From Inquest:
For the carceral citizen, life after a criminal conviction can be perplexing. In some contexts, gatekeepers place a premium on our experiences and include us because of the singular knowledge we possess. In others, our intimate understanding of the carceral system is a liability and the reason gatekeepers deny us access. Knowledge of this sort, which I like to call experiential carceral knowledge, is then both an asset and a liability, leaving many of us to wonder about the inherent value of our histories. Here, I consider the disparate valuation of experiential carceral knowledge by looking at two related but distinct contexts that I’m deeply invested in — higher education and our jury system — and I suggest that as in the classroom, the knowledge those with a carceral history possess is necessary in the jury box, as it sheds light on a system that too often uses obfuscation to avoid critical analyses.
In recent years, education has become one of the central pillars of many reentry initiatives. Perhaps buoyed by research indicating that students with a carceral history possess skills and attributes that make them well-suited to excel in higher education, advocates have worked tirelessly to advance a number of important reforms that have included banning the criminal history box on college applications in a number of jurisdictions and revising Pell Grant eligibility guidelines to make financial assistance available for most applicants with prior convictions. In turn, colleges and universities have begun to expand their efforts to recruit and support formerly incarcerated and system-involved students.
One of the most prominent organizations involved with such efforts has been California’s Project Rebound. Founded in 1967 at San Francisco State University by formerly incarcerated sociologist Dr. John Irwin, Project Rebound is now a state-funded, statewide consortium with chapters at 14 campuses in the California State University system. “One of the hallmarks of Project Rebound’s philosophy … involves cultivating and amplifying the many assets that formerly incarcerated students bring to the university community and the wider society,” noted the project’s 2021 annual report. “These assets typically include resourcefulness, enthusiasm, gratitude, self-determination, and profound commitments to service, fairness, and social justice.” Continue reading >>>
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