Shawnta lives at 121 Spring Valley Rd, Montgomery, AL. Sometimes doing nothing is the best decision we can make, right? Government Affairs and Advancement Officer for the Bard Prison Initiative. See Shawnta's contact info now . Instead of congratulating him, Rivera exclaimed, You gotta accept that getting one degree is enough. He reminded Webb that the point of the Castle was to get out of the Castle, and that the choice of when to leave would not always be left to the resident. And the cry went around the gallery: Resignation not accepted!, Rivera tried to quiet them. College Behind Bars will premiere nationwide on PBS on November 25 and 26, 2019. But I want to come back to you, brother. "This isn't about giving people in prisonsomething new," Brumfieldsaid. 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. Eliminating Pell grants for people in prison cut 35 million dollars from the federal budget. Rivera grew up on the Lower East Side. This film following students of the Bard Prison Initiative is a tribute to their ambition and endeavour and an indictment of the absence of funding for such programmes. Log In or Sign Up Shawnta Montgomery See Photos Shawnta Montgomery See Photos Shawnta Montgomery See Photos Shawnta Montgomery See Photos Shawnta Montgomery Achalkboard is filled with Chinese symbols in a room filled with eager students in green jumpsuits. 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. Program Associate with the Ford Foundation, Executive Director of College & Community Fellowship. Thats the one who will do you the most good! the therapist said. Or do you want the guy that comes home with no job? We all know, the stigma of a felony conviction is a lot to overcome. Everyone has a diet. As AEI scholar Gerard Robinsoncommented,The right thing to do is not only give them a second chance, but to also admit the fact that many of them didnt receive a first chance at school.. 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. Though the program is now mostly privately funded, it previously received federal funding until the government ceased providing educational subsidies to prisons under the 1994 crime bill. 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. Dizhawna, who was nicknamed "Da Da," turned 2 on Christmas Day. Goldvale said the study foundmany at the local and state levelare intrigued by the expansion of Pell Grants to prisons. While the 1994 Crime Bill destroyed college-in-prison twenty-five years ago; today we are closer than ever to bringing it back. Today, some programsare beginningto receive federal funding again under the Trump administration. Its hard, I get it, Rothenberg said. And those people really dont last that long. The crime is not who you are.. For the first time in more than two decades, a push to lift this ban is sparking bipartisan support. 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. Shawnta Montgomery, '17 Peer Recovery Counselor, Fortune Society Now that I've been home for a few years, I appreciate even more what it means to be a Bard alum. 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 documentary provides a fascinating window into the initiatives prison classrooms: Classic Greek literature, Shakespeare, history, writing seminars, Chinese. Found of Listen Up Media, Philadelphia Eagles Two-time Super Bowl Champion. (If you call someones bullshit poetry, they wont be that offended, even if youre telling them you dont want to hear it.) On this evening, for instance, someone used a formula familiar from twelve-step programs: You have to hit bottom before you can come back up. This sentiment went around the room with echoing fervor. Jackson identified the homicide victim as 44-year-old Shawnta Moultry. 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. 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. We would not be here without you. Its likeyou know, Ive been thinking a lot lately about diets. "That was the first time in my life that I really was empowered and felt kind of proud of myself," Kinzel said. Then Tuesday goes better than you hope, but then Wednesday is really hardyoure hungry. And most of the people coming home will see somebody in that room they did time with. Current Address: WQPU Spring Valley Rd, Montgomery, AL. Yeah, theres a line, I think its from there, that I always repeat. View Shawnta Montgomery's record in Gaffney, SC including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Obviously, we have to reform the system and end the problems, and put fewer people in prison, he said. She had just come home after doing years for a D.U.I. College Behind Bars remains especially in the first episode admirably focused on the practicalities of prison life and prison programmes. 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. Angela Scott, an eight-year veteran of the society, has replaced Rivera. Were now making statements.). 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. There is still so much work to do, to make sure access to higher education behind bars is fully restored, to put an end to mass incarceration, and to make our country live up to its values. Nikki Bibb, Thomas Bibb, and four other persons are also associated with this address.The phone number for her is (334) 356-1964 (Knology of Alabama, Inc). While the 1994 Crime Bill destroyed college-in-prison twenty-five years ago; today we are closer than ever to bringing it back. Taconic inmate Shawnta Montgomery's account of an upbringing and life that brought about the death of her young daughter outlines a path that is surely common to many. Yet heremains spiritually on both sides of the doorway. "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. Im glad I didnt know about the brick.. Dont dismiss that, man! "There is some indication to us, which we are investigating, that there had been notifications to authorities in the Virginia area," Azzata said. 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. When it comes to education behind bars, Kinzel said the debate boils down to a simple question. Every New Yorker knows that. Rivera soberly restores order, often in response to an excess of poetry that the meeting has allowed itself. Part of what I have is the contradiction of my appearance, he explained one evening. And at about the third floor it caved in and the guy said, Wow! See Shawnta's contact info now . College Behind Bars first premiered Nov. 25, 2019 on PBS and has since then become popular among Netflix audiences. I ran Thursday meeting for years, and then Stanley didthe Fortune vice-presidentand then Sam, Page said. "I've never seen her strike that baby," said Maxwell. Clarksville Now Contributed Magicians Jeff and Kimberly Bornstein will bring their magic show to the Roxy Regional Theatre on February 14. PHILADELPHIA Stacks of books are organized meticulously by genre amid the chaos of a maximum security prison. Some students enter with educational abilities so low, they struggle to read basic phrases, let alone the complicated writing ofThe OdysseyorKing Lear. Alelur Duran, Dyjuan Tatro, Giovannie Hernandez, Ken Burns and Wesley Caines attend the special screening of COLLEGE BEHIND BARS at The Apollo Theater on November 12, 2019 in New York City. Do you want them as responsible, taxpaying citizensor people who have used their time in prison to hone their criminal skills?. 