Episode 5: Bead by Bead
When James Price first learned how to bead, he was incarcerated at the Stanley Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. He had been told his whole life that he was not patient, but as he is tutored in beadwork by a group of Native American men, he discovers a history he wasn't taught in school. And, “bead by bead,” he also learns new things about himself.
Once he was released, James attended a college course on Native American history as part of the Educational Preparedness Program (EPP) at Marquette University. This humanities program integrates students on Marquette’s campus in Milwaukee with currently and formerly incarcerated students to create blended classrooms where all kinds of knowledge and experience come together, offering everyone a chance to see themselves as an intellectual. In this episode, we talk with professors and program co-founders Teresa Tobin and Rob Smith. As Prof. Smith tells us, the work of the humanities — understanding the human condition — is critical in today’s conversation around prisons.
Episode Extras!
The Power of Education
Going Deeper
In this episode, we hear from James Price, who became a student in the EPP program after he was incarcerated. After learning to bead from fellow prisoners, he jumps at the chance to take a course on Native American history co-taught by Brian Rindfleisch and Wade Fernandez. Adam Carr got to visit the class and record his conversation with Wade and Brian, but we didn't have time to include it in the final cut of the episode. But you can listen to a snippet of their conversation by clicking the link below!
About the EPP students, Wade said, "And it's almost like they were waiting for somebody to unlock that, you know? Waiting for somebody to say that [they] are intelligent because they, they truly are. I really think they're more wise because they've lived and they know what it's like to be intelligent. You know, to go down to the bottom and to find your way back up."
Brian said, "In my more than a decade of teaching I've never had a class like that before."
Listen to a special bonus audio snippet
of Wade and Brian's conversation!
Listen now ➞
Brian Rindfleisch is an associate professor of history at Marquette with a special focus on 14th-18th century American history.
Wade Fernandez is a Menominee Tribal member and tours internationally performing his music. He has been a teaching faculty member at Marquette University since 2021. Hear his music and learn more here.
Episode Guests
Rob
Dr. Robert S. Smith is the Director of the Center for Urban Research, Teaching & Outreach and Harry G. John Professor of History at Marquette University. His research and teaching interests include African American history, civil rights history, and exploring the intersections of race and law. Rob is the author of Black Liberation from Reconstruction to Black Lives Matter in the Debating American History Series, and Race, Labor & Civil Rights: Griggs v. Duke Power and the Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity. Rob also serves on the Board of Curators for the Wisconsin Historical Society, is the Resident Historian for America’s Black Holocaust Museum, and is Chair of the Milwaukee County Human Rights Commission.
Theresa
Dr. Theresa W. Tobin is Associate Professor of Philosophy and the Director of the Education Preparedness Program (EPP) at the Center for Urban Research, Teaching & Outreach.Theresa's academic research focuses on contemporary ethics with a special focus on ethical questions that arise at the intersections of gender, sexuality, religion and culture. She has written articles on themes related to gender, moral trust, and the nature and moral significance of spiritual violence for Hypatia, Metaphilosophy, Social Theory and Practice, and Human Rights Review.
James
James Price was a student in the Education Preparedness Program at Marquette University. He learned to bead at the Stanley Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. James works as a violence interrupter at 414Life, connected to the City of Milwaukee’s Blueprint for Peace.
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Episode Credits
Hosts: Adam Carr and Dasha Kelly Hamilton
Senior Producer: Craig Eley
Producers: Jen Rubin and Jade Iseri-Ramos
Executive Producers: Dena Wortzel
Creative Producer: Jessica Becker
Photography: Used with permission
