“The “American Dream” has long been an “African American Nightmare” with Black and Brown bodies serving as the human currency for mass community supervision as well as mass incarceration fueling the “playground to prison pipeline.” ”
The project design as a safe space engages the participants in critical conversations. Serving as a catalyst for personal and professional growth empowering churches to better serve those directly and indirectly impacted by the carceral system through community collaborations is our goal.
Inviting returning citizens to share the many ways their lived experiences affected by probation prison parole and reentry caused the “American Dream” to become an “African American Nightmare” is essential for the success of this project. The reflections of resilient African American women and men sharing their lived experiences via a series of Podcast (12) titled Dialogues with the Disinherited: Disrupting the “Playground to Prison Pipeline” will open doors for community wide engagement of this population going far beyond food pantries and clothes closets. Shifting the shape of communities of color requires addressing short-term needs and long-term needs charity and justice as the two feet Christian Service are essential.