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Students, Prisoners and a Nun: A unique book club meets in one of the largest prisons in the country

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CHICAGO (AP) For college student Nana Ampofo, an unconventional book club at one of the nation’s largest prisons modified her profession ambitions.

Every week, the 22-year-old drives a van of her DePaul University peers to the Cook County Jail to speak about books with inmates, most recently with renowned activist Sister Helen Prejean. Ampofo is ready with thought-provoking inquiries to spark conversations in the Chicago jail about the latest books they’ve read together.

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One rule of the club is obvious: talking about personal lives is inspired, but questions on why other members are in prison usually are not allowed.

“It’s part of dehumanizing people. You want people to tell you their own story and have their own autonomy,” Ampofo said. “When you go in with an open mind, you see how similar people are to you.”

The student-led volunteer program began a few years ago as an offshoot of a DePaul program that offered students and inmates for credit at a prison on the city’s southwest side. The book club, which a latest group joins each academic quarter, tackles books that personally appeal to the group’s members, who’re almost entirely black or Latino.

DePaul student Nana Ampoto talks during a book club at the eleventh Department of Corrections in Chicago, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Associated Press journalists were allowed into the prison Monday to watch the current club’s final meeting to debate Prejean’s book “Dead Man Walking,” at which a Louisiana anti-death penalty activist made a special appearance. The book, which was also adapted into a film and an opera, tells the story of her experiences as a spiritual advisor to a pair of men on death row in the Eighties.

Seated in a circle in the prison’s window-filled chapel, 10 inmates in brown prison uniforms sat amongst 4 students and Prejean, who visits the Catholic University of Chicago yearly.

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Ampofo, who advocated for Prejean’s visit, cried as she talked about how vital the group members and the discussions they’d were to her. Laughter erupted when Prejean told a vulgar joke involving folk characters from the Louisiana swamps. When inmate Steven Hayer discussed why many inmates return to prison, there was no shortage of vehement nods.

“Our society is not investing in solutions,” he said. “And when they come out, they will go back to what they knew.”

Book club members took the opportunity to ask Prejean questions, similar to the differences between the book and the movie and what it’s like to observe people die.

The 85-year-old nun was present at seven executions. Her archival papers are at DePaul, including notes for the script of the 1995 film starring Susan Sarandon.

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After seeing her first execution, Prejean said she vomited, but stated that it was a privilege to be with people in their final moments.

“When you witness something, a fire starts burning in your heart, demanding justice, that we need to change this,” she said.

Sister Helen Prejean (right) talks as Richard Obot (left), an inmate at Department of Corrections 11, listens to her during a book club at Department of Corrections 11 in Chicago, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. huh)

As a white woman who grew up in the South, Prejean said working in a prison opened her eyes to racism.

Most of the book club’s incarcerated members are black, reflecting the demographics of the prison that houses nearly 5,000 inmates. According to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, about 70% of inmates participate in some type of educational program, similar to a book club.

However, college student participation sets the book club other than other activities.

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“When you suddenly have outside students sitting next to you, you start to think about yourself differently,” Dart said. “It changes the mentality.”

Detainees are invited to participate in classes resulting from their interests, he added. He added that their internal behavior determines their ability to affix, not what they’re serving time for. Health issues are also taken into consideration.

There are as many as 40 people on the waiting list to affix the club in prison.

Jarvis Wright, who has been detained in Cook County for 2 years, said he’s a reader but has never been to a book club before. The 30-year-old reads at night when the prison is quiet. Other book club selections included “The Color of Law,” which delves into the issue of residential segregation.

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“Even though we’re in jail waiting for our cases to go to trial, it gives us something positive to look forward to,” Wright said. “We’re not just here to waste time.”

Inmates, DePaul students and Sister Helen Prejean attend a book club at Department of Corrections 11 in Chicago, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Since 2012, DePaul has offered college classes through a nationwide program called Inside-Out Prison Exchange. Classes are held at each the Cook County Jail and the Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum-security men’s prison positioned about 40 miles from Chicago.

There are security guards present during the book club, but no one is in handcuffs.

Helen Damon-Moore, who oversees prison teaching programs at DePaul, says there has never been a security problem.

“Everyone is equal when they’re on the inside,” Damon-Moore said.

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Stanley Allen, a 36-year-old inmate, said he was interested in the club because of its connection to the university. He hopes to take part-time classes in the future. For him, the most surprising part of the club was meeting the students and Prejean.

