over the years this had created some rubbed-raw feelings between him and the people who did. So I called the Loesser estate. Coming home means learning the language and the rituals shared by the society outside prison walls. The small, seminar-style classes filled with engaged, articulate students could be those of any elite liberal arts college if not for the green jumpsuits. As a formerly incarcerated woman who has been working at this for nearly twenty years, I can tell you: could not arrive a better time. He described a man trying to get into the building, and screaming at Rivera. Much of the language of the meeting is specific to the world of those who have been locked up. Youre putting words to systems that youve recognized your whole life, but you never had a word for. In early July, Rivera paid the Castle and its residents a final visit. Sister of Rodney Spivey-Jones. These happen often because there are many rules, and because immersing yourself in The Oresteia does not automatically or immediately make you a model prisoner. The key is going back on the diet on Friday, after you screw up on Thursday, and not to wait till Monday to start again. He paused and waited for his food to arrive. My life styleIm not proud of itbut I was a stickup kid my whole life. Peer Recovery Counselor, Fortune Society. It was overwhelming! Lt. John Azzata, commanding officer of the Nassau police homicide squad. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Email Address: n PVLC @charter.net +1 email. Above all, what shines through is gratitude. Im a big man, and I can look intimidating. He crossed his arms and looked out at an imagined audience. 4,221 followers. Dont wait to hit bottom before you start working your way back up. And those people really dont last that long. There was this wonderful arts editor at the Times, who was always kind to me, helped me understand what worked and what didnt. Wesley Caines, 09 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. It empowered me to realize I wasn't a stupid kid.". Jule Hall, 11 The schooladmitted 320 incarcerated students in its fall 2016 class after receiving funding from President Barack Obama's Second Chance Pell program, said JenniferAnilowski, the college's interim director of admissions. All rights reserved. A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism. An older resident, Ervin Hunt, known to all as Easy, sat in the rear, to the left. The right answer is Clintonesque: I try too hard to get it right.) A young man who wants to be a restaurant cook is guided through an interview in which it becomes apparent that he doesnt know much about cooking. Many students earn certificates in manufacturing that are in high demand in the state, leading graduates to find work and immediately contribute to the economy. Now that Ive been home for a few years, I appreciate even more what it means to be a Bard alum. The Thursday meeting was moved to Zoom. Her toddler, Dishawna Montgomery, was pronounced dead at Nassau University Medical Center less than two hours later. Rivera discreetly pointed him out to Rothenberg. Kinzel brings his students to prisons to humanize the criminal justice system. You know who Peggy Lee is? he asked. Rivera told them that he was leaving to become the executive director of a harm reduction group, an organization that promotes health among drug addicts and sex workers, providing condoms, clean syringes, training in overdose reversal, and the like. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. The thing is not to let the fires get started., David Rothenberg, who knew Rivera best, wondered if the coping mechanisms that had enabled Rivera to remake his life had been disabling to him in moments of professional friction. They argue that post-secondary education behind bars will lower the likelihood that an individual returns to prison and that it will benefit society as whole. Since then, he has been back and forth between Fortune and another nonprofit. 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. Many of us have done it. The funding continuesunder the Trump administration and Asnuntuck officials saidthey are happy to continue as long as the federal government allows them to. 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. That foundation thats still there., David Rothenberg founded the Fortune Society almost by accident. At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. In 2014, I watched the BPI Debate Union beat West Point and decided to join. Montgomery has no criminal record, authorities said. Police responded to her Hudson Avenue home at around 9:10 a.m. Friday for an aided case involving her baby. Creating a certain kind of double rhythm was essential to his work: a difficult truth was followed by self-deprecating laughter. Various guests may appear, too, ranging from John Edward Wetzel, the secretary of corrections for the State of Pennsylvania, to Luann de Lesseps, the Real Housewives of New York star who once spent a night in jail. And most of the people coming home will see somebody in that room they did time with. "Look what it does for people, look at the doors that are open, look at recidivism ratesyou see the transformation.". Detective Lt. John Azzata said Montgomery is 7months pregnant. Email Address: s YIJY @netzero.net. You know, I just want to come back to something that the brother was saying before, he said. A 15-year-old girl at the home was also stabbed several times and raped, Jackson said . "When you provide education that's high quality, it's not just a benefit for the individual, but it's a benefit for society.". 'You don't know what you did for me': Released from prison by Obama, now on the dean's list. I was thrilled but not surprised, Dyjuan, when BPI beat Harvard. I submitted my resignation today.. She represents a lot of Americans who are worried about the outrageous cost of education, and where our tax dollars are going. Maxwell and her daughter, Cindy Collier, 17, said they met Montgomery for the first time on New Year's Day and during the month-and-a-half long stay, they never saw Montgomery lay a hand on the little girl. Youre going to declare that its as low as youre going to let yourself go. I got my job and my apartment is a motto of success. Youll lean! Being on the debate stage against Harvard was unforgettable. Alienation. When it comes to education behind bars, Kinzel said the debate boils down to a simple question. 