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EPI STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY
 
EPI stands, as a community, in defense of Black lives. As individuals we mourn the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, David McAtee and countless others at the hands of law enforcement. As educators, scholars and creators, we recommit ourselve to knowing and teaching the history of anti-Black racism and violence in the United States in order to shape a better, more just future. As citizens, we call for the replacement of policing and punishment with a public safety built upon an investment in people and in communities. We seek access, equity and justice. 

To learn more about EPI and our commitment to social transformation through education visit our website.


HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Watch

13 th – In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.

Ato Williams and Hancy Maxis – Alumni and Public Health Fellows from the Bard Prison Initiative – discuss their work helping guide the COVID-19 response at the Montefiore Medical Center, New York’s largest hospital system.

College Behind Bars – Explore the transformative power of education through the eyes of a dozen incarcerated men and women trying to earn college degrees – and a chance at new beginnings – from one of the country’s most rigorous prison education programs. 

In A Father’s Lullaby – An interactive video project – Rashin Fahandej “highlights the role of men in raising children and their absence due to the racial disparities in the criminal justice system and its direct impact on children, women and lower income communities.”  

Listen

California: Epicenter of Mass Incarceration Reform – A discussion – in collaboration with the Marshall Project – of mass incarceration and prison reform initiatives instituted in California.

The 1619 Project – An ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.

Read

NY Times Opinion – Call It What It Is: Anti Blackness.

Race and Inequality in Education – Check out the ACLU’s education initiatives.

NY Times Opinion – America, This is Your Chance.

Support

Educate yourself about The REAL Act and the full reinstatement of federal Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated people. #RestorePell 

Black and Pink – “Black & Pink is an open family of LGBTQ prisoners and 'free world' allies who support each other.”

Share the aforementioned resources and expand the conversation.

GIVE to EPI and support access to transformative education for incarcerated people.



“For 25 years the answer ‘this is all I know’ was the reasoning for my incarceration. EPI has allowed me to realize prison is not all I know.”
- Raymond, EPI Student

Please explore our website for further updates on the program
and for information on events at Emerson’s Boston campus.