Challenging the Prisonindustrial Complex Activism Arts and Educational Alternatives
Challenging the Prison house-Industrial Circuitous: Activism, Arts, and Educational Alternatives
As a feminist concerned with social justice, in the past twelvemonth or so I've become convinced that dismantling the prison-industrial complex should exist a elevation priority amongst feminists.
This anthology, Challenging the Prison-Industrial Complex, edited by Stephen John Hartnett, argues as much, stressing that this very goal "should be at the head of a new human rights agenda for the xx-first century." In making this argument, the album is comprised of two sections of essays: "Diagnosing the Crunch" and "Applied Solutions, Visionary Alternatives." The anthology further incorporates artwork and poetry by those who know the dehumanization and injustice of the organization immediate – those incarcerated – in an attempt to "remind readers that the prison-industrial complex does not house monsters but humans."
The first section addresses how the The states of America has become a "punishing democracy." That is, a democracy that spends more on prisons than on public pedagogy and spends more on punishment than on rehabilitation. In "Diagnosing the Crisis," the authors note how we became a land with endless prisons and a swelling prison population. Several authors cite the "state of war on drugs" as a historical policy shift, one which paved the way for zip-tolerance policies which heavily affect – and really target – communities comprised of poor and working form people of color.
Other essays in this section address how the defunding of public didactics and social programs works to benefit the prison house-industrial complex. I specially appreciated Rose Braz'due south and Myesha Williams' essay "Diagnosing the Schools-to-Prisons Pipeline: Maximum Security, Minimum Learning," which clarifies how the term high school "dropout" is misleading. They suggest replacing it with "pushout" – a term that more accurately conveys how the current public pedagogy system (due to issues of defunding and racism) betrays students of color from at-take chances communities and practically ensures their entry into the criminal justice system.
The second half of Challenging the Prison-Industrial Complex offers promise and ideas for modify through activism and the arts. Essays underscore the need for educational opportunities in prisons, every bit university professors take information technology upon themselves to offer college-level courses, GED preparation courses, and college entry exam courses to inmates. Several essays also demonstrate the empowering effects of offering artistic workshops and classes to inmates.
These essays detail the hard work, tribulations, and results of providing playwriting workshops in prisons as well every bit enlisting inmates to phase Shakespearean plays. Such activism provides opportunities for inmates to reclaim their humanity and their voices, equally well as provides communities a glimpse into the prison house-industrial complex and the people caught up in the system.
The inmates' artwork and poetry are powerful additions to this anthology. As with any academic text related to social justice, there is the possibility of elevating so-chosen experts' thoughts and voices on an issue while simultaneously silencing or absenting the voices of the very people affected the most. Challenging the Prison-Industrial Complex seeks to create a balance between the two, in which voices of those both inside and exterior the system work in tandem to convey a greater realization of what is happening in our schools, in our communities, and in our prisons.
Ultimately, the chat surrounding dismantling the prison house-industrial complex needs to be happening outside the walls of academia. This is an issue that relates to racism, classism, immigration reform, youth, upkeep spending, the militarization of our police forces, racist and inaccurate media coverage, the privatization of prisons, concrete every bit well as sexual violence within our prisons, and the disenfranchisement of entire communities across the country – only to proper noun a few. Feminists should be taking an active role in this fight. Abolishing the prison-industrial complex should be routinely discussed and debated on feminist blogs and in feminist publications aslope our efforts to cease sexual violence and our fight for reproductive rights.
Challenging the Prison-Industrial Circuitous provides a framework for this discussion besides as steps to dismantle the system. Nosotros should all heed the authors' warnings and advice and work together to reimagine a new democracy.
Source: http://elevatedifference.com/review/challenging-prison-industrial-complex-activism-arts-and-educational-alternatives.html
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