Songwriter Kenyatta Emmanuel is an artist and activist who has shared his music from Sing Sing to Carnegie Hall, offering a full live concert the same day of his release after serving 24½ years in prison. His music and message… Continue Reading
Isaias Umali III is a New York native, guitarist, composer, and occasional visual artist, Isaias discovered music at a young age when he was introduced to the family stereo system to keep him quiet in the house. Influenced by Jazz, Classical,… Continue Reading
Robbie Pollock is a multidisciplinary teaching artist who uses his lived experience to promote creative vulnerability as a tool for personal growth and societal change. He’s the Prison Writing Program Manager at PEN America and he collaborates with educators, arts,… Continue Reading
Ivan Calaff is a Research Assistant at the Social Relations Lab at Columbia University. Since joining the lab in August, Ivan has served as a teaching assistant for courses at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Ivan is interested in Social Justice… Continue Reading
Bruce Western is the Bryce Professor of Sociology and Social Justice and Co-Director of the Justice Lab at Columbia University. His research has examined the causes, scope, and consequences of the historic growth in U.S. prison populations. Current projects include… Continue Reading
Chijindu ‘Jindu’ Obiofuma is a movement researcher who enjoys writing, thinking and convening groups around issues related to the abolition of the criminal legal system. Following her graduation from Columbia Law School, Jindu began her career as a fellow at… Continue Reading
At age 13, Ian Manuel was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for attempted murder after his participation in a botched robbery. Manuel served 26 years in prison until Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative secured his… Continue Reading
Cheryl Wilkins is the Senior Director of Education and Programs at Columbia University’s Center for Justice where her work is committed to reducing the nation’s reliance on incarceration, developing new approaches to safety and justice, and participating in the national… Continue Reading
Alexis Hoag is the inaugural Practitioner-in-Residence at the Eric H. Holder Jr. Initiative for Civil and Political Rights. She spent over a decade as a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer, primarily representing capitally convicted clients in federal post-conviction proceedings.… Continue Reading
Bernard E. Harcourt is a contemporary critical theorist and social justice advocate. Harcourt is the Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. He is the founding director of the Columbia Center for… Continue Reading