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Words Matter by Patrick Rodriguez
“Put your hands behind your back!” “Stop right there, inmate!” “Everyone on the ground!” “You have 3 minutes to eat. Hurry up! Let’s go!” “Wake up. It’s time to go to court!” “I have Mr. Rodriguez here for the crimes listed. Mr. Rodriguez, were you using those drugs? Mr. Rodriguez, were you selling those drugs?”…
Path Toward Peace by Michael Clark
One of the first questions people ask me when they find out I went to prison is: “How did you feel when you got out?” I often wonder if people expect me to tell them how great I felt about my newfound freedom. But the truth is my first year out of prison was quite…
The Post-Pandemic Path by Michael Clark
It is with immense honor and gratitude that I find myself writing this column for the community that has supported and become a second family to me over the past year. My journey with Common Good Atlanta started last year after I applied and got rejected from the college I previously attended. I wanted to…
Congratulations Class of 2020!
On March 4, 2021, the team and faculty of Common Good Atlanta gathered via Zoom to honor and celebrate the participants and graduates of the 2020 Clemente Course in the Humanities at Metro Reentry Facility. Before the guests joined in on the event, the graduates were patiently seated, dressed in their caps and gowns in…
COMMON GOOD ALUMNI FEATURED IN POETRY MAGAZINE
The February 2021 issue of Poetry Magazine is dedicated to poetry + art by incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and families, loved ones and educators. This new issue features poems written by three Common Good Atlanta alumni, Janine Solursh, Jennifer Demott, and Pam Cochran. Read More FORGOTTEN PORTRAITS BY JANINE SOLURSH Suddenly nobody knows where…
Seeking Friendly Justice: A Response to Mary Sharif’s Aristotle Courses
According to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, justice is associated with the people who are just. Aristotle’s philosophy asks readers to consider what friendship looks like and how friendliness affects both our reasoning and our sense of social equality. At the same time, friendship allows us to answer an unconventional but civil question: are we friendly advocates…
Lifer’s Graduation Speech
By Jason, Common Good Atlanta student How do you explain the casual way in which you threw away your life? Answering that question honestly took years of struggling with my own failings. It was not easy, and I did not enjoy it. But I had to. That was the question I had to answer for…
Research as a Form of Liberation: A Reflection of English 1102
By Declaration, Common Good Atlanta student As a college in prison program, we have access to two libraries within the prison: one traditional, the other radical. The traditional library includes books that are donated to help people in prison pass the time. They include mainly older novels and other books from the public’s bookshelves. But…
One Big Wow: Crossing Thresholds with MERE WORDS by Dr. Caroline Young
In an early morning of May 2017 before a visit to Phillips State Prison, I had a waking dream. It would be my first visit to the men’s facility, and I was nervous I would forget some of the artwork I was delivering to students there. In the dream, I arrived at the prison only…
“You Can’t Be A Talking Head”: Acting Class for The Tempest Continues
Acting instructor John Frazier gives the students instructions for an exercise: “Pick a word from your chosen monologue, just one word, and keep repeating it.” A storm of words springs forth from the students and fills the room: monster, roaring, devil, listen, overthrown, first, hunted, Lord. “The word creates a feeling and focus and sense of…
