Hi Debra,
 
You have articulated so well what I think is one of the fundamental issues of working with incarcerated women--the advocacy piece--both from the standpoint of serving as advocates for these women and then working with these women to help them learn how to advocate for themselves.  
 
Rachel Roth in her article "Do Prisoners have Abortion Rights?," which appeared in the Summer 2004 issue of Feminist Studies quoted Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), and I think Waters' quote is worth sharing with this group:  "I would rather not be here this time of the evening having to strike the last word to stand up for women who cannot stand up for themselves, but since there are those who have chosen to pick on the most vulnerable women, women in prison, those of us who are free, those of us who have a voice, must take this time to speak for those women."
 
In terms of advocacy, I often find myself approaching my work from the paradoxical standpoints of urgency and hesitancy.  I think in the moments of urgency it's because I feel I need to tell the world some piece of vital information.  For instance, when I learned that women inmates are often kept in leg shackles right up until the moment they give birth I e-mailed everyone I knew.  On a side note, this practice was actually discontinued at one hospital in Massachusetts, but only after the other non-imprisoned women on the maternity ward complained that the sounds of the leg shackles dragging on the floor were distracting them as they tried to give birth.  Even though they had tried previously, it wasn't the women inmates who succeeded in overturning this procedure--again Debra's e-mail speaks to this--who gets heard, seen, and believed.  I think my moments of urgency win out on those of hesitancy.  But the moments of hesitancy are valid as well because they serve to remind me that perhaps the story I am getting ready to share what would be better shared by an inmate herself rather than being filtered through my scholarly writing.  I do believe that keeping  this advocacy piece at the forefront of this work is motivating and incredibly important.
 
Best,
Dominique
 
  
________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Coe, Debra Merlino
Sent: Mon 2/12/2007 10:37 AM
To: The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 481] Re: Bars, Boundaries,and Barriers Researching Women's Spaces



Several years ago, I taught GED classes to women receiving TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).  Many of them had been incarcerated at one time or another.  Since I had them in class for 20 hours a week, we got to know each other quite well.  Using a functional literacy approach in which we learned the academic skills necessary to pass the GED exams within the context of "life skills" such as communication, job readiness, health, child development, and many other topics, we delved into personal issues and examined how it was that each of us (myself included) had come to be where we were.  We also looked at our dreams for our future and how we could help make those dreams a reality.

 

I was shell-shocked at first at the desperate situations in which these women lived.  And, more importantly I was humbled by their optimism and perseverance.  In short, I was proud to be working with them.  To answer the question Dominique posed as to who are we to tell their stories, I'd like to suggest that it is important for both these women to tell their stories and for us to tell them also.  As dismissive as the woman you encountered was regarding the need for education within the prison system, at least you did have the opportunity to talk to her.  I feel that those of us who have worked with women in poverty need to be strong advocates for them as well as encouraging them to advocate for themselves.  Personally, I've been able to shape to some degree the opinions of others who will listen to me but who might not listen to women such as my students.  Often those in poverty whether physically  incarcerated or locked behind unseen walls of bigotry and prejudice are simply not seen nor heard  whereas we are seen and heard - if not always believed.

 

The biggest obstacle I faced in my work was my pitiful lack of understanding of what it meant to be poor.  Having had grandparents who were poor, I thought I understood poverty.  However, it took less than one day for me to realize that there is a world of difference between economic or "situational" poverty and generational poverty in which the lack of resources goes far beyond money to include lack of a functional social network such as trusted friends and family members, a lack of educational resources, and a lack of emotional support.  I had expected that my biggest obstacle would have been establishing trust; however, this was not the case.  My students must have somehow sensed my sincerity in trying to understand and be of some help to them because they opened up to me in remarkable ways.  They shared their hurts and their frustrations as well as their hopes and dreams.  Together we learned from one another.  Often, I left class knowing that I was the one who had learned the most.

 

Debra Coe

Grant Specialist

Texas Family Literacy Resource Center

The Education Institute

College of Education #2117

Texas State University

601 University Drive

San Marcos, TX 78666-4616

512-245-9293 

Fax 512-245-8151

________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Chlup, Dominique
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 12:13 AM
To: The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: RE: [PovertyRaceWomen 468] Bars, Boundaries, and Barriers Researching Women's Spaces

 

First, I have to admit that I have been a "lurker" on this discussion list for quite sometime.  In all of my time lurking I think I have posted twice, so when Daphne asked me to consider being a guest facilitator I have to admit that I was excited but also a bit leery of leaving behind the safety net of reading others' postings and becoming actively involved in the discussion.  I see this, though, as my risk for the week, so I want to invite all of the other "lurkers" along with the regular posters on the list to feel free to post this week.  I welcome the opportunity to dialogue with everyone.

