A Day at Stateville is a short play detailing a newcomer’s first day at Stateville Correctional Facility in Joliet, Illinois. Conceived and written by men who participate in the prison’s “Life Transformation Through Communication” course and who are all doing natural life without parole, the play seeks to inspire community members to take action in reducing the number of at-risk youth from entering prisons, while also advocating for improving the daily conditions prisoners face.

Listen in for a special reading of A Day at Stateville, followed by an intergenerational conversation focusing on the needs of the youth and community to interrupt the schools-to-prison pipeline, take steps towards creating street peace, and to re-think safety while de-criminalizing our communities.

The reading features formerly incarcerated men Danny Franklin and Henry Robertson; as well as Alexandrea Navedo and Elijah Salaam, both Youth Leaders at Southwest Organizing Project and Outreach Workers at Safety Net Works. The post-reading conversation was moderated by Alice Kim, Director of The Public Square.  Special thanks to CAN-TV for providing this recording.

Recorded Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at Southwest Youth Collaborative.