The statistics are well known...Today in the United states there are 2.2 million people who are currently incarcerated. 6.2 million on parole and probations, 64 million people who have criminal records affecting their ability to find housing, receive food stamps, get jobs and vote. ;xNLx;We know that mass incarceration is not just about individual acts of criminality or individual responsibility. Rather, it confirms that the United States’ punishment system is a much larger problem, at the root of which is institutional and racial inequity. ;xNLx;The imprisoned body is one of the primary sites of carceral control, an elaborate choreography of containment and segregation. Behind prison walls, regimented rituals of eating, cleaning, labor and leisure curtail individual freedom of movement in the service of “orderly” systems, notating where and how one moves through space and time, shaping relations between objects, spaces, bodies. ;xNLx;;xNLx;Then how do incarcerated artists create work? How do inside and outside artists, working in an inhumane system, develop a creative process that supports humanity? How do outside artists use their platform to develop work inside facilities that critiques mass imprisonment and its conditions of emergence? How can the subversive role as artists ask more radical questions about the uses of locking people away in the first place? How does transmission occur when stage and audience are separated by a system of mass incarceration that disappears certain bodies? ;xNLx;;xNLx;The Performing Arts and Community Exchange strives to begin a collective process of political struggle where inside and outside students are working side by side collaborating on creative work that addresses the legacies of racism, white supremacy, segregation, disenfranchisement, and mass incarceration. ;xNLx;;xNLx;
The Performing Arts and Community Exchange (PACE) course was first offered in 2007. The syllabus is a continuous work in progress - updated annually with readings by system impacted scholars/artists and direct actions towards legislative change.
The statistics are well known...Today in the United states there are 2.2 million people who are currently incarcerated. 6.2 million on parole and probations, 64 million people who have criminal records affecting their ability to find housing, receive food stamps, get jobs and vote. We know that mass incarceration is not just about individual acts of criminality or individual responsibility. Rather, it confirms that the United States’ punishment system is a much larger problem, at the root of which is institutional and racial inequity. The imprisoned body is one of the primary sites of carceral control, an elaborate choreography of containment and segregation. Behind prison walls, regimented rituals of eating, cleaning, labor and leisure curtail individual freedom of movement in the service of “orderly” systems, notating where and how one moves through space and time, shaping relations between objects, spaces, bodies. Then how do incarcerated artists create work? How do inside and outside artists, working in an inhumane system, develop a creative process that supports humanity? How do outside artists use their platform to develop work inside facilities that critiques mass imprisonment and its conditions of emergence? How can the subversive role as artists ask more radical questions about the uses of locking people away in the first place? How does transmission occur when stage and audience are separated by a system of mass incarceration that disappears certain bodies? These are some of the questions that frame the creative collaborative work of PACE. The course has been offered annually since 2007, with the goal of smuggling the voices of incarcerated artists out—and to invite USF students and outside audience members to engage with those in prisons and jails as scholars and artists. PACE is a collaborative effort, many individuals have lent their scholarship, leadership and care to the course over the years. Gratitude to the following individuals for their role in shaping the course: Dr. Reggie Daniels, Reyna Brown, Rayvon Williamson, Freddy Gutierrez, Calina Lawrence, Nicky Martinez, Elle Jenson, Kaela Francesca, Emile DeWeaver, and many inside and outside students/artists. Artwork by Leticia Zepeda
In 2021 the PACE class was a collaboration between artists in the Central Valley Women's Facility and USF students. It was conducted via email and culminated in a zoom event attended by over 75 friends and family members. This website contains the videos, bios, writings, photos, and direct actions.
IMAGINE : Schools free of police and full of trained counselors and restorative-justice programs, where all our children are kept safe and their needs are met. IMAGINE : Easy access to trained, trauma-informed interventionists who can be called on in domestic-violence situations and who are equipped to facilitate long-term safety, healing, and prevention. IMAGINE : 911 operators dispatching unarmed mental-health experts instead of police in situations involving behavioral health crises, and callers being allowed to request responders that connect to the gender identity of the person in crisis. The BREATHE Act offers a radical reimagining of public safety, community care, and how we spend money as a society. We bring 4 simple ideas to the table: Divest federal resources from incarceration and policing. Invest in new, non-punitive, non-carceral approaches to community safety that lead states to shrink their criminal-legal systems and center the protection of Black lives—including Black mothers, Black trans people, and Black women. Allocate new money to build healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities. Hold political leaders to their promises and enhance the self-determination of all Black communities. Uprisings around the country changed what was possible. What felt impossible two months ago is being accomplished now; what seems impossible today is doable tomorrow, and we will be the ones to make it happen. We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.
written by Reggie Daniels, Amie Dowling, Oona Hatton, Troy Jones, Luke Padgett
First offered as an elective in 2007 under the name Community Crossover. The course has collaborated with artists in SF Jail #2, #5 and with previously incarcerated people. Click "find out more" to see how you can get involved
Here is a list of characteristics of white supremacy culture which show up in organizations. Culture is powerful precisely because it is so present and at the same time so very difficult to name or identify. The characteristics listed below are damaging because they are used as norms and standards without being pro-actively named or chosen by the group. They are damaging because they promote white supremacy thinking. They are damaging to both people of color and to white people. Organizations that are people of color-led or a majority people of color can also demonstrate many damaging characteristics of white supremacy culture.
We are inside and outside students in PACE- Inside the jail and outside at USF. Both groups are receiving credit for the course and are on equal footing as students. Labeling terms, such as convict, criminal, inmate, and prisoner, as well as any of the labels that are based on someone’s conviction or charge are aspects of the judicial system that dehumanize individuals. This issue is not intended as a “politically correct” position, it simply has to do with developing an atmosphere of respect in which communication and effective learning can be maximized.
Barring Freedom: UCSC- Emile DeWeaver Prison Renaissance