Now onto the discussion...

When colleagues ask me about my work and the challenges I face researching women student-inmates, one of the first things I reveal to them is how I struggle with the barrier of writing about topics and women who live lives that are far removed from my day to day life.  I am the one with perceived authority, access, and the privilege of going "home" at night, and I try never to forget that.  

When I first entered a prison classroom, I naively expected to find women who were very different from me, but they weren't.  Yes, their institutionalized lives were different from mine, but I was immediately struck by how my students could easily have been my mother, sister, grandmother, best friend, or me.  It didn't take long for me to realize that prison spaces demonstrate a convergence of disadvantage based on racial, class, and gender inequality.  All of the women I have ever had the privilege of working with were arrested for offenses associated with problems of addiction, poverty, and domestic abuse. Whatever preconceptions I had of women prisoners, I quickly realized were misconceptions based largely on stereotypes and misinformation.  I now believe that in the name of maintaining dominant social order, certain resources and privileges are concentrated in some groups, which marginalize and criminalize others.  

Many of the stories I have researched, witnessed, and heard over the years regarding the treatment of women inmates, offend my democratic sensibilities.  I have cried, laughed, dreamed, and hoped with my students (both the ones that I have actually had in class and those whom I have only researched in the prison archives).  I have been rendered speechless when accosted by individuals who don't understand why I have chosen to do the work that I do.  One woman, whom I struck up a conversation with on a very long line for the bathroom at a wedding remarked, "I hope my taxpayer money isn't going to pay for that education program."  

I informed her that for the most part the prisoners were raising the money to keep classes going.  The education programs had been the first thing cut when prison budget restructuring had occurred.  "Good" was all she said before getting off the line and walking away from me.  I still struggle with the challenge of facing critics and what to say to them.  I also struggle with the objectives of "giving voice to the voiceless," "sharing untold stories," and "portraying prison life."  While these objectives, decidedly feminist ones, are in keeping with why I began this work, I am not sure they should be the reasons that keep me invested in this work.  I question:  Who am I to be telling these women's stories?  What right do I have?  What right do any of us have if we are not women prisoners ourselves?  

I have begun this discussion by sharing a bit of my story from the social context of working with women inmates.  I hope you will feel free to respond to any of the points or issues I have raised.  But I also wonder about the struggles and challenges each of you face either researching or working in women's spaces.  What would you describe as the biggest barrier or boundary you face in your work?  How do you deal with these bars, boundaries, and barriers?

 

--Dominique

 

 

Dominique T. Chlup

Director of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning  (TCALL) &

Assistant Professor of Adult Education

Texas A&M University 

www-tcall.tamu.edu

 

________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Daphne Greenberg
Sent: Fri 2/9/2007 2:52 PM
To: Women and Literacy Discussion List The Poverty Race
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 468] Bars, Boundaries,and Barriers Researching Women's Spaces

Reminder about Guest Facilitator:
(please invite friends and colleagues to join by telling them to
subscribe, and later unsubscribe at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen )

Starting this Monday, Feb. 12th and continuing through Friday Feb.
16th, Dominique Chlup will be facilitating a discussion on:

Bars, Boundaries, and Barriers Researching Women's Spaces

If you have time and are interested, I highly recommend that you check
out the following links where you can find two examples of Dominique's
writings. The articles are not long, and I think that you will find them
interesting and full of thought provoking ideas:
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=828
and
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=826

In case you want to know more about our guest facilitator, here is a
short blurb about her:

Dominique Chlup is an assistant professor of adult education and the
director of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and
Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M University.She got her "calling" to be
an
adult educator after volunteering for a year at the Valhalla Women's
Jail in New York. She taught in the "Right to Write" program.  While
her
career has taken her into several other adult classrooms, she finds
she
returns again and again to her work with women student-inmates.  She
wrote a
dissertation on the history of the educational programs and practices
at
the Framingham Reformatory for Women in Massachusetts, and she
continues
to research contemporary prison programs.  As a part of her research
with women inmates, she has encountered both literal and figurative
bars.  As such, she is always interested in dialoging with others
about
their own experiences researching and working in women's spaces.  To
learn more about her work, you can read

http://www.ncsall.net/?id=828
and
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=826

Please invite your friends and colleagues to join us during this
"discussion." If they want to temporarily join us, they can subscribe
and then later unsubscribe at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

Daphne



Daphne Greenberg
Assistant Professor
Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3979
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu

Daphne Greenberg
Associate Director
Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3977
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu
----------------------------------------------------
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Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list
PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

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