COURTESY OF SHANNON ROSS/THE COMMUNITY

Mass incarceration is an issue that affects all of us, whether we feel it or not. In Wisconsin, there are 35,000 people behind bars. That is nearly the population of Beloit. Wisconsin imprisons Black men at a higher rate than any other state.

How do humans retain their voices, express themselves creatively, and find meaning in dehumanizing conditions? How can the humanities help us envision a justice system that makes Wisconsin a better place for everyone?

Humanity Unlocked, the second season of our Human Powered podcast, brings these questions to the fore by highlighting the ideas and work of people inside and outside the carceral system who are dedicated to helping us think differently about people who are or have been imprisoned. From a storytelling workshop at Oakhill Correctional Institution, to a poetry workshop with people who were formerly incarcerated, to a conversation with writers and editors of prison newspapers, we are digging into the importance of the humanities as tools for understanding what it means to be human, valued, and free.

In Humanity Unlocked, we meet Robert Taliaferro and Shannon Ross, prison newspaper journalists who shaped stories for and about incarcerated people while on the inside. Robert was at the helm of The Prison Mirror, an award-winning newspaper in circulation since 1887. After meeting through the podcast, Shannon and Robert have teamed up in their post-carceral lives to continue to put the stories of people, not their crimes, at the center of The Community, an organization and newsletter Shannon founded that reaches half of the state’s prison population.

“If you don’t treat [people who are incarcerated] as human beings first and foremost they’re never going to get to ‘employee’ or ‘parent’ or ‘student’ or any other label or position you want in society,” says Shannon, who works to foster the potential of people with criminal records and the potential of communities to support them.

What would change if we made it a priority to recognize people as assets when they returned to their communities after serving their time? A piece of the answer could lie with Wisconsin Humanities’ new partnership with the University of Wisconsin’s Odyssey Beyond Bars (OBB) college jumpstart program for students incarcerated in Wisconsin prisons.

As a former student of Odyssey Beyond Bars at Oakhill Correctional Institution, Robert believes that for many incarcerated people, experience with the humanities like OBB offers could make a profound difference. Today he is a graduate student and on the planning committee with our staff for a national conference on the humanities and mass incarceration.

“I think education in prison is a necessity. Do we want people to come out of prison the same as they came in, or do we want them to come out and get jobs, pay taxes, and be responsible citizens?” Robert asks.

Wisconsin Humanities is helping OBB students use the humanities to reimagine, craft, and own new narratives about themselves. Love Wisconsin and Human Powered producer Jen Rubin uses her expertise to lead storytelling workshops for the OBB English 100 college-credit course at Columbia, Oakhill, and Racine Correctional facilities. In the span of three sessions, students write a story from their lives then step up to the mic and share it with fellow students and guests. Reading and listening to these stories can be a profound experience—one that we’ll be sharing more about in coming months.