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Building Bridges, Changing the Narrative: Branson's E. E. 福特的同伴
Jenni Owen-Blackmon

On a quiet campus nestled among verdant hills in Marin County, 加州, 十大网赌平台推荐学校是一个由高中生和教师组成的紧密社区,在这里接受世界一流的教育. 十大网赌平台推荐的使命是“培养学生通过正直的生活对世界产生积极影响”, 目的, 学习, 和快乐.正规赌博十大平台排行以广阔的世界观和对自身人性的深刻理解,认真对待“成长为好人”的责任.

就在六英里之外, 圣昆廷州立监狱坐落在旧金山湾岸边的显眼位置. The austere buildings, 带刺铁丝栅栏, 加州最古老的监狱里的探照灯与田园诗般的环境形成了鲜明的对比.

十大网赌平台推荐校长克里斯·马佐拉说:“正规赌博十大平台排行每周都要开车经过圣昆廷好几次。. “We don’t think about it. 对我来说,把它带给孩子们,让正规赌博十大平台排行的学生意识到这一点很重要.”

Background

Eric Abercrombie 和 Antwan Williams perform at San Quentin

埃里克·“玛莎拉蒂- e”·阿伯克龙比和安特万·“班克斯”·威廉姆斯在圣昆廷监狱表演.

In 2017, Mazzola was invited to San Quentin to attend a performance of the Shakespeare at San Quentin 程序. In this oppressive place, 被监禁的人一边表演莎士比亚戏剧,一边表演他们自己故事的“平行戏剧”, 这些男人之间有一种归属感和脆弱感,这是她从未预料到的. “It changed me,” she recounts. “I had to get involved.”

In 2019, 她和英语系主席贾尔斯·斯科特共同开设了十大网赌平台推荐的第一个“莎士比亚与社会正义”课程. 合作 Shakespeare at San Quentin, Branson students gained a unique perspective on social justice, 监禁, 和 – most of all – our shared humanity. During this collaboration, two incarcerated men, Antwan “Banks” Williams 和 Eric “Maserati-E” Abercrombie, 分享他们的艺术才华,并与学生和老师建立了牢固的联系. Within weeks of their release from San Quentin, 威廉姆斯和阿伯克龙比以归国公民的身份访问了十大网赌平台推荐,分享了他们十大网赌平台推荐社会愈合与和解的信息,并在学生集会上表演了他们的音乐. As you’ll see from the testimonials captured in this video (filmed at Branson 和 other Marin schools), the impact was profound.

As Branson students subsequently wrote in their grant proposal to the 爱德华·E. 福特基金会, “正规赌博十大平台排行相信,最有力的改变途径——无论是在刑事司法系统方面,还是在正规赌博十大平台排行对被监禁者及其罪行的误解方面——就是让正规赌博十大平台排行的社区团结起来,共同分享, 学习, 讲故事, 和教学. 通过在圣昆廷监狱的工作,正规赌博十大平台排行发现,这些简单的人际关系以强大的方式将正规赌博十大平台排行彼此联系在一起,并改变正规赌博十大平台排行每个人.”

E. E. 福特的同伴 Program

今天,E. E. 福特的同伴 程序 at Branson doesn’t just talk about social justice as an intellectual abstraction; it makes it real. It demonstrates how social justice impacts people – all people. It’s about embedding it in a privileged community. 它是十大网赌平台推荐拥抱正规赌博十大平台排行共同的人性——使正规赌博十大平台排行更相似而不是不同的东西——并认识到生活中两条道路之间的距离并不总是像正规赌博十大平台排行所习惯于相信的那样遥远. 这关乎赋予归国公民权力,支持他们发挥潜力. It’s about belonging. And ultimately, it’s about healing.

“所有这些都是至关重要的,因为它改变了围绕在监狱里的人的叙述-他们不能做到, or can’t be forgiven, 或者是坏人. It contextualizes – how did this come to be? 它鼓励学生和归国公民以一种完全不同的方式参与社会正义工作,——克里斯·马佐拉

EE 福特的同伴 和 Branson faculty/leadership

从左到右. E. Ford Fellow Antwan "Banks" Williams, Branson Head of School Chris Mazzola, E. E. Ford Fellow Eric "Maserati-E" Abercrombie, Branson 音乐 Teacher Jaimeo Brown

Branson’s two inaugural E.E. 福特的同伴 are deeply eng年龄d in 和 committed to this work, through the lens of art, 音乐, 和 human connection:

Antwan “Banks” Williams is one of the founders of 耳边喧嚣, 这是一个以监狱生活的日常现实和外面的故事为中心的播客, post-监禁. An accomplished actor 和 dancer 和 talented visual artist, his fellowship includes teaching studio art, 代理, 和 音乐 in collaboration with Branson arts teachers. See his artwork here预览他的音乐.

Eric “Maserati-E” Abercrombie is a songwriter, pianist, guitarist, 和 音乐al producer. 作为研究员, he is working alongside Branson’s 音乐 teachers, teaching digital 音乐/audio production, 爵士乐, 和岩石. Sample his 音乐 here.

两人都热情地讲述了迄今为止与十大网赌平台推荐学生合作的经历,以及他们在圣昆廷监狱的持续工作,以及对被监禁和获释公民的支持。

“我是一个艺术家. 总之,正规赌博十大平台排行的工作都是十大网赌平台推荐社会愈合和社会理解,”威廉姆斯说. “我的经历可能会有所不同,但在某些方面,它仍然与校园学生的经历相似. 在一起,正规赌博十大平台排行找到共同点,用正规赌博十大平台排行共同的核心价值观一起解决问题.”

“艺术一直是我生活中很重要的一部分,对我来说是最重要的,”Abercrombie说. “这是十大网赌平台推荐建立社区之间的桥梁,一个受系统影响的人之间的桥梁. We’re allowing them the platform to assist with their re-entry, encouraging each to use their abilities (mentoring, 训练。, audio engineering) 和 utilizing this to better the community.他继续说,“这些东西可以改变边缘化人群的叙事。. It goes to show what can come from being afforded the opportunity.”

期待

Open Mic:  Joaquin Aguillon '24 sings with Eric Abercrombie playing guitar

Branson student Joaquin Aguillon '24 performs on open mic with E. E. Ford Fellow Eric Abercrombie.

E. E. 福特的同伴 程序 is an important manifestation of Branson’s strategic plan, which states: “We believe that voices informed by different experiences, 背景, 和 points of view enhance the quality 和 depth of our student 学习, both in terms of classroom conversation 和 moral 和 ethical development. 如果没有与不同背景的人建立真正的联系,正规赌博十大平台排行的学生就无法发挥他们作为善解人意和有道德的领导者的潜力. We aim to embed students in contexts where transformative moments are possible.”

Some might see this 程序 as a risk; no other independent school is working with formerly incarcerated people in this way. “我认为,对任何有我经验的人抱有先入为主的观念或隐性偏见是完全可以理解的, 说阿伯克龙比. “我希望十大网赌平台推荐的父母们了解我是谁,我为什么在这里,以及知道他们的孩子将在一个安全且鼓舞人心的地方.”

Mazzola报告, “启动这个可能具有开创性的项目是一种多么美妙的感觉,在过去的六年里,这个项目吸引了我的想象力,并深入我的骨髓. We are grateful to the 爱德华·E. 福特基金会 for their unprecedented support of this project. I am e年龄r to scale this 程序 to other schools after we get our sea legs, 因为我相信它可以成为其他私立学校的一个变革性项目.”