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. But no one, as Rothenberg says, goes away for thirty years for jumping a turnstile, and many people at the Castle have been away for thirty years. Asnuntuck Community College in northern Connecticut, for example, is feeling the effects of expanding Pell Grants to prisoners. What does it mean to live a good life? Directed by Lynn Novick and executive-produced by Ken Burns (maker of the celebrated 1990 series The Civil War and many others, including last years Country Music), it follows several prisoners of New York states Eastern Correctional Facility a maximum-security prison for men and one at Taconic Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison for women. As things stand, it is both of these things, intensely. We wouldnt have gotten this far without formerly incarcerated leaders paving the way, including Tamika, Darren Mack and other BPI alumni. E., the longtime resident with the basso-profundo voice, put it bluntly: Sam is the difference between leadership and leadershit. Rivera soberly restores order, often in response to an excess of poetry that the meeting has allowed itself. To the right, a line of older residents, looking a little worn out and a little wise, fill the chairs. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. 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. It unpicks and dispels the myth that prisoners time is their own, to use or waste as they wish, and with it the idea that inmates succeed on educational programmes because they have no distractions. being firm in the corner, Easy kibbitzing from the side, Rivera went on. No ones ever spoken to them empathetically. View 1 Shawnta Montgomery and Tamika Graham Photos Show Tamika . It also allows the films focus to remain on the educational programme and its effects. That person I was is not who I am now. That, the interviewer explained, is a version of the perfect answer, which the residents work to adapt. Of Native American and Puerto Rican parentage, he has the build of the fullback he once was. Government Affairs and Advancement Officer for the Bard Prison Initiative. I enrolled in BPIs first cohort and graduated in 2009. 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. I know it wasnt easy for them, but my family was there for me the entire time I was in prison, and theyre here tonight. Also, investigators on Friday arrested Montgomery's boyfriend, Benjamin Smith, when they discovered he was wanted by Virginia authorities for attempted murder, Azzata said. When you come home and someone says, How ya doing? its not a question. It's not just BPI:ARAND study in 2013 foundthat inmates who took part in educational programs were43% less likely to returnto prisoncompared with those who did not participate. Yet I know that Sam wasnt afraid, and he could have whipped this guys ass. Thanks for contacting us. 2023 Cond Nast. 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. New York Gov. Its changing fundamentally the way I think, behave and interact with people, says Dyjuan Tatro (the eukaryotic expert). Shawnta lives at 121 Spring Valley Rd, Montgomery, AL. Montgomery; Shawnta Nicole Bibb; Shawnta Nicole Bibb, Age 73. Page emphasizes the societys open doors policy. Astudyfrom RAND estimates that for every $1 invested in the program, the country saves five dollars in re-incarceration costs over three years. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. Professor of History at MIT and BPI. He knows prison faces. Prosecutors said Montgomery admitted to "punching her own baby," Dizhawna Montgomery, after she acted up while brushing her teeth Friday. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. I told her, Never assume. Thats a line from the Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy movie Desk Set. Rothenberg paused. Aaron Kinzel, a University of Michigan-Dearborn criminology lecturer, knows firsthand the significance of college education in prison. 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. While the 1994 Crime Bill destroyed college-in-prison twenty-five years ago; today we are closer than ever to bringing it back. Sam has gotten so adept at avoiding conflict that he avoids conflict when he needs to engage in it, he said. We offer people something they really want, and the condition is that they have to behave peaceably if they want it., The Fortune Society holds most of its job-training and vocational-education programs at its Long Island City offices, with the Castle offering its own approach to social services. During a search of the Roosevelt house, Azzata said, police recovered a 9-mm handgun from a bedroom. The president gave in. I almost lost it, the home-comer recounted. A makeshift desk made from cardboard is placed over a sink in a cramped cell. With self-confidence comes motivation, an eagerness to want more for yourself, your family, and an opportunity to be more than you thought you were capable of, thus leaving strong potential to set an example for the next generation and end the cycle of incarceration. College Behind Bars first premiered Nov. 25, 2019 on PBS and has since then become popular among Netflix audiences. Lets not make it about the dynamite. In organizations, you have to be careful not to take a political standbut this isnt political. "There is some indication to us, which we are investigating, that there had been notifications to authorities in the Virginia area," Azzata said. So, I tell the story. We've received your submission. January 18, 2023 2:32 pm. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Like anyone who is naturally good at something, Sam Rivera got to be naturally good at his work by thinking constantly about his performance and being acutely aware of what he is doing as he does it. 