The Prison Justice Project

[Amanda is currently serving as president of the Prison Justice Project student organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Prison Justice Project works to educate the public about the social justice issues surrounding incarceration through informational meetings and forums. They also run a mentoring program for youth with a history with the criminal justice system. More information is provided below, including contact information and the website]

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1) How did you get involved in the Prison Justice Project?

I first got involved through getting to know Rebecca Ginsburg, the Director of the Education Justice Project (EJP). EJP is a project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that coordinates a college-in-prison program at Danville Prison that demonstrates the positive impacts of higher education upon people who are incarcerated. While talking to Rebecca, I asked her how undergraduates could get involved with EJP and she said that we unfortunately can't help with programming at the prison but EJP does have a student organization known as the Education Justice Project RSO.

I then met with the President and Secretary (both graduate students) of the Education Justice Project RSO and they explained that they would like to hand the organization to an undergraduate student. I volunteered and was appointed President. 

Shortly after I was appointed,  I changed the name of the organization, redesigned its programming, and crafted new organizational missions and values. I believed that in order for the organization to flourish, it needed to have a more autonomous and focused identity. Today, it is known at the Prison Justice Project. 

2) What is one thing people should know about prison justice?

One thing people should know is that to advocate for prison justice is to advocate for the end of systemic oppression and negligence. 

I firmly believe that how a society punishes people is reflective of the values of the society. Right now, our society operates on punitive punishment and the privatization of discipline. As a result, no other country in the world incarcerates people at a higher rate than the US. This reason being is that punitive punishment is based upon the isolation of those who are deemed undeserving or deviant in our society and these two things are highly socially constructed. As a result, dominant ideologies and systems have created this social notion of criminality that serves to neglect and oppress marginalized communities (especially poor communities of color and transgender communities). The disparities in our penal system paint a very clear picture of this. 

In the end, our penal system doesn't simply punish. It perpetuates inequalities and casts away  "unwanted" members of society. A history of incarcerate follows an individual for the rest of their life. You can see this through examining public housing, TANF, and employment legislations regarding formerly incarcerated individuals. They are truly second-class citizens. Ultimately, the creation of this population of second-class citizen keeps criminalized populations under the thumb of dominant systems and institutions. 

3) What inspired you to become president? How is it going thus far?

In Spring 2013, I interviewed a man on his experience of being a formerly incarcerated African American man in our society for a final paper. Through talking to him, I came to understand the complex systems that operate the criminal justice system and the injustices that accompany re-entry in our society. I wanted to create the same learning experience that I was so fortunate to have and felt that a student organization would be a great place to start. 

It's been an incredibly gratifying, exhausting, and transformative experience. When I first began the organization, there were only three main Executive Board members and our board was constantly shifting. I was still getting to know the bureaucratic systems pertaining to student organizations and the University, trying to figure out what sustainable funding would look like for us, constantly re-delegating tasks, and networking with the University and community. It was a mess at times. But it's really when you're drowning that you figure out how to swim. We finally found our balancing point towards the end of Fall 2013 and really started to build momentum during Spring 2014. We were awarded best student program by two different University entities at the end of Spring 2014 and I think that was one of the most incredible experiences for us. For me, it was humbling and uplifting that people were watching and appreciating our work. This semester, this momentum has only been growing as we now have eight members on the Executive Board with clear responsibilities and systems of accountability. I still feel so fortunate everytime I sit down at a Executive Board meeting and look around and see how far we have come. 

4) Why should people do volunteer work/service?

Arguably, we all live and breathe privilege. If we don't carefully evaluate our own privilege and biases, we run the risk of perpetuating oppressive ideologies. I believe that if done correctly, volunteer work and service makes us aware of own privilege and the inequalities of our society. We choose to serve instead of save communities, we begin to see the world in a new light. We begin to see the importance of social justice. 

Additionally, I believe that education can and should be used to acknowledge and question dominant systems and institutions. It should not be used to create complacency. That's why it's so important for students (especially in higher education settings) to step out of the bubble of privilege and really engage with social justice issues in a meaningful way in the communities that surround them. And service allows that opportunity. 

5) What are the big goals/plans for PJP this year?

This year, we are launching C.U. Succeed, our mentoring program for youth who have been through the criminal justice system. Our mentoring program is strengths-based in that our mentors view mentees through a lens of strength and resilience instead of deficiency. The idea is that criminalized youth are cast as deviants in our society and we want to challenge that by providing high expectations for our mentees by telling them that they hold unfathomable potential and have shown immense strength thus far in their lives. 

We also have a really exciting line up for our monthly forums and bi-weekly lunch discussion series. A few things we will be covering will be food justice in prisons, the criminalization of Black girls, the incarceration of transgender communities, and issues faced by re-entering women of color. 

6) If people want more information, or want to get involved, who should they contact/how can they reach PJP?

If anyone would like to know more, they are more than welcome to contact me at ahwu2@illinois.edu. We have also have a general email address, which is prisonjusticeproject.rso@gmail.com. I encourage people to visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/pjprso and our website at prisonjusticeproject.weebly.com to keep up with us as well!