Censored by Prisons, Censored by TedX*
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- Join incarcerated journalists Kwaneta Harris, Lyle C. May and Rayne Vylette as they illustrate the reach of the carceral system, from within the bowels of prisons where punitive policies incubate, to the free world where those same policies manifest in every home, work place, and community connected to an incarcerated person.
Specifically, the carceral system is a frontline for experiments in censorship and social control. Censored by Prisons, Censored by TedX* will present incarcerated speakers discussing specific penal policies that are being mirrored by laws in the larger society, laying bare how prison has metastasized into something that threatens free society, and what can be done to fight back. The speakers aim to better inform the public about the danger of carceral expansion and authoritarian control, using experiences in prison that connect with current affairs in the free world as examples. Harris, May and Vylette are taking significant risk to speak from their own experiences and warn the public about the loss of their rights under the guise of "safety" and "morality." Prisons are a public responsibility, a part of the community that can be a valuable resource for information if only the community is willing to listen.
*This speaker series was originally pitched to the TedX organization under the name TedX: Carceral State, but was rejected because the Carceral State is not a specific place. This is an independently produced event not affiliated in any way with Ted Talks or TedX.
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Speakers:
Kwaneta Harris (she/her) is a former nurse, business owner, and expat, now an incarcerated journalist, from Detroit. In her writing she illuminates how the experience of being incarcerated in the largest state prison in Texas is vastly different for women in ways that directly map onto a culture rooted in misogyny. Her stories expose how the intersection of gender, race, and place contribute to state-sanctioned, gender-based violence.
Harris is an abolition feminist and through her writing she offers a peek inside the brutal criminal legal system, with hope to reimagine effective non-carceral solutions for those who harm. She writes about abortion, censorship, and climate change and how they affect systems-impacted people. Her writings have appeared in PEN America, Truthout, Lux magazine, Prism, Appeal, Slate, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, Teen Vogue, and elsewhere. She was interviewed for a documentary by Al Jazeera about solitary confinement, in which she has been detained the last eight of her seventeen years incarcerated. She is currently working on a book about the youth from juvenile who are her neighbors in solitary confinement.
Lyle C. May is an Ohio University alum, member of the Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society, Authors Guild, and is currently finishing his Bachelors in Arts degree in Law and Sociology through Adams State University. An incarcerated journalist, abolitionist, and public speaker, May is also author of Witness: An Insider's Narrative of the Carceral State (Haymarket Books, 2024), and The Transformative Journey of Higher Education in Prison: A Class of One (Routledge Academic Press, 2024). For more information visit LyleCMay.com.
Rayne Vylette is a transgender woman and activist who is currently incarcerated again in Florida after violating probation. While free, she worked to advocate for the trans community by working to plan and create resources and participating in panels, such as the panel on surviving in prison as a trans woman, and how to stay safe. She is also a stylist and seamstress and loves to both dress well and to help others do the same. Rayne enjoys writing and public speaking, and is an active member and officer in her institution's Toastmasters Gavel Club. She also continues her advocacy while inside as a part of the Alyssa Rodriguez Center for Gender Justice.
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This event is co-sponsored by Haymarket Books, and Muslim Counterpublics Lab. While all of our events are freely available, we ask that those who are able make a solidarity donation in support of our important publishing and programming work.
So much respect to Kwaneta. We had the honor of collaborating with her for the socialism 2024
Conference but the phone quality was terrible. Still, it was a real life experience of the frustration of inside/outside organizing. She continues to resist despite being targeted for her organizing. Free them all.
These are legit people delivering in real time exposition of the brutal prison system. Trust!
This ain’t nothing but the truth! Believe it!
My 35 yr old grand daughter is in the county jail in Concord NC. I know first hand these women speak the truth!
I will continue to assert that President elect Kamala Harris won the 2024 election and that there exist NO laws against bombing all prisons and courthouses to free all prisons as long as politicians judges lawyers police officers deny Anthropogenic Global Warming and evolution and vaccines saving lives while hurting nobody.
Best wishes to the folks who resist from places with no hope. So Brave So Kind. Kudos Haymarket
Sorry I'm late watching! Thank you for providing this access to the silenced and marginalized. This is such a vital topic. 'Might is right' has ruled the world for so long you wonder what it would take to turn the tide. As someone in the chat said, TedX is a bit of a joke. They stay with indulgent bourgeois fluff and sensationalist gimmicks for so much of it.
Have yall ever heard of "abolition apostles"? They do a penpal exchange program. i just wondered if you had heard of them/worked with them, what did you think of them?