Welcome to our Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative Newsletter.
We have had a busy year! In this newsletter, you'll see a brief review of what we have been up to since Fall 2023, including student and faculty spotlights and a goodbye to our graduating BEJI seniors. If you're interested in sending us information or highlights to include in our newsletter, email brandeisjusticeinitiative@gmail.com
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Mneesha Gellman and Tanishia Williams listening to student questions. From left to right: Mneesha Gellman, Tanishia Williams. | On February 15th, members of the Brandeis community gathered to hear a conversation with editors and authors of a new Brandeis University Press publication titled “Unlocking Learning: International Perspectives on Education in Prison.” Editor and director of the Emerson Prison Initiative, Mneesha Gellman, and editor and director of the Women’s College Partnership, Justin McDevitt, shared how international prison perspectives highlight the importance of speaking across disciplines and nations to highlight new approaches and interesting findings from carceral interventions. Author, Lise Øen Jones, joined from Norway via Zoom to share insight on her chapter in the book. The panel was moderated by Professor Tanishia Williams, the Brandeis Florence Levy Kay Fellow in Racial Justice, Education, and the Carceral State. The event culminated in a productive Q & A from audience members. Check out the book feature below. | |  |
Panelists answering questions from the audience. From left to right: Angelia Jefferson, Stuart Grassian, Sanaullah Khan, Sashi James. | |
Organized by the C.A.R.E club with support from BEJI, the Health in Prison Panel aimed to highlight and explore how the lack of adequate physical and mental healthcare impacts incarcerated persons. The panel consisted of four individuals and was moderated by Rosalind Kabrhel. Stuart Grassian, MD and psychiatrist, works with incarcerated people and advocates for solitary confinement reform. Sashi James is the director of Reimagining Communities at The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.
Angelia Jefferson provides education services and support to formerly incarcerated people through the Partakers Empowerment Program, BEJI, and New Beginnings Reentry Service.
Professor Sanaullah Khan is a lecturer in Medical Anthropology at Brandeis who has studied the barriers that incarcerated people face in accessing mental health and recovery services in Baltimore.
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Congratulations BEJI Class of '24 | |
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To our graduating BEJI Students:
For the past few years, I’ve witnessed your lesson planning, discussions, and reflections on how we can continue to improve, and your dedication to the people we serve. I’ve observed the close relationships you have developed with each other and with our BEJI community. I’ve had most of you in my legal studies classes, too. It is a very moving experience to witness students apply what they have learned in your classroom to a real-world opportunity to help improve the lives of others. That is what you have done: you have helped improve lives through your commitment to this work. BEJI would not be where it is today without you.
As you move on from Brandeis, I know you will hold your experiences with BEJI and our students close to your heart. This work has changed you in ways that you might not yet appreciate. Whatever path you take in life, we will remember you, celebrate you, and consider you part of this special community.
Congratulations on your graduation!
Rosalind Kabrhel, Executive Director
Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative
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Student + Faculty Spotlight | |
Adah Anderson
Adah Anderson is a current senior, majoring in politics and sociology. For her senior thesis, Adah chose to study the opinions of individuals associated with the criminal justice system have about the success of re-entry. Click here to read more about why she chose this topic and the impact it has on her future career!
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Professor Tanishia Williams
Tanishia Lavette William’s research examines curriculum adoption, policy, and educational disparities with a focus on the achievement and life outcomes of Black students. Throughout her illustrious career has been a superintendent, executive director, principal, and teacher in school systems undergoing extensive reform, her focus on education aims to connect praxis and theory. Tanishia’s scholarship examines how racism permeates systems through existing legal structures that buttress the subordination of minorities through racialized hierarchies. Click here to read more!
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Liz Peterson, David Sherman, and Rosalind Kabrhel presenting at NCHEP. From left to right: Liz Peterson, David Sherman, Rosalind Kabrhel | |
BEJI Co-Founders David Sherman and Rosalind Kabrhel, and PEP director Liz Peterson attended the National Conference on Higher Education in Prison in November where they led three discussions centered on BEJI's work at Brandeis. This annual conference, with over 600 people in attendance this year, provides an incredible opportunity to learn from folks around the country who are doing amazing work in and alongside carceral spaces.
"We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend this conference. It was inspiring to learn from so many people who are committed to this work, many of whom are formerly incarcerated themselves" said Kabrhel.
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Rosalind Kabrhel standing with Robert Taliaferro Jr. | |
Professor Kabrhel and Professor Sherman gave two presentations at the annual Campus Compact Conference in Denver, Colorado in April. This year's conference theme: Now is the Moment: Higher Education Civic & Community Engagement as the Way Forward. This theme provided a perfect opportunity for BEJI to showcase how our work has inspired our Brandeis students and our currently/formerly incarcerated students to get involved with their communities and pursue the change they'd like to see in the world.
Kabrhel and Sherman also met Robert Taliaferro, Jr., a formerly incarcerated Wisconsin man whose art was exhibited at the Rose Art Museum in 1985 - during his incarceration.
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For decades, the United States has been locked in a pattern of exceptionally high mass incarceration. This volume is a work that highlights contributors across twelve countries and their insights about effective educational programs for people in prison. Additionally, they illustrate what the United States can learn from the models and struggles beyond its borders.
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The Resentencing Journal is a collection of stories, poems, essays, and visual art pieces created by formerly and currently incarcerated writers and artists. The journal seeks to “represent and reimagine the experience of imprisonment and freedom...from the perspective of people who have extraordinary talent and a tremendous amount to teach.” The project is currently seeking submissions for volume 2. The journal is a Tufts University project.
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Marketing Team
Huge thanks to our 2023-2024 Marketing team! We welcomed a new team member, Efosa, who is a rising sophomore majoring in politics and minoring in legal studies. If you ever wonder who is behind our social media accounts or promoting events, it's this wonderful team. Congratulations to Ella is who is graduating and moving on from Brandeis this spring!
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From top left to right: Jessi Brewer, Efosa Ologbosere, Lauryn Williams, and Ella Subramanian. | |
This newsletter is created by Ella Subramanian, Lauryn Williams, and Efosa Ologbosere. Our Supervising Editor is Jessi Brewer. For questions or to highlight your own work, organization, or event, contact laurynwilliams@brandeis.edu or efosaologbosere@brandeis.edu. | | | | |
