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. So tonight, I want to thank all of our families for supporting us for believing in us, and for being there. Montgomery was. That person I was is not who I am now. That, the interviewer explained, is a version of the perfect answer, which the residents work to adapt. Current Address: KLUA Midway Ave, Chesapeake, VA. Past Addresses: See available information. "I've never seen her strike that baby," said Maxwell. Were now making statements.). Sam Rivera, the charismatic center of the operation, had little executive power within it, and over the years this had created some rubbed-raw feelings between him and the people who did. It's not just BPI:ARAND study in 2013 foundthat inmates who took part in educational programs were43% less likely to returnto prisoncompared with those who did not participate. Theres an architecture of the room that I rely onE. 7,069 Followers, 2,004 Following, 3,816 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Shawnta' Jackson (@bodybyshawnta) Its all dramatic, and they hit the thingold school!you know, the box with the plunger? Shawnta Montgomery, 20, of Roosevelt, is led out of Mineola police headquarters for her arraignment. Privacy Policy |Terms of service |Subscription terms |Your ad choices |Cookie Settings |California Privacy Rights |About Us |Contact Newsday |Reprints & permissions |Advertise with Newsday |Help. Love tethers us in that way and keeps us connected. After 25 years of incarceration, my journey and successes are directly attributable to the opportunity I had to get an education. The documentary provides a fascinating window into the initiatives prison classrooms: Classic Greek literature, Shakespeare, history, writing seminars, Chinese. Mondays O.K., you eat your soup and salad. With self-confidence comes motivation, an eagerness to want more for yourself, your family, and an opportunity to be more than you thought you were capable of, thus leaving strong potential to set an example for the next generation and end the cycle of incarceration. I called the producer and said, Have you ever had six former prisoners? She said, I want em but I cant get em. I said, I can. So we went on, and the next morning, after the show, I got call after call after call. 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. It was six oclock on a Thursday evening last fall at the Castle, at 140th Street and Riverside Drive, and the weekly meeting was just beginning. Obviously, we have to reform the system and end the problems, and put fewer people in prison, he said. And now I totally respect it, because there are elements in my life right now that I wish I didnt understand. Montgomery and Smith moved from Virginia to Roosevelt last month to stay with Smith's mother, Beverly German. Past Addresses: Montgomery AL, Montgomery AL +2 more. By the time he got out of prison, he had finished a mathematics major and earned a bachelor's degree from Bard College. Founder and Executive Director of BPI. You just say fine. shawnta montgomery now. We've received your submission. And you start bullshitting yourself.) Interviewers like detail: about work programs upstate, about roofing or custodial work or how to operate a forklift. In the late nineteen-sixties, at the peak of his career as an extremely successful Broadway publicist, working with the likes of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, he produced aCanadian play aboutrape in prison called Fortune and Mens Eyes,and realized that the men who weremost stirred bythe play were ex-cons, as they were called then. For those navigating the challenges of rentry, it can help to have a tough-minded guide with lived experience. By taking up issues such as mental health and marijuana legalization, the countrys youngest M.P. If I wait for the world to be better, then the whole society would have to change, and I dont have a long enough life to wait for that to happen., At a Thursday meeting a couple of weeks later, a recent home-comer praised another Castle client for gently urging him away from a confrontation with someone who pushed himor whom he perceived to have pushed himon the subway. The quote is mine, so Im gonna own it, he said. We wouldnt have gotten this far without formerly incarcerated leaders paving the way, including Tamika, Darren Mack and other BPI alumni. Well, no-time press agent.. (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. A balloon filled with the helium of unrealistic hope was emptied, and then refilled with the warm air of actuality. Thats the one who will do you the most good! the therapist said. He was killed by a drunk driver on New Years Eve. Jones hopes change will come as policymakers realize tough-on-crime policies that exclude incarcerated individuals from opportunities don't work. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. Shawnta Montgomery had suffered what police described as "an accidental fall down the stairs." The second call to the house came Friday around 9:10 a.m., when Nassau police responded to a 911 call . The toddler was rushed to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow and a doctor pronounced her dead at 10:50 a.m., officials said. Then come back up. Upstairs, there are comfortable bedrooms for more than eighty residents, but at the moment they were, by the societys rule, empty. 'You don't know what you did for me': Released from prison by Obama, now on the dean's list. 