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. I realize I hear it often, I was gonna lose it on this guy. Whats it mean for you?, Rage! Rivera echoed. The crime is what you did. Program Associate with the Ford Foundation. The BPI is funded entirely by donations. , Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, with BPIs community of alumni, families, staff, faculty, and supporters for a special screening of, Program Specialist Open Society Foundation, Found of Listen Up Media, Philadelphia Eagles Two-time Super Bowl Champion, Canvass Director at JustLeadershipUSA and the Lead National Organizer for Beyond the Box Initiative, Last month, I visited BPIs home at Eastern Correctional Facility. Our line was: If you smoke weed, and keep doing it, were going to discharge you. I got involved in a bad situation or I found myself in a circumstance in which someone got hurt segues into the first-person active: Im putting my life together and reconnecting with my family now., Sooner or later, though, the complicated language settles, for a newcomer, into a basic formula of introduction: Ive been away. 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. There was a brief pause. ), Rivera returned to an image that haunted him. My view is just the opposite. Remember him? (Uh, my greatest weakness? 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. People who have just come home meet interviewers in mock interviews. Maxwell said German, Smith, Montgomery and the little girl were staying there temporarily. Before the ban on Pell Grants in 1994, there were more than 300 college programs in prisons, said Tiffany Jones, director of higher education policy at the Education Trust. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. This isnt the picturemost Americans haveof prison. 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. And one arrogant woman running for office who was there watching came up to me and said, What was that old con in for? I said, I dont know, I guess for winning three Pulitzer Prizes? He smiled. She had just come home after doing years for a D.U.I. 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. 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 remember when I was having problems with my roommate and I had to move to a single room. "Do you want the guy that got educationinside and is likely to get a job? We would not be here without you. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Rivera grew up on the Lower East Side. Youll trip, but you wont fall. Today, I am the Chief of Staff at the Bronx Defenders. Im a four-time recidivist here, he has joked. 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. Well, no-time press agent.. Her age is 73. 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. Ad Choices. That is because of the determination of formerly-incarcerated advocates and leaders across the country. Mondays O.K., you eat your soup and salad. It was six oclock on a Thursday evening last fall at the Castle, at 140th Street and Riverside Drive, and the weekly meeting was just beginning. I think she killed some editor from the Times, they said. He swallowed hard and said, That was the moral test for me. My mother had me when she was fifteen, he said. The crime is not who you are.. Rothenberg takes a late lunch or an early dinner most days at Trufa. The look of a room, the kind of food we serve, which doesnt look or taste like institutional food. 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? They are investigating who owns the weapon, he said. Phone Number: (757) 237-IJJT. My kids do that, Rivera said. benefiting from their contributions as advocates and leaders. Page insists that the organization will go on more or less intact. "This isn't about giving people in prisonsomething new," Brumfieldsaid. Nourished by Shawnta Haircare. You can get addicted to education. Housing programs for an offenders rentry into the community usually involve a bewildering array of bureaucracies, and often result in former inmates being placed in halfway houses and homeless shelters that replicate the conditions of prison. In 2005, more than a decade after the ban,there were just 12. "I've never seen her strike that baby," said Maxwell. Three days after they moved into German's Hudson Avenue home, on Jan. 4, Nassau police were called to the house. A pregnant 20-year-old Long Island woman has been charged with manslaughter in the death of her 2-year-old daughter. You can even get addicted to recovery., A man careered down the street, obviously high. 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. Two dozen similar programs exist in 28 states, though Bards is the most highly-regarded. If I find myself threatened by the possibility of a confrontation on the streetjust a car-cutoff thing, you know; happens every dayIve found myself literally running in the other direction to remove myself from those reflexes and that risk. The aim is to learn a new language of performance in order to have a new chance at life. Tell me, if I do will anything come up? The candidate, trained in previous classes, struggled to recall the ideal answer, which is something like: Yes, when I was younger and behaving stupidly, an unfortunate situation occurred and someone got badly hurt. That it was a little thing didnt mean he thought it was nothing., The residents recognized the difficulty of Riveras role. Privacy Policy |Terms of service |Subscription terms |Your ad choices |Cookie Settings |California Privacy Rights |About Us |Contact Newsday |Reprints & permissions |Advertise with Newsday |Help. It gave me hope for his future. The second call to the house came Friday around 9:10 a.m., when Nassau police responded to a 911 call about an injured baby. Now listen to me, its a decision Ive made., E. was insistent: You cant just say this. While incarcerated, Kinzel cobbled together college courses as part of a Maine state program. All the energy you see in this film, its still there with a new generation of students. 