The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world.

And Black people bear the burdens of mass incarceration the most. In 2019, Connecticut was one of seven states where Black people were incarcerated at overnine times the rate of white people. That’s according to an analysis done by The Sentencing Project.

These problems aren't new, but they also aren't going away. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Yale law professor James Forman Jr. hopes the new book he co-edited, Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change, will inspire readers to work towards change. It talks about finding solutions at every level of what he calls "the criminal system," from policing to prisons to courts.

GUEST:


James Forman Jr.: J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law at Yale University. His book Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018. He recently co-edited Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change.

The United States imprisons <a href="https://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All">more people</a> than any other country in the world.
And Black people bear the burdens of mass incarceration the most. In 2019, Connecticut was one of seven states where Black people were incarcerated at over nine times the rate of white people. That’s according to an <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2022/08/The-Color-of-Justice-Racial-and-Ethnic-Disparity-in-State-Prisons.pdf">analysis</a> done by The Sentencing Project.
These problems aren't new, but they also aren't going away. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Yale law professor <a href="https://www.jamesformanjr.com/">James Forman Jr.</a> hopes the new book he co-edited, <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374614492/dismantlingmassincarceration">Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change</a>, will inspire readers to work towards change. It talks about finding solutions at every level of what he calls "the criminal system," from policing to prisons to courts.
GUEST:
<ul>
<li>
James Forman Jr.: J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law at Yale University. His book <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374537449/lockingupourown">Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America</a> won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018. He recently co-edited <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374614492/dismantlingmassincarceration">Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change</a>. 
</li>
</ul>

Disrupted is about the changes we all encounter and the forces driving those changes. Some disruptions spark joy and possibility. Others move us to take action and re-evaluate our world. But the show isn't just about those disruptions; it’s about embracing them, exploring new perspectives, and feeling more connected to ourselves and our communities. Host and political scientist Khalilah Brown-Dean creates a place where changemakers come together to help us see the world differently and challenge us to grow together.

Visit ctpublic.org/disrupted for more! 

Disrupted is about the changes we all encounter and the forces driving those changes. Some disruptions spark joy and possibility. Others move us to take action and re-evaluate our world. But the show isn't just about those disruptions; it’s about embracing them, exploring new perspectives, and feeling more connected to ourselves and our communities. Host and political scientist Khalilah Brown-Dean creates a place where changemakers come together to help us see the world differently and challenge us to grow together.
Visit <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/disrupted">ctpublic.org/disrupted</a> for more!

Disrupted

Rethinking mass incarceration with James Forman Jr.

This year, Michael Morand, director of community engagement for Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, was appointed New Haven's official city historian. We return to our conversation with him about bringing New Haven’s history to life and the exhibit he collaborated on at the New Haven Museum. The exhibit includes years of Michael's research as part of The Yale and Slavery Research Project documenting Yale’s historical ties to slavery. The exhibit, which is on view until March, 2025, is called Shining Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery.

Guest: 


Michael Morand: Director of community engagement for Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and New Haven's official city historian.

You can read about Michael Morand's role as New Haven's official city historian on CT Public's website.

Special thanks to our intern Frankie Devevo.

This episode originally aired on September 11, 2024. 

This year, Michael Morand, director of community engagement for Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, was appointed New Haven's official city historian. We return to our conversation with him about bringing New Haven’s history to life and the exhibit he collaborated on at the <a href="https://www.newhavenmuseum.org/">New Haven Museum</a>. The exhibit includes years of Michael's research as part of <a href="https://yaleandslavery.yale.edu/">The Yale and Slavery Research Project</a> documenting Yale’s historical ties to slavery. The exhibit, which is on view until March, 2025, is called <a href="https://www.newhavenmuseum.org/48546-2/">Shining Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery</a>.
Guest: 
<ul>
<li>
Michael Morand: Director of community engagement for Yale's <a href="https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/">Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library</a> and New Haven's <a href="https://library.yale.edu/news/new-haven-mayor-appoints-librarys-michael-morand-city-historian">official city historian</a>.
</li>
</ul>
You can read about Michael Morand's role as New Haven's official city historian on <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2024-11-01/new-haven-city-historian-michael-morand">CT Public's website</a>.
Special thanks to our intern Frankie Devevo.
This episode originally aired on September 11, 2024.

New Haven’s historian Michael Morand on bringing the city's past to the present

This hour, we learn about some of the ways that millennial and gen z politicians are making their mark on the U.S.