“There are some really good people there,” he said.

Other book club members say the experience has brought them closer together.

“I feel like I’m talking to a bunch of my brothers,” Clark, a DePaul sophomore from Chicago, told the Group Seven. – The way you talk is so familiar. I feel like at home.”

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Ampofo will return to prison at the end of the week, when a latest club specializing in black women’s writing begins. It’s a topic that particularly interests her as the American-born daughter of a Ghanaian immigrant mother.

Ampofo, the first in her family to graduate from highschool, plans to attend graduate school to pursue museum studies. He dreams of improving access to museums for inmates and their families.

“I want to take care of people,” she said. “And I found people I want to take care of.”

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

Education

Protect education for a stronger America

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Homeschooling, Education

Freedom begins with an informed mind.


Dr. Russ Wigginton

On the heels of the historical anniversary, our country is reminded of how far now we have come and the way much work stays due to the lens of education. On May 17, it meant 71 years from the choice of 1954, which stated that education should be available to everyone. The recent removal of security by the Department of Justice in an effort to monitor the desegregation of faculties through a court decision within the Sixties in Louisiana and potentially other southern states threatens the spirit of this viewpoint.

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In addition, throughout our country, from underfunded public schools to well -equipped campuses of universities and universities, education is within the face of many serious challenges. One of the most important challenges isn’t only resources, but is the idea of the actual value of education – threats to free pondering and important query. Without these basic principles, we weaken our collective ability to realize our full potential individually and as a community. We risk that we don’t confirm the past, not understanding our present and move to the longer term without a clear purpose and direction.

Basic and medium education are at the guts of this fight. At this point, students learn in regards to the attempts and torments of our country and where they learn to query, empatize and critically think that they were involved in residents as adults. When these possibilities are minimized for young people, we’re all reduced.

Higher education isn’t resistant. Universities – traditional places for open dialogue and strict debate – rise under the pressure of limiting discussions about diversity and inclusion. Professors and students who query conventional perspectives encounter growing resistance. Even our most prestigious institutions are forced to a simplified version of education, which hesitates to confront uncomfortable truths.

This moment requires reflection on who we aspire in the longer term and resistance before returning to the place where we were previously. It is in regards to the behavior of the American tradition of free investigation and a solid debate. Healthy democracy relies on residents who can think themselves, get entangled with different points of view and pull them and the leaders.

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Institutions similar to the National Museum of Civil Rights play a vital role in maintaining this spirit. For example, the Reading Ruby Bridges Reading festival provides children with access to necessary books recognized and emerging authors – including many whose works are banned elsewhere. Ruby Bridges Award Award Award, is an activist for civil rights, who on the age of 6 was the primary black student who integrated completely the White Primary School in New Orleans in 1960. She was born in Mississippi in 1954, in the identical yr the American Supreme Court transferred its field decision, ordering the combination of public schools. The festival is a commitment to making sure future generations of understanding the complete history of the fight and achievements of our nation and to make sure that the voices of young individuals are valued.

History shows us that when education is proscribed, societies turn into more prone to division and authoritarianism. When curiosity and empathy are discouraged, the fundamentals of community and democracy weaken.

Education protection is common responsibility. This signifies that our schools and universities remain places of truth, inquiry and understanding. This means supporting teachers, strengthening students’ position and inspiring leaders to depend on open dialogues than fear.

Freedom begins with an informed mind. By investing in fair education, we put money into stronger, more resistant America. The rates are high. Together, we must select a path of hope, unity and thoughtful commitment.

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This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Education

Board of Florida A&M University chooses Marva Johnson, a lobbyist with draws from Desantis as the next president

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The only historically public Black University of Board of Florida selected a lobbyist with connections with the Republican government Ron Desantis as the next president of the school, Disturbing studentsLecturers and graduates who’re outraged by the Governor’s efforts reduce teaching With History of African Americans AND ban on public universities from using taxpayers’ money to diversity programs.

The Florida A&M University of Florida Voted on Friday to decide on Marva Johnson, director of communication between the charter telecommunications company and a former member of the State Education Council, who advertised her experience in climbing the corporate ladder and moving after state laws. Johnson, which have to be confirmed by the Governors’ Council, was previously tapping in various state boards by Desantis after which. Rick Scott.