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. Lawsuits, Liens or Bankruptcies found on Shawnta's Background Court records found on Shawnta's Family, Friends, Neighbors, or Classmates 4,221 followers. Theres an architecture of the room that I rely onE. Page emphasizes the societys open doors policy. 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. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. I couldnt have stood there with this guy spitting in my face saying the things he was saying. benefiting from their contributions as advocates and leaders. Years later, Im at Fortune, and someone introduces me to a woman. He said Montgomery hit her toddler for misbehaving while brushing her teeth Friday morning. If you still have ten per cent after being through prison and abuse of many kinds, then we can start. 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. That foundation thats still there., David Rothenberg founded the Fortune Society almost by accident. And, of course, I did.. Theres something you could do and you chose not to. She was stabbed multiple times. And then you get to know the person, as opposed to the audition. , 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Did I ever tell you about the time Edward Albee came to the Castle on a Thursday? Rothenberg said, brightening the silence. What had seemed an accidental weekly arrangement was purposeful. More often than not, violence, isolation and angerare what come to mind. My life styleIm not proud of itbut I was a stickup kid my whole life. Sun Tzu said if you know the outcome of the fight anyway, you have no need to fight. "We need to be careful to make sure that the level of quality that we received with our education is kept intact," Hall said. Most incarcerated individuals cannot afford a college education and all are banned from applying for federal grants. But if we lift up our collective voices, we have a greater chance of convincing those in power to support it. "Do you want the guy that got educationinside and is likely to get a job? A makeshift desk made from cardboard is placed over a sink in a cramped cell. Detective Lt. John Azzata said Montgomery is 7months pregnant. People who have just come home meet interviewers in mock interviews. Montgomery was arrested Sunday. Ad Choices. If it were not, BBC Fours two-part Storyville documentary College Behind Bars would be neither interesting nor necessary. That youve got to hit the rock-bottom moment? he said, reflectively. 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. of the Fortune Society, explained from her office at the societys administrative headquarters, in Long Island City. It was overwhelming! Taxpayer dollars are not at work. Coming home hasnt been easy for me, and I am still on that journeyand happy to be here celebrating this film and our BPI family. Health/beauty. The vast majority of participants have never experienced an education that called upon them to ask these questions. Then come back up. It allowed me to transcend incarceration and gave me the credentials and skills necessary for success after 25 years in a cage. (Feb. 15, 2010) Credit: James Carbone. Two dozen similar programs exist in 28 states, though Bards is the most highly-regarded. And youre calling me at midnight about this because? I said. My parents always had jobs. He speaks with the ancient, r-less, broad-vowel speech of a New York working class. One Thursday, Shawnta Montgomery, who loves to tease Rivera for his sincerity and self-seriousness, was on the right, too, closer up. Sebastian Yoon, 17 HUD defines people who are coming out of incarceration as not homeless, so no HUD-funded program can take them in. Program Associate with the Ford Foundation. 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. 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. With growth comes self-confidence. Probably the kindest, most loving thing anyones ever done for me, he says. Also, investigators on Friday arrested Montgomery's boyfriend, Benjamin Smith, when they discovered he was wanted by Virginia authorities for attempted murder, Azzata said. Many of us have done it. View 1 Shawnta Montgomery and Tamika Graham Photos Show Tamika . Thats all it is. Nationally, about 68% of inmates released from state prisons were rearrested within three years of release, according to a Justice Department study. Was anyone around this week when I got stepped to?. Facebook gives people the. 7,069 Followers, 2,004 Following, 3,816 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Shawnta' Jackson (@bodybyshawnta) But Rivera let twenty minutes or so pass before he intervened. Professor of History at MIT and BPI. Mondays O.K., you eat your soup and salad. All rights reserved. Ive come home. At the Thursday meeting last fall, when a recent arrival said that he had been awayperhaps for ten or twenty or thirty yearsthere was a round of applause, and Rivera, officially the associate vice-president of housing at Fortune but in truth its resident guru and presiding demiurge, was there to say, gently, Welcome home, brother.. nothing. All Rights Reserved. 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. The city will bring them up and down as they want, according to the politics of the moment., The turning point, for him, took place on The David Susskind Show, in 1968. has shaken up the countrys politics. There is still so much work to do, to make sure access to higher education behind bars is fully restored, to put an end to mass incarceration, and to make our country live up to its values. Asnuntuck Community College in northern Connecticut, for example, is feeling the effects of expanding Pell Grants to prisoners. Email Address: n PVLC @charter.net +1 email. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. 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. The biggest news, politics and crime stories in Nassau County, in your inbox every Friday at noon. It brings the same academic rigour, standards and expectation of commitment and engagement to its imprisoned students as it does to the rest. Education experts argue the benefit of expanding college prison programs is both personal and fiscal. At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. Id like to offer it to you. And sometimes people of color introduce themselves that wayI was in prison. But thats not you! Incarcerated individuals see their lives turned around by education, and the economy receivesa boost from more productive citizens and reduced recidivism rates. Whats bottom? That is because of the determination of formerly-incarcerated advocates and leaders across the country. 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. Would be neither interesting nor necessary 2 on Christmas Day I got stepped to? up! ( Feb. 15, 2010 ) Credit: James Carbone the complicated writing ofThe OdysseyorKing.. States, though Bards is the most good education and all are banned from applying for federal.! The fight anyway, you eat your soup and salad and expectation of commitment and engagement to its imprisoned as. Fortune Society almost by accident in prison to hone their criminal skills?, Ive been a! 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