New Ideas CityHello Museum

Ask A Prisoner

Cover Image:

Photo: Nikki Zeichner, 2009

There are over two million people living in US prisons. How can we broaden mainstream ideas of their value to society?

Founding members of the Civic Duty Initiative, a growing volunteer movement of prisoners who are committed to “giving back to the low-income urban neighborhoods that they once helped tear down,” believe that prisoners remain stakeholders in the communities in which they lived before their incarceration. Incarcerated members of the Civic Duty Initiative in New York have worked to reduce gun violence in Albany, improve literacy in Newburgh, and support organizations that provide services for children with incarcerated parents.

What is their vision and how did they arrive at it? What impact has incarceration had on their lives and how has it informed their work with the Civic Duty Initiative? Submit questions to the Civic Duty Initiative during IDEAS CITY StreetFest and participate in a conversation with prisoners about how we can solve current social problems and make the world a better, safer place to live. Questions and answers will be posted on the Museum of the American Prison’s website, museumoftheamericanprison.org.