Arts Students Slam

sad that this is all happening.” were weaved together to show commonalities of their traumatic experiences resulting in incarceration and the challenges they faced upon reentry into their communities. They have worked hard, persevered and dedicated their lives to change. These four highly successful people are an inspiration and through their individual and collaborative efforts they give others hope with the aspirations for change.

He said he has watched his mom labor after hours to organize group field trips and art shows to help the school’s painters, photographers and other visual artists find ways to grow and share their artistic talent outside of the classroom.

“Why do we need to cut them in order to save just a little bit of change?” he inquired. Others, such a senior arts department student named Gabe, reiterated Joaquin’s point.

He pointed to “portfolio day,” an event arranged by his department chair which brings college representatives to school grounds to observe students’ portfolio of artwork.

Dr. Antoinette Glenn is using the platform to bring issues to the forefront and to give others hope. She wants to highlight the impact prison has on women and children. She is writing a book to shed the stigma of an ex-felon to help people understand there is a story before and a story after incarceration. Dr. Glenn emphasizes the importance of not focusing on the past and looking forward to a new day.

Maggie Young states the process is about growth and change. Young wants to tell people who she was, who she became and who she is today. She emphasizes that it’s never too late.

LaReese Harvey shares her story because she believes people need to be aware of the traumatic experiences that may have occurred prior to incarceration. She was a victim of sexual abuse and domestic violence and as a result was put into the school to prison pipeline. She was motived to push forward because she refused to be a statistic. Harvey states “I’m a person. Harvey aspires to give people hope and to show them that anything is possible. Harvey is the author of “Buttons Journey” and is writing her second book “A Dating Guide for formerly incarcerated persons.” Gordon Lyde believes there is light at the end of the tunnel, and he shared his story to help someone and to give them hope. Lyde states he was initially motivated to change because he did not want to return to prison or die. During his journey of change he continued to push forward because he did not want to take himself away from his daughter. He identifies trauma as the commonality in their stories which pushed them into the school to prison pipeline. He believes in the urban community children are conditioned to transition to prison. The rules and regulations of school are similar to those in prisons and therefore it becomes an easy adjustment to the conditions. Lyde stated “the community must become more proactive rather than reactive in effort to prevent disparities within the judicial system.”

The Great 8er’s are on a journey together to inspire and to empower others. The process is transformative, and everyone learns from each other along the path of moving towards change. Charles Grady stated, “It’s a pilgrimage to bring people together and to remove the stigma placed upon in- carcerated persons.” It’s about hope. It’s about change.

The Great 8er’s exude honesty and have authentic personas; a dramatic portrayal of the uncertainty, trauma, and accomplishments in the lives of four phenomenal people that have made significant changes in their lives and contributions to their communities. The moral obligation to help others and the innate desire to save oneself is evident in the stories told. The issues of self-identity, dedication, hard work, and change are realistically portrayed with conversations expressing their individual perspectives on life through their past and current circumstances. The commonality the Great 8’er’s share reflect us all. “He/ She is me. I am him/her.”

The Connecticut Hall of Change provides support to previously incarcerated persons through Hang Time/Her Time a community-based service providing a forum to foster community and “to give a voice to men and women ex-offenders returning citizens who have been silent or unheard for too long.” The Connecticut Hall of Change has received national recognition and there are plans to replicate the program in Maryland and other states throughout the country.

For more information: https://www. cthallofchange.org/ https://www.hangtimerealtalk.com

After hauling trash and cleaning dumpsters, Rehan Staton is set to graduate from Harvard

by Abu Mubarik Face2FaceAfrica.com

At the tender age of eight, Rehan Staton was abandoned by his mother and single-handedly raised by his father, who worked three jobs to take care of him and his brother, Reggie.

“I was probably too young to notice some of the things that happened, but I know it was bad,” the 24-year-old who grew up in Bowie, Md., told The Washington Post.

“Things just kept falling on us,” Rehan said. “My dad lost his job at one point and had to start working three jobs in order to provide for us. It got to the point where I barely got to see my father, and a lot of my childhood was very lonely.”

To support the family and their education, Rehan and his brother worked for

Bates Trucking & Trash Removal in Bladensburg, Md., where he hauled trash and cleaned dumpsters.

Staton recalled how they often went without food and how he received no support at school with his teachers showing little faith in his academic capabilities.

He began working at Bates Trucking & Trash Removal following his college rejections in 12th grade. Downhearted and disappointed, his colleagues at Bates encouraged him to keep applying; he did and got enrolled into Bowie State University with his brother, Reggie, 27, who later dropped out to support Rehan.

Rehan later transferred to the University of Maryland after two years at Bowie State to complete his undergraduate degree, graduating in December 2018.

In 2020, he got accepted into Harvard

Law School and credited his brother for every sacrifice he made to ensure he got a quality education. Three years down the lane, Rehan is preparing to graduate in May this year. After graduation, he will take the bar exams and start work at a New York City law firm.

He recently co-founded the non-profit called, The Reciprocity Effect, with a focus on giving back to support staffers in Harvard and other schools. According to him, the initiative became “they were not getting the recognition they deserved for helping the school to run smoothly.”

According to Essence, he has purchased 100 Amazon gift cards to give out to the school’s support staff, using his savings from his summer associate job at a law firm.

“That couldn’t occur without the organizational capacity of a department head,” Gabe said, but the event often helps students identify which colleges they’re interested in attending and helps them secure competitive scholarships that can make exorbitant tuition possible to pay.

“I don’t get why we don’t pay our artists,” another student named Maya questioned aloud to the crowd. “Because we kind of run the world!”

On and off Monday’s makeshift Audubon Street stage (a nearby windowsill on which students stood in search of a platform), students described the department head system as a key way to help students who often feel isolated by traditional educational pathways to find a means forward in the field of their choice.

Phoenix Geyser, a 17-year-old senior pianist at ECA, credited her department head with helping her navigate persistent health issues and the complexities of applying to college as a homeschooled student of a single mom.

“When I first came to ECA, I had post concussive syndrome. It’s ironic, because I’m a musician, but I couldn’t handle a lot of loud noise and had a lot of trouble navigating spaces with a lot of people.” Fortunately, one of her trusted teachers was also the head of her department. The department head helped her swap courses to accommodate her head injury, switching out percussion ensemble, for instance, for a choir class.

Later in her high school career, Geyser struggled with considering college applications as a homeschooled kid without a standard school advisor.

Her department head worked overtime to guide her through the process, Geyser said. Next year, Geyser will start studying piano at the Boston Conservatory. “It’s basically all because of her,” she said of her teacher.

Students repeatedly told stories of how the department heads faced with the administrative realities of persistently shrinking budgets brought their passion for both their students and their craft to create solutions, like meeting with teens one-on-one to personally connect kids who couldn’t afford supplies not provided by the school with materials from their own home.