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.. Nassau County police said Monday that Shawnta Montgomery of Roosevelt was arrested after an autopsy revealed that her daughter, Dishawna, died Friday from a lacerated liver. This high standard of education BPI is taught at the same level as Bard College, theliberal arts school in New Yorkis crucial to Hall's hope of Pell Grant expansion. See Shawnta's contact info now . As a formerly incarcerated woman who has been working at this for nearly twenty years, I can tell you: College Behind Bars could not arrive a better time. Could I work with her? Peer Recovery Counselor, Fortune Society. 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. As a young man, in the eighties, he was arrested on gun and drug charges, and acknowledges significant lived experience himself. Its hard coming from doing a whole lot of time. Jumaane Williams Sosay that this, wherever you are, is your bottom. Get the latest news about BPI and our work. (Lesseps arranged a beauty day for the women of the Castle, which was broadcast on Housewives.). 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.. :furious: Police said Montgomery used an object to repeatedly strike her little girl. College Behind Bars remains especially in the first episode admirably focused on the practicalities of prison life and prison programmes. Explore our interactive graphic to follow the journeys of three BPI alumni through college and career. Lined up beside Rivera at the front of the room, facing the residents and guests, were Stanley Richards, the Fortune Societys executive vice-president, and David Rothenberg, its eighty-seven-year-old founder. Shawnta Montgomery, Age 33. These happen often because there are many rules, and because immersing yourself in The Oresteia does not automatically or immediately make you a model prisoner. Angela Scott, an eight-year veteran of the society, has replaced Rivera. Coming home means learning the language and the rituals shared by the society outside prison walls. Creating a certain kind of double rhythm was essential to his work: a difficult truth was followed by self-deprecating laughter. These students work their way into a highly selective program, they meet the demands of a rigorous curriculum and the expectations of classmates who aim for academic excellenceand they do so under conditions that no one would describe as optimum for, or conducive to, academic success. I spent more of my life in prison than free. It brings the same academic rigour, standards and expectation of commitment and engagement to its imprisoned students as it does to the rest. But we were always working poor. Rivera and Rothenberg were like a couple who had been working in a hardware store for too many decades; they enjoyed each other and gibed at each other, and by now the enjoyment had become the gibing. Now, I dont believe thats true. . You can get addicted to education. ON NOVEMBER 12, we brought together the filmmakers of College Behind Bars, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, with BPIs community of alumni, families, staff, faculty, and supporters for a special screening of College Behind Bars at the legendary Apollo Theater. Three days after they moved into German's Hudson Avenue home, on Jan. 4, Nassau police were called to the house. We first get outwere getting that comfortability backand its hard to lose it, because you live in a room with it. Phone Number: (334) 354-PZKB +2 phones. David Rothenberg, the Fortune Societys founder and a former Broadway press agent, in front of the Castle. The study projected large benefits toreinstating Pell Grant access to incarcerated individuals, finding that inmatesleavingprison will getjobs, contribute to the economyand will be less likely togo back to prison. If you have leadershit, everythings going to be shit, and thats the primary reason why the shelters are such hellscapes. Rivera is a big man. Was anyone around this week when I got stepped to?. Im glad I didnt know about the brick.. In organizations, you have to be careful not to take a political standbut this isnt political. We all know, the stigma of a felony conviction is a lot to overcome. Montgomery was ordered back to Nassau County criminal court on Feb. 18, officials said. The same rule that holds in a small regional theatre holds in a nonprofit devoted to post-incarceration transitions: the charismatic figure wins the allegiance of his clientele, at the risk of alienating his colleagues, who, without any malice or even conscious envy, become mindful of what they see as his managerial deficits. Virginia authorities had received reports of child abuse concerning Dizhawna last year, Nassau police said. "After that one experience in the classroom, we walked out and just felt like,'Oh my gosh, this is something everybody needs to know is happening,' " Novick said. It's not that often that you see such a clear narrative of this policy change," said CaseyGoldvale, who co-wrote the study. 