Search

This is an oral history interview with Andrea Williams conducted by Obden Mondésir on August 29th, 2022. It covers the years 1964-2002. Andrea Williams worked at the Women in Prison Project from 2004 to 2019 as the ReConnect program director and special projects coordinator. In the first section of the interview, Andrea discusses her childhood growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Hackensack, New Jersey during the vibrant political activity of the 1960s. She then discusses her experience attending undergrad at Boston University, where she decided to pursue a career in law. She shares about her formative experiences completing a masters in African American studies at Atlanta University and her subsequent years attending Rutgers Law School. In the next part of the interview, Andrea discusses her professional trajectory beginning at Bergen County Legal Services. She then discusses working on domestic violence issues at NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. Next, Andrea talks about her job doing policy work and running an advocacy program with the HIV Law Project, which led her into working with the Women in Prison Project. The next section of the interview focuses on Andrea's experiences working for the Women in Prison Project coordinating the ReConnect program. Finally, she reflects on the CWP's sunsetting process and shares her vision for the Coalition for Women Prisoners archive.

This is an oral history interview with Andrea Williams conducted by Obden Mondésir on September 26th, 2022. It covers the years 2003-2021. In the interview, Andrea shares her memories and reflections about several items in the CWP collection. She reflects on photos from the early years of the ReConnect program and a photo from a 2017 strategic planning meeting. Andrea discusses the process of compiling a report with feedback about a plan by the NoVo Foundation to transform the Bayview Women's Prison into a women's building (digital object SC29_001.10). She then discusses the process of producing the "Prison Within Prison" report on women's experiences in solitary confinement (digital object SC29_001.11). Finally, Andrea discusses the origins of the first ReConnect T-shirt with the phrase "who I will be" (box 2 folder 3).

This is an oral history interview with Anisah Sabur, a long-time Coalition for Women Prisoners member-leader. It was conducted on July 12th, 2022 by Obden Mondésir and Eve Glazier and covers the years 1959-2002. Firstly, Anisah tells about her experiences and family life as up as a Black child growing up in Harlem, the Bronx and Queens in the 1960s and 1970s. The second part of the interview focuses on events and conditions surrounding her first drug-related incarceration in 1979 and her second arrest in 2000. Afterwards, Anisah explains the difficulties she faced returning home from incarceration and attempting to secure stable housing and access to services. She tells of her third arrest in 2008 and her process of contesting the false robbery accusation she faced. She discusses how she cultivated advocacy skills and relationships through her involvement with ReConnect and the CWP and how she used this knowledge and connection to advocate for better conditions during her 2008 incarceration. The third part of the interview focuses on Anisah's activism as a member of the CWP. She speaks about the relationships she formed with other CWP members and about the the advocacy campaigns she worked on: Hep C and HIV care advocacy, the Adoption and Safe Families Act amendment, an anti-shackling bill to ban shackling of incarcerated pregnant people, the H.A.L.T Solitary Confinement bill, and the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act. This interview is split over two files.

This second part of the oral history interview with Coalition for Women Prisoners (CWP) member-leader Anisah Sabur was conducted by Obden Mondésir on August 16th, 2022. It covers the years 2005-2022. In the interview, Anisah shares her memories and reflections surrounding several items in the CWP collection. The materials Anisah discusses include: The poem "To My Reconnect Sisters" written by Anisah and Lorraine Thompson upon graduating the program; the ReConnect Program Curriculum (box 1 folders 4, 5, and 6), especially its material about parental rights for incarcerated mothers/parents; the Reproductive Injustice report on inhumane practices towards incarcerated pregnant people (box 3, folder 5); A "solitary does not equal quarantine" protest banner (box 3, folder 3); and various photos from CWP advocacy events and rallies at the NY state capital and from a 2005 ReConnect performance fundraiser (box 3, folder 6).

Oral history with Carole Eady-Porcher collected by Ava Sullivan-Thomas and Adam Johnson on July 19, 2023. Carole Eady first details her experiences in New York City in 1978 after moving from Charleston, South Carolina. She then speaks about her experiences with drug use and incarceration, especially as they relate to her identity as a mother. In the final part of the interview, Carole discusses her reentry, access to treatment, and involvement with community and advocacy groups such as the CCA [Center for Community Alternatives], CWP [Coalition for Women Prisoners], and WORTH [Women on the Rise Telling HerStory]. Specific advocacy efforts include passing an anti-shackling bill in 2009 and amending the Adoption and Safe Families Act in 2015.