{"id":50815,"date":"2019-12-10T18:05:24","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T18:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/cnv\/?p=50815"},"modified":"2019-12-31T18:33:26","modified_gmt":"2019-12-31T18:33:26","slug":"my-morning-of-peace-at-stateville-correctional-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/cnv\/2019\/12\/my-morning-of-peace-at-stateville-correctional-center\/","title":{"rendered":"My morning of peace at Stateville Correctional Center"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Jamal greeted me with a smile and firm handshake, the first of several that we exchanged. He explained that he was dressed in white because he works in the kitchen. Sporting a neatly trimmed, gray-flecked beard and a dark blue stocking cap, Jamal confided, \u201cI\u2019m 36 years old and have spent half my life in prison. I\u2019ve got 40 years left, but because my family has resources, I\u2019m working with an attorney to have a judge evaluate the remainder of my sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born and raised in Chicago\u2019s Back of the Yards neighborhood, Jamal\u2019s enrolled in a master\u2019s degree program conducted at Stateville Correctional Center by North Park University. North Park, on Chicago\u2019s north side, has 3,200 students and is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I met Jamal and 30 of his classmates as part of a half-day spent with Henry Cervantes, the Peace Exchange Program Manager and an adjunct professor with North Park. I shadow Henry a lot \u2014 regularly in my role as an advisor to the Peace Exchange and our school-based Speaking Peace<\/em> program\u2014and on two occasions in Cook County Jail where Henry teaches weekly classes on peace and nonviolence. I was particularly interested in comparing the conflict prevention and resolution skills Henry and his team teach to Chicago elementary school students to those taught to the men of the Stateville\/North Park program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday morning, Dec. 3, I rendezvoused with Henry in the Stateville visitor center where we were joined by Professor Kim Schiller and Dr. Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom, the program\u2019s director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one, certainly not a visitor, casually strolls into a correctional facility, particularly if it\u2019s one of Illinois\u2019s three maximum-security prisons (Menard and Pontiac are the other two). After storing phones, car keys, and loose change in a coin-operated locker, we were issued badges and sent into gender-specific rooms to be patted down. We then exited the visitor center and walked a short distance to a large building attached to the prison\u2019s 33-foot-high wall. We passed through three large, manned gates where our IDs were checked against the permission slips Michelle was carrying. We left this building and walked between the exercise yards and inmate barracks until we arrived at the building housing Stateville\u2019s classrooms. Our IDs were once again checked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We entered a common area outside the classrooms and were immediately greeted by the students. Each man \u2014 there were roughly 30 \u2014 introduced himself with a warm smile and firm handshake. Henry had told me a bit about a few of them, so I enjoyed attaching faces to Nacho, Jason, David, and Mr. Rusty. This fellowship\/greeting period lasted a full 30 minutes before we took our seats in the classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two students with Dr. Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom. (WNV\/Karl Clifton-Soderstrom)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
By my estimate, two-thirds of the men were African-Americans with the balance split evenly between Latinos and whites. I\u2019m terrible at guessing ages, but the men appeared to range from 30-something to 60-something. To apply for the program, inmates must demonstrate good behavior and have at least 15 years left on their sentence; there\u2019s a waiting list. At various points, I overheard references to time served: 18, 25, 30 years. In addition to the men and teaching staff, the class also included four women who are pursuing a MA in Christian ministry with a Restorative Arts track from North Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was offered and happily accepted a seat in the front row between Jamal and David. Turns out I was ideally situated to observe two end-of-term skits and discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Skit 1: \u201cYou owe me two packs!\u201d<\/strong> The group of six acted out a situation in which \u201ca neutral third party discovers a conflict between two parties.\u201d In this particular scenario, two men had waged two packs of noodles on something to do with a television commercial. Speaking and acting aggressively, the man who\u2019d won the bet confronted the man who\u2019d lost. His actions elicited similar actions from the bet\u2019s loser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before starting the skit, a group member shared the conflict resolution steps they would be demonstrating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A neutral third party (N3P) helps establish space, calm and order.<\/li>
