Author: admin
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Our Roundtable Discussion – A Critique by Yusef Asad Madyun
A panel of respected inmates, differing in age, background and viewpoint, was assembled on Thursday, February 21, 2019, to discuss issues and address questions from the audience on the origin of Black History Month, and the critical state of affairs confronting the Black Community. Within the time frame allotted, this panel fared well. Naturally each…
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Comment by Darrion Benson who played the character Benson
“See Me!” were the final words I’d screamed doing my character’s monologue. It was important to me as a performer and a human being able to scream these words from a stage where people were more or less forced to listen to the words my soul has held in mantra for the past 10 years. …
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Black History Matters by Darius Franklin
After many years in the prison system and seeing Black History Month underappreciated, disrespected and barely acknowledged beyond slave matters, this past Black History Month was a monumental one for me. I experienced a series of actions and reactions that proved the cliche “If you believe you can achieve” to be true. About a month…
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The Committee on Black History Month Activities by Arnold Joyner
For the longest, the prison population of Illinois Department of Corrections has been forced out of participating in its Programming and Activities Committee. These programs and activities were and are a vital part of every prisoners rehabilitation errant. Prisoners can find a sense of values, principles and morals through watching other prisoners display acting abilities,…
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Publication Review
Publication Review Urban novels are one of the last true black enterprises left. Some writers of the genre embellish and glorify the violence and the negative attitudes in the urban communities, which distorts the urban reality beyond recognition. That’s cool for some, it’s their aim or style, a payday to help them climb out of…
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Being a Hospice/Adult Care Volunteer
My name is Bobby Luga. I am a hospice/ adult care volunteer here at Dixon Correctional Center which is two part program. The hospice part is essentially helping a patient/inmate who has been diagnosed as terminally ill to live out their final days as comfortably as possible, both physically and emotionally. The goal is to…
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What’s Missing from Prison Reform?
I am a participant in the program “Foundations for Life’ (FFL) here at Dixon Correctional Center. The goal of the program is “to develop and grow a framework for how to successfully move from inspiration to transformation.” This is achieved by putting Biblical wisdom into practice on a daily basis. Although FFL is a Christian…
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A Conversation with “The Sheik”
We at the Prison Exchange understand how important it is to give our insight to the outside communities from which we come. So it is an honor to introduce you to one of the most respected voices in the inside community, Yusuf. Yusuf has served more than 50 years and has touched many lives. He…
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Happy 2019 from Admin
We are really looking forward to 2019. Since our inception in 2016, we have been been posting essays and articles that reflect the insights of Illinois prisoners about prison life, culture and conditions. This year we will concentrate on the thoughts and ideas of IDOC prisoners concerning a very important topic, REFORM. The Federal Legislature…
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Brian Beals, Editor and Founder of Prisoner Exchange interviews Stanley “S-Man” Howard on August 31, 2018
P.E. brings you real insight from the inside with noted prisoner/activist Stanley “S-Man” Howard who is currently incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections in Dixon, Illinois. He talks with P.E. about his book “Tortured By Blue’” his life on death row and the fight to expose the Chicago Police torture scandal. TORTURED BY BLUE: …