Up first, Brandon Scott is the youngest mayor of Baltimore in more than 100 years. A new documentary film called The Body Politic follows Mayor Scott during his first term in office, focusing on his campaign to reduce gun violence. We are joined by that film's director and producer, Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough.

Then, Layla Zaidane is President and CEO of Future Caucus, an organization that brings together young lawmakers to collaborate across party lines. She reframes the idea of civility in politics and tells young people they can have an impact on government.

GUESTS:


Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough: Director and Producer of the documentary film The Body Politic, which follows Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s efforts to reduce gun violence in the city.The film will be broadcast as part of PBS's POV series on November 25th.


Layla Zaidane: President and CEO of Future Caucus, an organization that brings together young lawmakers to collaborate across party lines.

This hour, we learn about some of the ways that millennial and gen z politicians are making their mark on the U.S.
Up first, Brandon Scott is the youngest mayor of Baltimore in more than 100 years. A new documentary film called <a href="https://www.pbs.org/pov/films/bodypolitic/">The Body Politic</a> follows Mayor Scott during his first term in office, focusing on his campaign to reduce gun violence. We are joined by that film's director and producer, Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough.
Then, <a href="https://futurecaucus.org/our-team/layla-zaidane/">Layla Zaidane</a> is President and CEO of <a href="https://futurecaucus.org/">Future Caucus</a>, an organization that brings together young lawmakers to collaborate across party lines. She reframes the idea of civility in politics and tells young people they can have an impact on government.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>
Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough: Director and Producer of the documentary film <a href="https://www.pbs.org/pov/films/bodypolitic/">The Body Politic</a>, which follows Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s efforts to reduce gun violence in the city. The film will be broadcast as part of PBS's POV series on November 25th.
</li>
<li>
Layla Zaidane: President and CEO of <a href="https://futurecaucus.org/">Future Caucus</a>, an organization that brings together young lawmakers to collaborate across party lines.
</li>
</ul>

How young politicians are working toward change

In her new book Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal, Dr. Bettina Love says that Black public school students like her in the 1980s and 1990s were "labeled disposable because of our zip code, test scores, and Black skin." Dr. Love is this year's winner of the Stowe Prize for Literary Activism. She joins us to explain how she sees anti-Black racism baked into U.S. education policy.

And Professor Anthony Abraham Jack, author of Class Dismissed: When Colleges Ignore Inequality & Students Pay the Price says there is more to making college campuses inclusive than admitting a diverse student body.

GUESTS:


Dr. Bettina Love: William F. Russell Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. She’s winner of the 2024 Stowe Prize for Literary Activism and author of Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal.


Anthony Abraham Jack: Inaugural Faculty Director of the Boston University Newbury Center and Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. His new book is Class Dismissed: When Colleges Ignore Inequality & Students Pay the Price.

In her new book <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250280381/punishedfordreaming">Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal</a>, <a href="https://bettinalove.com/">Dr. Bettina Love</a> says that Black public school students like her in the 1980s and 1990s were "labeled disposable because of our zip code, test scores, and Black skin." Dr. Love is this year's winner of the <a href="https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/stowe-prize-for-literary-activism-2024/">Stowe Prize for Literary Activism.</a> She joins us to explain how she sees anti-Black racism baked into U.S. education policy.
And <a href="https://anthonyabrahamjack.com/">Professor Anthony Abraham Jack</a>, author of <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691237466/class-dismissed?srsltid=AfmBOooRXZXHSTqu2kOQfxbMre6TLnX75gGf1NCSlGak3wukuamLrRzH">Class Dismissed: When Colleges Ignore Inequality &amp; Students Pay the Price</a> says there is more to making college campuses inclusive than admitting a diverse student body.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>
Dr. Bettina Love: William F. Russell Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. She’s winner of the <a href="https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/stowe-prize-for-literary-activism-2024/">2024 Stowe Prize for Literary Activism</a> and author of <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250280381/punishedfordreaming">Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal</a>. 
</li>
<li>
Anthony Abraham Jack: Inaugural Faculty Director of the Boston University Newbury Center and Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. His new book is <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691237466/class-dismissed?srsltid=AfmBOooRXZXHSTqu2kOQfxbMre6TLnX75gGf1NCSlGak3wukuamLrRzH">Class Dismissed: When Colleges Ignore Inequality &amp; Students Pay the Price</a>.
</li>
</ul>

Rethinking mass incarceration with James Forman Jr.

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