Inside-Out Regional Meeting 2011

Katie D.

February 18, 2011 - 4:41 PM

Today concludes the second annual Inside-Out Northwest Hub meeting. For the past three days, I have been living Inside-Out in Oregon with every moment: attending events and meetings and building the network that will support and expand Inside-Out's mission in Oregon for years to come.

The Hub events began on Thursday night, when Inside-Out Founder and National Director, Lori Pompa, spoke at the Law School. Her event was entitled "Education and Encounter: Turned Inside-Out." She addressed the need for transformative and engaging pedagogy, and the creation of a nationwide program that has truly caused a revolution in the lives of so many. She described her own path to her current position as a national leader, and led the audience in considering the importance of education to the lives of men and women imprisoned in this country by bringing their stories into the room.

With that uplifting beginning, we held an engaged and forward-thinking series of events for the next two days. On Friday we spent the day at the University of Oregon, meeting with members of Inside-Out from around Oregon to build a narrative for our future goals in the program. In addition to the national leadership of Lori Pompa and Melissa Crabbe, we also had in attendance members of four different colleges and universities, as well as representatives from the Oregon Department of Corrections. We discussed our visions for Inside-Out, and the various paths to expanding the program we hope to undertake in the coming years.

I feel so lucky to be a part of this regional community. People shared their stories and the impact Inside-Out has had on their personal and professional lives. We heard from past students and current faculty members, who spoke to the profound impact the Inside-Out classes have had for their understanding of the world and their mission for their own lives. My favorite moment was when the representative from the Department of Corrections addressed her perspective on the power of Inside-Out to bring the attitude of the outside world into the prison, and the impact this has had on the inmate population. She spoke to the power and importance of education, and the need to maintain contact with the outside world so that those who are incarcerated can maintain a human connection with normal society. I am so glad to have her support for our program, and that we heard her voice in the course of our meetings.

Many important things happened during the course of the weekend. The two key pieces, for me, were the meetings with past students from the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Chemeketa Community College; and our meeting held at the Oregon State Penitentiary this afternoon.

As alumni of the program, we are working hard to create means of continued involvement with the program and with the cause of transformative education and encounter in carceral settings (and elsewhere). We also have a profound desire to connect with one another, and to find meaning and connection in one another's experiences. Many alumni attended the Friday meetings, and their perspective is invaluable to the work of Inside-Out. We also had two hours dedicated to alumni conversations, in which we discussed our vision for future activities and the values we will bring forward from our Inside-Out experiences. I cannot wait to go to work with these fabulous students from all over the state.

Today we met at the Oregon State Penitentiary with the Think Tank of inside students forming to direct the program from the inside perspective. We were a group of about thirty: fifteen men incarcerated at OSP and fifteen members of the Inside-Out community. Over the next years of Inside-Out, we hope that the Think Tank will develop projects, give leadership and feedback to program structures, and engage in the training of new Inside-Out instructors to teach classes. These men are individuals who have already taken multiple Inside-Out classes, and some are nearing completion of an Associate's Degree through Chemeketa. They have made a commitment to education, and have the venue now to pursue it.

I have written before about the profound humility I feel in this network of the Inside-Out community. I am a single piece within the framework of commitment and creativity of the leaders from all these educational institutions and those who lead from within the prison. This weekend I also felt the pride at my work and at the things we have built together. Expect more and more news and growth in the years ahead.

As always, I will keep you posted.