BEJI is a group of students, staff, and faculty who believe in the power of education to improve the lives of people impacted by incarceration. Together, we build educational pathways for those impacted by the carceral system and advance carceral studies on campus. If you're interested in learning about carceral issues and/or want to learn more about how to agitate & advocate for carceral justice, fill out our general interest form or visit: www.brandeis.edu/beji | |  |
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Are you interested in joining a student-run group that advocates for carceral justice and education on our campus and in our communities Undergraduate and graduate students welcome!
Fill out this form!
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Partakers Empowerment Program (PEP)
Last month, PEP began its sixth cohort! Over the last few weeks, the students have developed technology skills and explored the importance of communities and making meaningful change within them. The program aims to ease the challenges of re-entry by providing resources and instruction, but, most importantly, the program provides a support system for the students. As they discussed the importance of community, many students reflected on how the program has quickly become a place where they can lean on mentors, facilitators, and each other.
There are currently 3 undergraduate and 3 graduate Brandeis students serving as facilitators for the program alongside 2 PEP teaching assistants. Teaching assistants for the program are former graduates of the PEP program.
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I-Can Academy
BEJI faculty continue to teach at the I-Can Academy at the Nashua St. Jail in Boston. This quarter, David Sherman, with the assistance of a Brandeis undergraduate student, is offering a workshop on storytelling performance and public speaking. Students are planning a showcase event for December.
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More Than Words
In a new partnership, BEJI and More Than Words in Waltham are collaborating on educational programming for MTW youth. These community-building and educational workshops will happen throughout the year, bringing Brandeis students and MTW youth together. There are currently 3 undergraduate students working in the More Than Words program.
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The carceral can be defined as that which relates to prisons, imprisonment, or other formal methods of social control. BEJI is focused in carceral justice work, connecting resources to those who are impacted by the carceral and fostering education surrounding our collective tacit social ties to carceral spaces.
Understanding incarceration in the state of Massachusetts is essential to transforming and humanizing the carceral spaces surrounding us. Here is the Massachusetts carceral system by the numbers, and the scale of its impact:
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The human and monetary impact of this incarceration is huge! AND Massachusetts is leading in incarceration globally... | |
BEJI works in collaboration with many community partners. Each month, we'll highlight a few of these partners and the incredible work that they do. | | |
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Partakers Celebrates their 25th Anniversary!
Partakers advances the education of incarcerated persons and bridges the divide between those inside and outside of prison. This year, Partakers is celebrating its 25th anniversary!
The Partakers Empowerment Program (PEP), is a partnership between Partakers and BEJI. The 14-week virtual workshop program aims to reduce the challenges of re-entry and build a sense of community among students.
Learn More
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Changing the Narrative about Incarceration: A Conversation with Arthur Bembury
Arthur Bembury wears many hats as the Executive Director of Partakers, Inc. However, Arthur’s journey with Partakers began long before he accepted the position. While incarcerated, Arthur was a part of one of the Partakers programs as a student of the Boston University prison program. When he was released eighteen years ago, Partakers approached Arthur and offered him a part-time position. Since then, Arthur has dedicated himself to the organization and its cause, rising through the ranks and making meaningful change in the state of Massachusetts.
Read more about Arthur here!
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Campus & Community Events | |
Punishment Culture and the Persistence of Mass Incarceration In Massachusetts | |
Thursday, October 20th
6:30 pm Reception (with FOOD!),
7:00 pm Lecture,
Zinner Forum, The Heller School, and on Zoom
Are you interested in learning about current prison reform efforts in Massachusetts? Join us for the Joshua A. Guberman Lecture: Punishment Culture and the Persistence of Mass Incarceration In Massachusetts with Elizabeth Matos, Executive Director of Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts
Co-hosted by the Legal Studies Program and the Heller School.
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Thursday, November 17th
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Calderwood Hall
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Join artists and activists Reginald Dwayne Betts, Stacey Borden, Erika Rumbley, and André de Quadros, to discuss the effects of mass incarceration on individuals and communities and how the arts can seed change on both personal and systemic levels.
Hosted by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
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BEJI Reading Group - School to Prison Pipeline | | |
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Are you interested in carceral justice? The Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative (BEJI) hosts a monthly reading group for anyone interested in learning and discussing carceral issues. Readings include memoir, legal analysis, poetry, art criticism, political theory, history, etc. and are chosen by different members of the group.
This reading group is open to anyone interested in engaging in dialogue about the carceral system. We have a diverse group of attendees including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members. All are welcome to engage in discussion and/or lead a topic of discussion.
Please register here to join our first session on Friday, October 28th from 11 am-12 pm via Zoom.
Our first session will be a discussion of the school-to-prison pipeline and includes work by Geoffrey Canada and Elizabeth B. Langan.
Read at your own capacity! You never have to do all of the reading to join--we welcome those who skim, skip, and those who didn't read at all. Come for the conversation and community.
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Southern Poverty Law Center 50th Anniversary Event | | |
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Listen to "Home was Never." The first episode of Tuft's Education Re-Entry Network podcasts. Hector and Vee, two formerly incarcerated people, talk about the meaning of “family” and “home” before, during, and after incarceration. Featuring Hector Bannister and Davon McNeil.
Listen Here
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Journalism, Policy, and Community News | |
Call Prices Raise For Massachusetts Incarcerated Citizens, But at What Cost?
"Even if they are providing the most rehabilitative programs available, it still wouldn’t be right to fund programs like that via the lowest income people."
Read More
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"If All Lives Matter ‘Cause We’re All Equal, Why Are Some Lives More Equal Than Others?" | |
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Dey Hernández, Jorge Díaz Ortiz and Sylvia Hernández, "If all Lives Matter ‘Cause We’re All Equal, Why Are Some Lives More Equal Than Others?", September 2020, Agiarte
This Cantastoria (picture storytelling with song) uses a handmade quilt to trace the history of the Prison Industrial Complex from slavery to mass incarceration and the killing of Black and Brown people by police in the U.S. The project is a collaboration with self-taught quilter Sylvia Hernandez and community-based organization El Puente.
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Mutual Aid & Volunteer Opportunities | |
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Founded in 1971, the SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.
Donate Here
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The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative produces cutting-edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization, and then sparks advocacy campaigns to create a more just society.
Donate Here
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Job Posting - The Cornell Prison Education Program |  | |
The Cornell Prison Education Program is searching for a college program coordinator to join our team to facilitate the college program at the prisons we serve. This is an exciting moment to join a growing team at Cornell University, as our community zooms forward in an expanding universe of student support and progressive policy change, while driven by our core mission of a student-centered high-quality higher education during and after incarceration.
The position entails coordinating course offerings, extra-curriculars, and graduation ceremonies at the prisons we serve near Cornell University. The coordinator is the key point person for our students in the prison. We welcome applicants with a vision for this work. Applicants with lived experience dealing with the prison/parole complex are welcome to apply. People who have taught in prison are welcome and encouraged.
The Cornell Prison Education Program operates coordinates within a consortium of colleges that offer college programs inside the prisons, and we are building a growing network of reentry partners to support our students after their release.
Cornell University has an elite reputation and an egalitarian ethos. We welcome candidates to apply here.
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If you're interested in supporting BEJI, donate by clicking on the button below. | |
This Newsletter is created by Jana Antic and Lesedi Lerato. Our Supervising Editor is Jessi Brewer. This newsletter is created through community support and by highlighting the work of amazing carceral justice organizations in Massachusetts and the wider United States. For questions or to highlight your own work, organization, or event, contact janaantic@brandeis.edu or lesedimataboge@brandeis.edu. | | | | |