The N3P gains understanding of the situation by giving both parties an opportunity to express themselves.<\/li>
The N3P helps figure out what each party needs.<\/li>
The N3P brokers solutions.<\/li>
Later, the N3P follows up to insure the agreed-upon solution works. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
The group said they\u2019d really wrestled with describing conflict and violence and had arrived at these definitions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conflict: A source of contention, disagreement or misunderstanding between persons without resolution.<\/li>
Violence: An act or setting that possibly causes harm or injury to yourself of others. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Skit 2: \u201cPhone check, Homie!\u201d <\/strong>Before the skit started, Jason took a minute to explain how phone calls in prison work. In the past, a 30-minute phone call (called a \u201cclick\u201d) cost over $10. Today that same phone call costs $0.31 \u2014 yep, a penny a minute. The downside is that demand at the new price has outstripped supply: the number of phones hasn\u2019t increased but conflicts over their use have. With that background, here\u2019s the skit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three men walk into the room. David\u2019s got a list of men in the order in which they\u2019ll use the phone. The first man\u2014Jason\u2014completes his call, then lets the next man know that it\u2019s his turn. Caller 2 isn\u2019t quite ready to use the phone and responds, \u201cI\u2019ll get to it in a couple of minutes.\u201d <\/li>
From \u201coffstage\u201d, Alex, who isn\u2019t on the list, walks up to the phone, sees that it\u2019s unused, and makes a call. <\/li>
Now ready to make his call, Caller 2 confronts Alex and states the phone belongs to him for the next click. Already on a call, Alex responds aggressively which prompts a similar response from caller 2. <\/li>
David, the keeper of the list, and Jason, the first caller, step between the men and restrain them. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
As part of unwrapping skit 2, Alex outlined the five steps of escalation, starting with confrontation and ending with physical altercation. The group then explained what they felt to be the keys to resolving conflicts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Know oneself, \u201cAm I the right person to step into this conflict?\u201d<\/li>
Know all parties to the conflict, including the environment.<\/li>
Use positive, affirming words.<\/li>
Know when to walk away.<\/li>
Seek understanding.<\/li>
Be aware of body language: \u201cDon\u2019t talk with your hands.\u201d<\/li>
Be humble.<\/li>
Restate what you heard.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Both skits prompted wide-ranging and passionate discussions. Again and again, I was struck by the thoughtfulness of the remarks and how respectfully the men listened to one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professor Schiller initiated a passionate discussion with the question, \u201cDo we ever deserve violence?\u201d The students used real-world examples of domestic violence and gang violence to illustrate and support their opinions. The conversations were animated but always respectful and I noticed two of the most outspoken participants \u2014 one African American, one Latino \u2014 embrace after the debate. One of the older men shared with me, \u201cIncarceration, prison \u2014 it\u2019s dehumanizing. We re-humanize each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During their two-week trip to Rwanda this summer, on the 25th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, our Peace Builders \u2014 part of the Peace Exchange\u2019s leadership development program \u2014 witnessed a remarkable example of forgiveness. In a visit to a reconciliation village, they met 61-year-old Maria and 44-year-old Philbert. As a teenager during the genocide, Philbert killed Maria\u2019s husband and three of her children. Sentenced by a \u201cGacaca\u201d court to prison, Philbert was sent to live in Maria\u2019s village when he was paroled. Many years later, Maria, a woman of great faith, had forgiven Philbert to the point where she asked him to emcee the wedding of her surviving daughter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect on my morning at Stateville and think about Maria\u2019s story, I keep returning to the same conclusion: we need these men back in their communities nurturing and guiding their children, their neighbors\u2019 children, and their neighborhoods\u2019 children. As young men in their teens and early twenties, they did some terrible things, murder among them. Could I forgive the killer if one of the victims had been my child? Perhaps, but only if I was convinced that the older, wiser man exiting the prison was substantially different from the young man who entered it. I believe I saw signs of that transformation in the students seated in the Stateville classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Jamal put it, \u201cWhen I get out, I want to help with violence prevention and interruption. I don\u2019t want anyone else to do what I did. If I only knew then what I know now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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