Emergency and disaster planning professionals commonly recognize the necessity of community participation in research, policy implementation, and practices promoting effective disaster preparedness. This is particularly essential for institutions serving society’s most vulnerable populations: those in precarious housing situations. And though institutions that provide housing… Read More
BPI Blog
Tag: BPI
Still Behind Bars: Education and the Meaning of Freedom – A Passover Haggadah Supplement
Dear Friends, In 2014, BPI created a Haggadah supplement in partnership with Rev. Vivian Nixon, Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts II, Bard President Leon Botstein, and author Anya Kamenetz. Over the years, we have been delighted by the response and, following many requests, are pleased… Read More
Faculty Opinion: Pandemics, Prisons, and Public Health
Dr. Bob Fullilove has been Senior Advisor, Public Health Program at BPI for 10 years. He also is the Associate Dean, Community and Minority Affairs at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. He will be reflecting on the COVID-19 crisis in this space… Read More
Weathering the Storm
Dear Friend, Two weeks ago today was the last day BPI was physically in the prisons — our longest hiatus in 20 years. Immediately, there was more work to do than ever. Facing a crisis, we rallied quickly. With colleagues around the state, we began advocating… Read More
Alumni Opinion: Immediate Action Needed for people in NY Jails and Prisons
Through the COVID-19 crisis BPI alumni will be posting reflections about their work and response to the virus here. This is the first in a series. By Darren Mack, '13 Jails and prisons are hotbeds for the spread of coronavirus. Social distancing and self-isolation for the… Read More
Appeal to Governor Cuomo
On March 20th, our executive director joined leaders of a dozen other criminal justice agencies in New York -- all members of the Governor's Reentry Council -- urging Governor Cuomo to use his power and preempt a COVID crisis within the state prison system.… Read More
Sticking Together
Dear Friends, At BPI, our team takes pride in describing this work with language like proximity, community, and human touch. Yesterday, however, we made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend BPI operations within the prisons. The demand to ‘isolate’ contradicts every impulse. However, there is now an imperative to… Read More
BPI Alumnus Joe Williams ’13 Honored in Brooklyn
Congratulations to BPI alumnus Joe Williams '13 who was honored tonight at the Annual Black Leadership Celebration in Brooklyn, hosted by Councilman Antonio Reynoso and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez in recognition of his work in the community. Williams completed his Associate’s Degree with BPI in 2011… Read More
BPI Alumni Announce New IWT College Behind Bars Workshop for Teachers at UFT Film Event
BPI alumni Dyjuan Tatro and Giovannie Hernandez joined a United Federation of Teachers screening of College Behind Bars as part of UFT's Black History Month Film Series on February 27th and proudly announced to the audience of teachers that Bard College will be offering… Read More
College Behind Bars Coming to Holyoke Microcollege
Friday, March 20, 2020 1:30-3:30 p.m. Holyoke Library Community Room 250 Chestnut Street, Holyoke Please join us for a screening of highlights from the documentary film COLLEGE BEHIND BARS, about students in the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), one of the most rigorous prison education programs in America. The screening… Read More