Past Events

A panel about the necessity and challenges of teaching about racial inequities presented by the Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI).

A Brown University exhibition of mounted essays by Emerson Prison Initiative students.

Reading from Reginald Dwayne Betts' book Felon, followed by a Q&A.

The day-long conference "Innovation in Access and Equity for Incarcerated People in Massachusetts" was held Friday, March 24th, 2023, in the Bill Bordy Theater, 216 Tremont Street, Boston and live-streamed for those unable to attend in person. The keynote was given by Reginald Dwayne Betts (lawyer, poet, and 2021 MacArthur Fellow). Panels included data and research on the impact of college in prison, discussion with formerly incarcerated college students, and thought leaders including Lee Pelton of The Boston Foundation in conversation with Massachusetts legislators. There was also a screening of the documentary College Behind Bars, followed by a moderated discussion. The event hosted policymakers and thought leaders alongside the public to learn more about college in prison and its benefits for the Commonwealth.

Please join the Emerson Prison Initiative on Wednesday, October 18, at 4:00 p.m. for screening of College Behind Bars, a documentary film directed by award-winning filmmaker Lynn Novick, produced by Sarah Botstein, and executive produced by Ken Burns, that tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees and turn their lives around in one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programs in the United States – the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI). Emerson College's own Emerson Prison Initiative is modeled on BPI.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Rodney Spivey-Jones and Tamara 'Triizzy' Barley--two Bard Prison Initiative graduates featured in the film--and Charles Rosario, an Emerson Prison Initiative graduate.

The event will be held in the Bright Family Screening Room in the Emerson Paramount Center at 559 Washington Street, Boston, MA. Please RSVP if you are able to attend.

The Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI) presents Back to School, an exhibition of mounted essay by currently and formerly incarcerated Emerson College students in Emerson's Iwasaki Library this semester, near the main entrance.

On Thursday, November 2, at 4:00 p.m., EPI will hold a reception and panel for the exhibit in the library, with EPI alumni essayist Ahmad Bright and Mac Hudson, EPI Director Mneesha Gellman and EPI Assistant Director Cara Moyer Duncan. The library is located in the Walker Building, 120 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, on the third floor. Stay tuned for event flier and RSVP.

The exhibit was first curated by the Watson Institute at Brown University in the spring and was moved to Emerson this summer. We are grateful to the Watson Institute for their vision and their generosity.

Book celebration and panel discussion.