OPINION: Why San Quentin’s reform model doesn’t do the trick

San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s rebrand as a “Scandinavian style” prison, promises transformation through career training programs and improv classes, but after Leili Kamali PO ‘29 visited, she saw a different story.

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Pitzer’s fourth cohort reflects on their journey with the Inside-Out B.A. Program

This May, the fourth cohort of Pitzer College’s Inside-Out Pathway-to-BA program will graduate with degrees in Organizational Studies, having completed their education in the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco. As incarcerated students, they have built a community of learning, care and transformation, bridging the distance between inside and outside through meaningful relationships and shared purpose.

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A ‘new history’ of America: Jalil Muntaqim on incarceration and abolition

Hosted by the 5C Prison Abolition Collective, former Black Panther Jalil Muntaqim gave a lecture outlining a “new history” of the United States. Muntaqim, who was incarcerated for 49 years, spoke about abolitionist organizing and the history of the prison-industrial complex.

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‘Inside-Out as a Model for Constructive Dialogue’: Pitzer students and faculty discuss prison exchange program

On April 22, Pitzer College hosted a panel discussion titled “Inside-Out as a Model for Constructive Dialogue,” celebrating ten years of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program.

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7C and national organizations denounce Pomona College’s response to student arrests

Following the arrest of 20 students at Pomona College by the Claremont Police Department (CPD) on Friday, April 5, several 7C and national organizations have released statements condemning Pomona’s response, pointing to both the academic disciplinary and legal prosecutions sanctioned by its president, G. Gabrielle Starr.

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The Prison Library Project at the Claremont Forum: Affordable, sustainable, charitable

Are you in need of a new book to read (or to decorate your dorm room with)? Read about the Claremont Forum, a used bookstore whose proceeds all go towards the Prison Library Project! Your new favorite Claremont Village spot!!

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Daniel Medwed at the Ath: ‘Why The Innocent Can’t Get Out of Prison’

On Oct. 11, Northeastern University law professor Daniel Medwed led a discussion at Claremont McKenna’s Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum titled “Why The Innocent Can’t Get Out of Prison.” Medwed focused on combating two popular myths: first, that America’s criminal justice system may not be perfect but is the best out

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Freedom First concert series: Keith LaMar performs spoken word poetry from death row

Keith LaMar has spent the last 30 years of his life on death row for a crime that evidence shows he did not commit. Since his conviction, LaMar has dedicated his life to criminal justice reform activism and education. His work has taken the form of starting book clubs at high schools, writing and autobiography, and co-writing a jazz album, “Freedom First” with pianist Albert Marquès.

On Oct. 7, Marquès was joined by Zack O’Farrill, Kazemde George, and Yosmel Montejo in the final performance of the Freedom First West Coast tour at Pomona’s Lyman Concert Hall. While the musicians performed on stage, LaMar called in to recite his original spoken word poetry from an Ohio prison.

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At Scripps conference on abolition, Kaba and Ritchie re-envision ‘a liberatory state’

Updated April 16 at 3:53 p.m. Calling for a reimagination of the carceral state, scholar-activists and abolitionists Mariame Kaba and Andrea Ritchie convened over the weekend as part of Scripps College’s “Abolition is Feminism, Feminism is Abolition” conference.  The three-day conference was held in partnership between the 5Cs’ Intercollegiate Feminist

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Formerly incarcerated choreographers recreate virtual performances on Scripps’ campus

The on-campus performance of “Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic” united formerly and currently incarcerated choreographers, professional dancers and about 200 members of the Claremont community on Saturday.

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