The Conversation Project, presented by Oregon Humanities, continues on Wednesday, December 16, with a conversation on “Beyond Bars: Revisioning the Prison System.” This conversation will be presented by Portland State University Professor Walidah Imarisha for free from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Library’s Oak Room.
About the conversation:
What is the role that prisons serve in our country? Is it possible to envision a world where people are safe and secure and where there is accountability, but without a reliance on a prison system that may not reduce crime but, in some cases, actually cause it? Participants in this program will begin by exploring what they know about prisons. After a brief multimedia history of prisons and alternative justice systems, Walidah Imarisha, author and adjunct professor in Portland State University’s Black Studies Department, will lead a conversation about alternatives to incarceration.
About the presenter:
Walidah Imarisha has researched prison issues for more than ten years. She helped found the Human Rights Coalition, a prisoners’ family organization in Pennsylvania that now has three chapters. She has also facilitated writing workshops in correctional facilities and public schools. Imarisha was a founding editor of AWOL Magazine and co-edited the 9/11 anthology Another World is Possible. She developed and guest edited an edition of Left Turn Magazine that focused on alternatives to incarceration. Imarisha is an adjunct professor in Portland State University’s black studies department.
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The Conversation Project: A New Chautauqua offers free programs that engage community members in thoughtful, challenging conversations about ideas critical to our daily lives and our state’s future. Conversations are facilitated by some of Oregon’s most respected humanities scholars.
For more information, contact John Smith at 503-570-1594.
