Voices Behind Walls People & Programs
Digital Walls
The latest update to the VBW site includes a links page recognizing people and programs we've either collaborated with in person or learned of through email/social media correspondence, or research. The idea came about for two reasons. The first was from a poem a youth read many years ago in a VBW workshop about the mathematics of counting bricks inside his cell. The second reason was inspired by the patience we had to develop waiting to host workshop the few times there were delays in transferring youth from their units to the education room. There were a couple of cases when guards would change shifts upon our arrival or in between the transfer of different groups forgetting all about us. It required a lot of patience, a lot of waiting. In one of these waitings, I observed the walls inside the education room. There were doodles, artwork and writings drawn on the walls from the incarcerated youth. It made me think about the art of graffiti and it inspired an idea that I've been wanting to add to the website. A links page, a sort of digital wall of links to people & programs. An opportunity for us to recognize not only VBW participants, but also other people and programs. Especially recognition of those that have passed on. One of those names I've wanted to reference is Malcolm Shabazz, grand child of Malcolm X, who's life was taken from us last year during his visit for labor rights in Mexico. The link opens a YouTube interview with Malcolm Shabazz by Vizion Filmz that shines light on young Malcolm's work and his connection to advocacy of young people and his experience with the complicated systems of both juvenile and adult corrections. Like his grandfather, his perspective looked at these issues with a global lens.
Our Digital Wall will feature and archive links. Some of those links will be highlighted here on the VBW Blog. Til' the next link, peace.
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