The film The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971), directed by Howard Alk, documents the assassination of the Black Panther leader Fred Hampton at the hands of the Chicago Police Department in 1969. Part documentary of the Chicago Black Panther Party, part investigation into Hampton’s… Read More
BPI Blog
Category: Announcements
Desmond Meade Will Give the Commencement Address for the 21st BPI Commencement
BPI is proud to announce Desmond Meade will give the commencement address for the 21st BPI Commencement at Eastern Correctional Facility on June 3rd, 2023, and will earn an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bard College. 63 incarcerated Bard students have earned degrees… Read More
International Congress on Higher Education in Prisons in Argentina, April 2023
BPI is pleased to announce that through support from the Open Society University Network (OSUN) and in partnership with Incarceration Nations Network (INN), we have funded an International Congress on Higher Education in Prisons that will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina this spring.… Read More
BPI Learning Commons Lead Position at Bard at BPL
The one-year, full-time (paid) Learning Commons Lead position supports BPI alumni interested in careers and/or further study in education to join the community of the Bard Microcollege at the Brooklyn Public Library from July 2021 to the end of June 2022. In this position,… Read More
Announcing the Bard Microcollege for Just Community Leadership
Bard College Launches the Nation’s First Tuition-Free College Dedicated to Advocacy, Arts, and Sciences HARLEM, N.Y. — The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) has announced the launch of its third tuition-free microcollege, which will open in Harlem this fall. The Bard Microcollege for Just Community Leadership will… Read More
Course Continuity
Last week BPI delivered 22 boxes of course material and supplies to the six prisons where we operate. Fortunately, students already had all of their course books for the semester. These new boxes included hundreds of individualized packets for students enrolled in 60 courses… Read More
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
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
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