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.. And I was with one of my mentors, watching these great little kids playing in this playground. Its valuable that Sam has lived experience, Page said. Yet heremains spiritually on both sides of the doorway. Montgomery, who was arrested Sunday, faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted. There is this opportunity to convert compassion and concern into action. You got to explain this shit, man.. Im aware of the stresses on him, Webb said. Thursday meeting is a mandatory, semi-sacred gathering of the Castles eighty or so residents, all of whom have been incarcerated, some as recently as earlier in the week, along with people who once lived there or who would like to live there. New York Gov. Executive Producer, College Behind Bars. Its changing fundamentally the way I think, behave and interact with people, says Dyjuan Tatro (the eukaryotic expert). Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison. The ostensible point of the meeting is to share announcements, discuss the events of the week, create new rules, and greet new arrivals. Being in college also gave me hope and purpose. In 2014, I watched the BPI Debate Union beat West Point and decided to join. Clarksville Now Contributed Magicians Jeff and Kimberly Bornstein will bring their magic show to the Roxy Regional Theatre on February 14. Now its Angelas turn., As with anyone who has left an organization to which he was devoted, Rivera became more aware of Fortunes flaws and fissures in retrospect. One Thursday, Shawnta Montgomery, who loves to tease Rivera for his sincerity and self-seriousness, was on the right, too, closer up. With some people, it was just a faade, a performance to get in. 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. Because I need the sheet music, she said. You know The Green Pastures, the movie? The 1936 film relates Bible stories as Black American folklore. Partly through the osmosis that teaches all of us our dialectsnobody has to tell a quarterback to say It was a team victory; he absorbs the words when he starts playing footballthe residents use many cautious voices and tenses to narrate their movement through a hostile world. To attend remotely was oddly reassuring in those first panic-stricken weeks of the pandemic in New York; having been through so much worse, and accustomed to enforced isolation, the Fortune community had a kind of unfazed gaiety unique among the difficult interactions of the moment. The crowd, including the original speaker, laughed at Riveras earnest repetition of bottom, but he had made his point: they couldnt afford the indulgence of self-dramatization. Log In or Sign Up Shawnta Montgomery See Photos Shawnta Montgomery See Photos Shawnta Montgomery See Photos Shawnta Montgomery See Photos Shawnta Montgomery But applicants are screened for current risk of violence, not a history of violence. And then you need to move and live., Later, sitting with Rothenberg for lunch outdoors at Trufa, Rivera said, Anything can be an addiction, or a crutch. What had seemed an accidental weekly arrangement was purposeful. If someone says, How ya doing? and you start telling someone how you are, you might as well be wearing a big sign saying I Have No Idea Where I Am. So. Though the two types of study are not mutually exclusive, trades are typically emphasized for certain types of learners at the expense of the liberal arts. December 17, 2021 until valhalla marines "Inside the walls of a classroom, you escape the walls of a cell and you become an individual again.". The schooladmitted 320 incarcerated students in its fall 2016 class after receiving funding from President Barack Obama's Second Chance Pell program, said JenniferAnilowski, the college's interim director of admissions. Hall works at theFord Foundation analyzingthe impact of social justice grants an experience he describes as "another Bard" because ofthe experts and cutting-edge ideas. Id like to offer it to you. Various guests may appear, too, ranging from John Edward Wetzel, the secretary of corrections for the State of Pennsylvania, to Luann de Lesseps, the Real Housewives of New York star who once spent a night in jail. Sometimes doing nothing is the best decision we can make, right? Shawnta J Montgomery 1979 Shawnta J Montgomery, born 1979. Detective Lt. John Azzata said Montgomery is 7 months pregnant. Youre always coming home., He has a favorite aphorism about those whom he always calls his clients, which on another afternoon he stressed more fiercely than his usually equable tone allows. Call this bottom the bottom.. Left: Malcolm Jenkins and Sebastian Yoon speak on stage at the special screening of COLLEGE BEHIND BARS at The Apollo Theater on November 12, 2019 in New York City; Right: Malcolm Jenkins on the red carpet at the screening. And those people really dont last that long. PHILADELPHIA Stacks of books are organized meticulously by genre amid the chaos of a maximum security prison. More often than not, violence, isolation and angerare what come to mind. Heartfelt testimonies from current and past participants abound about the internal transformations wrought. Kinzel brings his students to prisons to humanize the criminal justice system. If we can find your foundation, you wont fall. I know it wasnt easy for them, but my family was there for me the entire time I was in prison, and theyre here tonight. Goldvale said the study foundmany at the local and state levelare intrigued by the expansion of Pell Grants to prisons. . We have more work to do, as not everyone is convinced. Several residents contracted COVID-19, and the decision was made to stop accepting new residentsa painful departure from long-standing Fortune Society practiceand to shelter the entire population in place, with the positive cases self-quarantining. What is justice? It was overwhelming! I love this program. Thanks for contacting us. As the car pulled up to the Castle, a group of residents, all masked, were waiting on the steps. You keep coming home. But, of course, Ill run a background check on you. However, we cannot abandon people in prison nor the investments that give them hope for the future. 