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Florida A&M University Presidential Presidential Search in the controversy regarding the candidacy of Marva Johnson

“As a leader, I tell resources. I move mountains if they stand in your way,” Johnson told the board during his interview. “At this point of my career I will not be the best scientist.”

The appointment of Johnson at the end of the controversial and sometimes emotional process, which, as critics claimed, had no transparency and were contaminated by political influence. One member of the board of FAMU resigned after suggesting the school suspension school to unravel community problems.

Johnson’s supporters said that although he isn’t an educational leader, he is ready to maneuver around the changing landscape of higher education, at a time when public universities are increasingly depending on the political priorities of legislators.

“We have to survive in Florida,” said Jamal Brown, president of the Faculty Senate and a member of the board. “This moment requires someone who understands the systems that finance and rule us, because now our survival depends on how we move these systems.”

The alternative of Johnson got here to the violent opposition of some of the worst supporters of the school who have fun the heritage of black perfection, social mobility and cultural pride.

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“There was a lack of intellectual depth and a gap in a cultural relationship, which was simply painfully glaring,” said the chairman of the board of Kirstin Harper about Johnson.

“In the era of a decision on employment based on merits, how can you justify the decision of a candidate who does not meet all the criteria of the position? Or close the eyes to exceptionally qualified candidates?” Harper added.

The management board selected Johnson in the field of 4 finalists, including the operational director of FAMU, Donald Palm, who was a clear favorite from the open contingent of students and supporters of the University, and who was supported by the impact of the school at college Association of Graduates.

“When you do not have your students, lecturers and graduates behind you, regardless of their relationships, it is a recipe for a disaster”, a film producer and Alum Will Packer told the board before voting. “Do not set Marva Johnson to fail. Do not put her able to take over the home seriously divided.”

Johnson’s nomination appears at a time when public universities are struggling Assembly threats to them country AND Federal financingAnd as officials supervising public universities of Florida – many of whom were appointed by Desantis – they’re increasingly paying former legislators of the republican state Down manage.

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A member of the board of Belvin Perry said that in a conversation with the governor’s employees he didn’t feel any political pressure to decide on a specific candidate. Perry finally voted for Palm, although he thought Johnson’s alternative was inevitable.

“This is a foregone conclusion about today’s vote,” said Perry. “That’s true”.

(Tagstranslate) @Ap

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Education

Dad wants to answer after the son is exposed to gay porn at school

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Columbia University, course

A teacher from Minneapolis is on vacation after one in all his students is a tool that showed gay porn.


A parent from Minneapolis Public Schools, Levi Chapman, demands responsibility after his third son was allegedly exposed to pornography on the teacher’s personal iPad during classes.

The incident took place two weeks ago in Las Estrellas Elementary, when a baby who forgot a laptop issued by a district borrowed a tool from his teacher.

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According to court documents and interviews along with his father, Chapman, the student described a pop -up window showing “a group of naked men on each other” before the teacher intervened and regained the iPad.

“He and another student sat there and they closed the tab. Well, this card that jumped to them. My son described it as” a handful of naked men lying on himself … The teacher approached to see what was happening, and my son said that he was nervous at him and said: “You crumble my personal privacy” and he took an iPad from him, “said Chapman.

Chapman said the teacher Initially, he refused to change In the lender’s laptop, leaving his son “very uncomfortable”, until he finally received the appropriate equipment.

Public schools in Minneapolis have placed a teacher on administrative leave since it studies circumstances that allow access to open content.
In the statement, the district stated that it seriously approaches such allegations and would follow all relevant protocols, but cited the provisions on data privacy and refused to provide further details. “Public schools in Minneapolis treat such allegations seriously and will comply with significant district protocols. These allegations are currently being examined, and due to the provisions regarding data privacy, we are not able to disclose the detailed details related to this incident.”

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Chapman, who also contacted the Department of Education in Minnesota, said that since then the district employees have created a care plan for his or her son and moved him to one other class.

“I would like the teacher to give him the right device from the very beginning,” said Chapman, adding that the family hopes that the district will change the rules on the production of lenders to prevent similar incidents.

The State Education Department reviews whether the incident is subject to the statute of abuse of kids and might proceed the independent investigation. Meanwhile, Chapman and other parents call for MPs to strengthen digital security, implement clear protocols for sharing devices and supply teachers with training in the field of supervising student devices. Because schools are increasingly counting on personal devices in the field of technological gaps, supporters say that solid policies are needed to protect children from inappropriate online materials.

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This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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