"How it Would Feel to Be Free"
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Program Note
In only 40 years, the United States incarceration system has increased in population from 300,000 to a 2008 all-time high of 2.3 million people, 1 in every 100 adults. Still close to 2 milion people today, this represents 20% of the world’s prison population, despite the U.S. making up only 5% of the global population. 10 times more black people are incarcerated for drug crimes than white people, although statistically, white people are more likely to use drugs. 1 in 3 black men can expect to be incarcerated in his lifetime. 1 in 4 women are directly impacted by incarceration themselves or through a partner. Solitary confinement, while listed as a method of torture internationally, is still utilized in prisons across the country and The United Nations has labeled the US incarceration system a humanitarian crisis in a 2023 report. VOICES 21C collaborates with artists and activists Eric Anderson, Wayland X Coleman, Truth, and Onyx White to present a performance of music and spoken word from voices of the current and formerly incarcerated. Focusing on the Massachusetts incarceration system specifically, this event explores the impacts of the 13th Amendment, lynching, and racial violence, the wars on drugs, the impact of prison on women, and other intersecting social issues to reflect on the continued harm done to Massachusetts residents through the prison industrial complex. This performance doubles as a consciousness-raising opportunity to bring more collective attention to the often unseen impacts that these systems have on our communities. The event will feature a talkback following the performance, allowing audience members to engage directly in conversation with the artists. VOICES 21C’s residency will also include a gallery of art from the Race, Prison, Justice Arts Project, a collection that has been curated through Boston University workshops online and in Suffolk County House of Correction since 2020. The gallery includes collaborative work from students and community members, as well as currently and formerly incarcerated artists and activists. Before the performance, members of Clark University’s Liberal Arts for Returning Citizens (LARC) program will engage with VOICES 21C and Onyx, Truth, and Eric for informal conversation about this project, followed by an open mic for anyone in the community to perform or present their work. This program is funded in part by a residency grant from the Jean McDonough Arts Center, sponsored by the Barr Foundation. Statistic from The Innocence Project, Marshall Project, Prison Policy Initiative, and American Civil Liberties Union. |
During Say Her Name we 'put these names in the air' to honor and remember them, their lives, and their stories:
Breonna Taylor
Sandra Bland
Rekia Boyd
Atatiana Jefferson
Rita Hester
Duvall Princess
Remy Fennell
Nina Pop
We invite you to add the names of other women who have been killed by gun violence, specifically those black bodies killed by police actions.
Through this link you can learn about each of these individuals and many others. For a more complete list of names and the stories of their lives, visit this online space developed by Stanford University.
Breonna Taylor
Sandra Bland
Rekia Boyd
Atatiana Jefferson
Rita Hester
Duvall Princess
Remy Fennell
Nina Pop
We invite you to add the names of other women who have been killed by gun violence, specifically those black bodies killed by police actions.
Through this link you can learn about each of these individuals and many others. For a more complete list of names and the stories of their lives, visit this online space developed by Stanford University.
FEATURED COLLABORATORS
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Truth (2rüTh7)Spoken Word Artist, Writer, & Transformative Justice Advocate
Photo by Steve Osemwenkhae. Courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. All rights reserved. IG: @EXPLANATIONSFROMEXILE Website: explanationsfromexile.com |
Wayland "X" Coleman
Artist, Activist and Writer Wayland was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 18, 1978. In order to escape the poverty of the south, his family moved to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1988. At age 11, he was given a one-year scholarship to the Worcester Art Museum, because of drawings he had created as a child. While he attended the Art Museum, he was introduced to hustling in the streets. At the age of 13, he became a member of the Leicester Satellite Drum and Bugle Corp, where he played the trumpet for two years. You can learn more about Wayland's activism through the Deeper than Water Coalition, on their website and Facebook page. Wayland is a former student of the Boston University Empowering Song course. At the time of writing, Wayland is incarcerated. |
Onyx White
Boston-based Singer and Rapper Photo by Steve Osemwenkhae. Courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. All rights reserved. "My work is raw, real, spoken fro the heart and reflects my past, present, future, and the maze of my brain through smooth fast paced word and melodies." YouTube: @ONYX_WHITE3 |
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Eric Anderson, Guest Artist
Poet, Activist, Restorative Justice Leader Eric M. Anderson oversees Transformational Prison Project’s daily operations, communications and website, social media sites, office management, business pipeline, and co-develops programming. Eric is also a lead facilitator and circle keeper for TPP with over seven years of leadership experience with restorative justice. After 10 years in prison, Eric began to follow his passion for cooking, becoming the culinary supervisor for the Boston Convention Center, where he led a 10-person team. He volunteers with Community Servings at a facility that supports people living with HIV/AIDS and people living with difficult illnesses and diets. He volunteers and mentors young men through Roxbury District Court’s CHOICE Program, Everyday Boston and Communities for Restorative Justice where he is a fellow improving his professional and organizational skills while managing their events and training and offering his own skills and experience with restorative justice through public sharing and leading Restorative Justice Circles. He also partnered and gave presentations at Suffolk University, Boston University, Vermont school of Law, Boston College Law, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Law, Northeastern Law, Tufts University, and Utec. |
Resources and Inspirations for this Program
Transformation Prison Project - This organization was founded in 2013 from inside the Norfolk State Men's Prison, MA to explore the meaning of restorative justice. Eric Anderson, today's collaborator, was one of those founders.
Say Her Name - Read more about the powerful work of artist Alysia Lee and the responses to this original song. BU Race, Prison, Justice Gallery - Explore this collection of newly created art developed with current and formerly incarcerated artists and members of the Boston University Community. |
This program was based on our ongoing work with the topics of race and incarceration. Please click past projects to learn more about our ongoing work with currently and formerly incarcerated artists.