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. As the sociologist Erving Goffman wrote in the nineteen-fifties, A status, a position, a social place, it is not a material thing to be possessed and displayed; it is something to be enacted and portrayed. That idea is profoundly relevant to the work of the Fortune Society. Youll trip, but you wont fall. 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. She represents a lot of Americans who are worried about the outrageous cost of education, and where our tax dollars are going. After the toddler's death later that morning, the county medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy and on Saturday found that the girl had been killed by a blow to her liver, Nassau police said. Davids idea of a whisper is putting his hands over his mouth and then yelling, Rivera said in the middle of a meeting, after Rothenberg, doing just that, had urged him to move on from some stalled subject. One psychology class changed his outlook on life. Every prisoner here comes with a wealth of compelling backstory, but it is a tribute to the discipline and focus of the film-makers that only a few are related in full. View Shawnta Montgomery's record in Gaffney, SC including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. "Iwant people to walk away from this film understanding that there are many more people who want to be involved in programs like this that are incarcerated, but they don't have the access or the possibility of doing so.". Film subjects and crew speak on stage at the special screening of COLLEGE BEHIND BARS at The Apollo Theater on November 12, 2019 in New York City. A language of elaborate indirection fills the room. And that was a lesson learned. No ones ever asked them how they feel.. So hes, you know, the whole dealthe warrior-monk kind of guy. My mother had me when she was fifteen, he said. I dont know if they realize how essential that support was and continues to be. Hegemony. Yet I know that Sam wasnt afraid, and he could have whipped this guys ass. The film trails Hall, a2011Bard Prison Initiative graduate whoearned a bachelor's degreein German studies, as he navigates the parole process, is released from prison and enters the workforce. Then on Sunday, detectives arrested Montgomery after she "made admissions to us of striking that child multiple times," said Det. People say Hepburn and Tracy. Sam has gotten so adept at avoiding conflict that he avoids conflict when he needs to engage in it, he said. Shawnta J Montgomery was born on month day 1979. One critical part of transitioning is to help someone involved with the justice system get involved with the employment system. One student, Rodney Spivey-Jones, nearly loses everything when a guard takes exception to the language used in one of his short stories and deems it a punishable offence. No one ever taught me any of that, said student Giovanni a quip that became the title of the PBS seriess first episode. Theres nothing you could do., Heres the deal, Rivera said. t should not be strange to hear prisoners talk about. 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. 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. The four-part series tracks a fascinating prison education initiative Bard began in 1999, which now serves 300 individuals. For decades, college prison programs flourished across the country. What is your greatest strength in a work situation? Doing nothing is doing something. You have to start again on Friday. Seeing yourself from outside.. Holding out his right arm, he might say, This is the arm that Liz Taylor cried on at the opening night of Dick Burtons Hamlet in 1964, and then avow, The mistake you make is thinking that theyre ever honest about crime numbers. Craig Steven Wilder and Dyjuan Tatro speak on stage at the special screening of COLLEGE BEHIND BARS at The Apollo Theater on November 12, 2019 in New York City. Incarcerated at 17, Jule Hall spent more than 20 years in prison and is one of the main figures in the PBS documentary, which airsMonday and Tuesday. So I called the Loesser estate. "Look what it does for people, look at the doors that are open, look at recidivism ratesyou see the transformation.". Sun Tzu said if you know the outcome of the fight anyway, you have no need to fight. Im a program associate at the ford foundation with the gender, racial, and ethnic justice unit, bringing directly impacted experience to philanthropy. Rivera was privately equivocal about the reasons for his departure. After the passage of the 1994 Crime Bill, Pell Grants were banned for those who are incarcerated. Showing: Connections Source: Getty Images. It empowered me to realize I wasn't a stupid kid.". Near the end of one mock interview, the questioner said, You seem like a fine candidate for the job. Rivera considers this view the kind of luxury that only people who are not struggling to stay home can indulge in. Aaron Kinzel, a University of Michigan-Dearborn criminology lecturer, knows firsthand the significance of college education in prison. A Roosevelt woman, seven months pregnant, has been charged with manslaughter after she beat her 2-year-old daughter to death for misbehaving while brushing her teeth, police said. It also allows the films focus to remain on the educational programme and its effects. It wasnt always this way. For formerly incarcerated individuals, educational expertsand advocates, its about time. There was this wonderful arts editor at the Times, who was always kind to me, helped me understand what worked and what didnt. 