Discussion Topics: rehabilitation and the carceral state | “Black Disfigurement” and language | higher education in prison | debate | writing and research process
Travels From: New York State
In 2017, Rodney Spivey-Jones graduated with a degree in Social Studies from Bard College through the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI). His story is featured throughout Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s award-winning documentary, College Behind Bars.
He was a founding member of the BPI Debate Union which in 2015 made international news for beating Harvard. His senior project, “Messianic Black Bodies,” featured in the Burns documentary, was edited to include current events and published as “Black Disfigurement and the American Hieroglyphics of Race” in the A-line Journal. He has also published “College Programs in Prison Show the Value of Educating Every American” in The Appeal.
Today, Spivey-Jones serves as the first Scholar-in-Residence at the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College and works with the Andrew Young Center to enhance Morehouse’s Higher Education in Prison (HEP) Programming. He also sits on the Board of Advisors for Ameelio, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening community ties with incarcerated people and expanding access to educational opportunities. He is also a member of a research team studying the civic and social effects of college-in-prison programs.
He is a frequent public speaker, traveling across the country to address students, communities, legislators, and conferences. He tutors at the BPI Micro-college in Harlem (Just Community Leadership) and is a writing consultant. He is writing his first book and plans to apply to law school. He lives in New York with his family.
Published Work:
