BPI Celebrates 25 Years with Homecoming Event

On October 3, the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) community gathered for a Homecoming at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, to celebrate its 25-year milestone. For the last quarter century, BPI has defied the odds, transformed barriers into bridges, and embodied an unwavering commitment to rigorous, liberal arts education. Celebrating 25 years of BPI is a testament to the tenacity of the alumni/ae, students, faculty, and each and every person who has been a part of BPI over the years. Homecoming speakers included BPI alumni/ae; notable social justice activists, including voting rights icon and President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition Desmond Meade, founder of A New Way of Life Reentry Project Susan Burton, and Writer in Residence at the Columbia Justice Lab Square One Project and Senior Adviser to the Bard Microcolleges Vivian Nixon; as well as community partners such as Linda Johnson, CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), home of the Bard at BPL Microcollege. Crystal Hudson, council member for New York City’s district 35 (where BPL is located), also spoke and shared her support, and the event, which was attended by more than 450 people, was emceed by radio personality Angie Martinez, known as “The Voice of New York.” Homecoming was a moment of reflection and joy to celebrate the BPI community’s accomplishments while forging forward with radical imagination to define what comes next.

Post Date: 10-08-2024