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. Sebastian Yoon, 17 Copyright 2023 Newsday. Shawnta Montgomery Daycare Provider at Self-employed Bastrop, Louisiana, United States13 connections Join to connect Self-employed Bastrop High School Experience Daycare Provider Self-employed. Dont dismiss that, man! "This isn't about giving people in prisonsomething new," Brumfieldsaid. At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. Your support helps make this possible. Above all, what shines through is gratitude. But if we lift up our collective voices, we have a greater chance of convincing those in power to support it. When the two screened one of their filmsat aBPI class at Eastern Correctional Facility in New York, the engaging conversation they had with the inmates encouraged them to expose the program to more people. Conversations with others in the organization suggest that the issue was a familiar one, especially within nonprofits. December 09, 2019 03:36 PM Student Shawnta Montgomery spoke inspiring words at her graduation ceremony: "Inside the walls of a classroom, you escape the walls of a cell and you become an. Follow. "There is some indication to us, which we are investigating, that there had been notifications to authorities in the Virginia area," Azzata said. In the program, the inmates memorize the opening section of "Moby Dick," participate in classroom discussion onthe ethics of stem cells and vigorously weigh the benefits of NATO as part of a viral debate team. It's the best of all worlds.. You chose to handle it. 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. How do you know youve hit bottom? View 1 Shawnta Montgomery and Tamika Graham Photos Show Tamika . Knot-tight! Part of what I have is the contradiction of my appearance, he explained one evening. There was an endless line of men snaking up the stairs of this theatrical building. 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. Everyone watched Susskind on Sunday nights, Rothenberg recalled. The theatrical side of the Castle is self-evident to its sharper-eyed residents. Jackson identified the homicide victim as 44-year-old Shawnta Moultry. Someone says to me, very glum, I didnt do anything. No! And most of the people coming home will see somebody in that room they did time with. Instead of spending $80 billion a year to lock people up, lets build communities and create a world that is more fair and less racist. All Rights Reserved. "Should people in prison get this education?" The river view is a nice view. There is now bipartisan legislation before congress to restore Pell eligibility for people in prison. Shawnta Montgomery and Tamika Graham. This led to my becoming involved in the criminal-justice system. Nobody told me about the brick. He paused. How ya doing? Sam Rivera laughed, and his audience wasnt quite sure whether to laugh with him or not. He was accepted to the Bard Prison Initiative's post-secondary education program, where he joined BPI's debate team, which drew national attention after they defeated the group from Harvard University. Program Associate with the Ford Foundation. (The computer room is not a place to come to hang out, he announced as one meeting began. For real? That is because of the determination of formerly-incarcerated advocates and leaders across the country. And the cry went around the gallery: Resignation not accepted!, Rivera tried to quiet them. Eliminating Pell grants for people in prison cut 35 million dollars from the federal budget. And youre calling me at midnight about this because? I said. One of the issues for you is that youre a brilliant motherfuckerno, no, you are!but you have to be more than that. Nearly killed by his stepfather, he turned to crime, and by 18, he was in prison after shooting at a police officerduring a traffic stop. That changes everything., The residents of the Castle admired Rivera for being as reliable about small things as he was about big ones. View Shawnta Montgomery results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. What Sam does at the meeting is he gets people talking who are comfortable talking, but sometimes hell say, Hey, Joewhats happening with you? And Joe starts talking and doesnt shut up. They are investigating who owns the weapon, he said. Rivera hadnt seen the brick, and was startled to learn about it: He pulled out a brick? BPI graduatesmany of whom are here tonightare erasing that stigma every day, and paving the way for everyone who is coming behind us. Program Specialist Open Society Foundation. My kids do that, Rivera said. I developed critical thinking, writing and analytical skills to build a career doing something that I find deeply meaningful. I know and you know, so why dont we pretend the fight is over and move on?. I cant fix anyone. The right answer is Clintonesque: I try too hard to get it right.) A young man who wants to be a restaurant cook is guided through an interview in which it becomes apparent that he doesnt know much about cooking.
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