PROJECT IDENTITY

Project Identity provides an avenue for connection and exchange between Columbia University students (Columbia Partners) and young adults in our community impacted by the criminal justice system (Community Partners).

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My sister’s keeper: Why Obama’s initiative for young men is also good for young women

"My Brother's Keeper," President Obama's new initiative aimed at black boys and young men, could address a long-standing concern for black women.

"As the father of two black girls and someone who grew up without his biological father, I’m guessing Obama understands the importance of his presence in his daughters’ lives. It would be great to see the current generation of black young men also grow up to become positive male role models for the boys and the girls of the next generation."

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Obama bans solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons

Sweeping new rules also curb isolation for adult inmates, limit time for first offense to 60 days, rather than 365.

Taken from Obama's op-ed in the Washington Post:

"The United States is a nation of second chances, but the experience of solitary confinement too often undercuts that second chance. Those who do make it out often have trouble holding down jobs, reuniting with family and becoming productive members of society. Imagine having served your time and then being unable to hand change over to a customer or look your wife in the eye or hug your children."

Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/29a361f2-c384-11e5-8965-06…

And read this article about Obama's decision below: https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/056e14b2-c3a2-11e5-9693-93…

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Why I’m teaching prisoners to code

Chris Redlitz of The Last Mile describes the thinking behind a program to rehabilitate prisoners — by teaching them to code.

"These men were committed to learning how they could create a better life after they served their time...None of our graduates have gone back to jail."

An Intro to Coding Workshop for our Community Partners is just one of the ideas that Project Identity has for fun, engaging, and useful sessions!

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America has locked up so many black people it has warped our sense of reality

We've been totally underestimating how bad things are for African-Americans

"Over the past 40 years, the prison population has quintupled. As a consequence of disparities in arrests and sentencing, this eruption has disproportionately affected black communities. Black men are imprisoned at six times the rate of white men.

In 2003, the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that black men have a 1 in 3 chance of going to federal or state prison in their lifetimes. For some high-risk groups, the economic consequences have been staggering. According to Census data from 2014, there are more young black high school dropouts in prison than have jobs."

Project Identity aims to help those who have been affected by this unjust system. Email us at [email protected] for more information.

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The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration

Politicians are suddenly eager to disown failed policies on American prisons, but they have failed to reckon with the history. Reconsidering Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s report on “The Negro Family,” 50 years later.

“American politicians are now eager to disown a failed criminal-justice system that’s left the U.S. with the largest incarcerated population in the world. But they’ve failed to reckon with history.”

Interested in reading something thought-provoking this morning? Read this.

Interested in doing something about it?

Join Project Identity! Stay tuned for upcoming events and ways to get involved.

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Check out this short video from The Atlantic in which author and black scholar Ta-Nehisi Coates talks about how the historical pathologization of black people in the U.S. has been used to criminalize them and justify their mass incarceration. The narrative of black people as inherently criminal is socially constructed and has a lasting, detrimental effect on black lives.

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Beyond the Bars: Transforming (In)justice

Hello friends of Project Identity! Interested in learning more about the criminal justice system?

Sign up for the FREE "BEYOND THE BARS: TRANSFORMING (IN)JUSTICE" conference being held from March 6-8th at Columbia University. The student-driven, interdisciplinary conference features a number of workshops and panels like "Sentencing and Parole Reform" and "Alternatives to Incarceration: Inside and Outside the Criminal Justice System" that serve to challenge the status quo and inspire equitable social justice reform. Click the link to learn more about the conference and register!

http://centerforjustice.columbia.edu/event/beyond-bars-2015/

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Project Identity had a discussion about the Black Lives Matter movement and the broader efforts being made towards achieving social justice and equity in the U.S. Both Community and Columbia Partners discussed their self-perceived vs. societal perceptions of individual identity and how we are affected because of what we look like. For many of our Community Partners, this was the first time talking more in-depth about identity-based inequity, even though our Community partners share identities that are the most marginalized and oppressed in the U.S. To better situate ourselves within the broader conversation of identity-based inequity, we formed smaller groups that would each come up with 3 suggestions for the domestic and international community to enact. The result was everyone feeling more thoughtful and empowered to face these challenges on both a personal and societal level. In the attached image, take a look at 2 of the groups presenting their ideas to rest of Project Identity. Some of the suggestions were: requiring each citizen to spend a year abroad to diversify their perceptions of people of different backgrounds, having need-based funding in addition to tax-based funding for public schools, requiring officers to wear body cameras and voice-recorders, diversifying and increasing the length of training required to become a police officer, giving reparations to those who have been affected by systemic oppressions, etc. What would you suggest?

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Project Identity celebrated Friendsgiving Family Dinner together. We all cooked various dishes such as baked mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, stuffing, ziti, chicken, etc. to bond and share a meal before the holidays.

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Music Production Workshop

A huge part of Project Identity is hosting workshops that caters to interests and goals of Community Partners through fun, engaging ways. Many of our Community Partners have an interest in music so what better way to support them than hosting a music workshop and encouraging them pursue their passions with more fervor?! Check out some of the images from our workshop below!

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Project Identity takes to the court after a workshop on the how-to, what and why of applying to college! 

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About Project Identity

Project Identity provides an avenue for friendships between Columbia Students, and young adults in our local community impacted by the criminal justice system. We connect with our participants through mutual interests such as music workshops, sports games, and cook offs. We fuel these connections through dialogue and ongoing support for the participants’ educational, personal, and professional endeavors. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, Children’s Village, and Community Impact, we will connect those involved in the program with the resources to pursue their passions, education, and careers. Project Identity’s programs include a series of small and large group events to foster relationships between ‘campus partners’ and ‘community partners’, as well as within the larger program family. The Department of Justice and Children’s Village will train the ‘campus partners’ in newly researched educational models and techniques. Partners will meet for the first time in October at a kick-off event where each person will learn about their new community members. Our partner events will occur on the first and third week of the month for the semester. Each event will focus on a new topic or theme be it community service, music, sports, or education.

Please follow our Facebook page our email us at [email protected].