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. Last month, Congress introduced bills that wouldreinstate Pell Grant eligibility for those incarceratedas part ofwider college affordability legislation. . For the first time in more than two decades, a push to lift this ban is sparking bipartisan support. Rivera first visited Fortune as a client, in 1991, and then began a career in various post-prison and advocacy groups, including a long stint at Exponents, a leading drug-rehab organization in New York. Chief of Staff, Bronx Defenders. One critical part of transitioning is to help someone involved with the justice system get involved with the employment system. I discovered liberation in education. Client Services Associate at Brooklyn Community Bail Fund. 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). Everyone has to come to the Thursday meeting. Week after week, the same seats are almost always occupied by the same people. (Lesseps arranged a beauty day for the women of the Castle, which was broadcast on Housewives.). Whats bottom? Join Facebook to connect with Shawnta Montgomery and others you may know. I cant fix him. Shawnta J Montgomery was born on month day 1979. Youre bunked with someone and you know youre getting robbed, he said. 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. He and Rothenberg drove together from Rothenbergs apartment in the Village up to 140th Street. He was at home, wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt and sitting in front of a picture of the Buddhaan accidental but telling juxtaposition. For those who couldnt attend in person, watch the trailer and read the remarks below. 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. When the Pell Grant program started, it didn't matter whether an individual wasin prisoneverybody had access until the 1994 Crime Bill,said Cara Brumfield, whoco-wrotethestudy. Thursday meetings are always essentialwe realized that if we had rooms and no services we were just a hotel, he said. Love tethers us in that way and keeps us connected. Everyone watched Susskind on Sunday nights, Rothenberg recalled. The quote is mine, so Im gonna own it, he said. Taconic inmate Shawnta Montgomerys account of an upbringing and life that brought about the death of her young daughter outlines a path that is surely common to many. And I began to transition from full-time press agent and part-time prison activist to full-time prison activist and part-time press agent. All rights reserved. College Behind Bars"follows students in the Bard Prison Initiative, a privately funded college program that began in 2001 inNew York state prisons. 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. Ninety-five percent of people who are in prison will get out, Ken Burns,executive producer ofthe PBS film, told USA TODAY. I keep telling him thatyou just have to accept that, wherever you go, there will be friction between you and the people you work with, and you have to work through it. Take the powerI chose not to do that this time. He glided into the next thought. I was with my boys, watching a show where theyre imploding a casino, and Im kind of into it. Follow. Craig Steven Wilder and Dyjuan Tatro speak on stage at the special screening of COLLEGE BEHIND BARS at The Apollo Theater on November 12, 2019 in New York City. Im glad I didnt know about the brick.. With all the dynamite we used to destroy this building, the foundation was so strong that it wouldnt go down. And Im, like, Thats it! Facebook gives people the. Montgomery was held Monday on charges of two counts of first-degree manslaughter. The former convent school would be unaffordable now. And you start bullshitting yourself.) Interviewers like detail: about work programs upstate, about roofing or custodial work or how to operate a forklift. So what Im saying to you, he added, more softly, is that your intellects your intellectyoull always have itbut you only need one degree. Man is mind. Theres nothing you could do., Heres the deal, Rivera said. . Everyone has a diet. One Thursday, Shawnta Montgomery, who loves to tease Rivera for his sincerity and self-seriousness, was on the right, too, closer up. BPI students are felons serving long sentences for serious crimes. Explore our interactive graphic to follow the journeys of three BPI alumni through college and career. shawnta montgomery now. Lined up beside Rivera at the front of the room, facing the residents and guests, were Stanley Richards, the Fortune Societys executive vice-president, and David Rothenberg, its eighty-seven-year-old founder. Someone says to me, very glum, I didnt do anything. No! t should not be strange to hear prisoners talk about. Malcolm Jenkins But our values just arent well aligned anymore., Rivera cited the societys response to the protests in New York and across the country. "Iwant people to walk away from this film understanding that there are many more people who want to be involved in programs like this that are incarcerated, but they don't have the access or the possibility of doing so.". I spent more of my life in prison than free. Did I ever tell you about the time Edward Albee came to the Castle on a Thursday? Rothenberg said, brightening the silence. This is one of the very few issueswhere Republicans and Democrats are agreeing that action is necessary.. We live in our own minds. First-year students at Eastern Correctional Facility. You have to relearn all your reflexes, Rivera said. What is your greatest strength in a work situation? Years later, Im at Fortune, and someone introduces me to a woman. Its Mom. The vast majority of participants have never experienced an education that called upon them to ask these questions. The first-floor room where the Thursday meeting takes place is decorated with a plush rug and photographs of the Castle from back when it was a Catholic girls school, and a poster-size Times article about the Fortune kitchen, which has a reputation for seriously good cooking.
Are There Snakes In Tahiti,
Podcast Transition Phrases,
Dr William Mooney Wife,
Ford 1110 Tractor For Sale,
Articles S
shawnta montgomery now