Finding myself in prison | Sabrina Buddemeyer | TEDxFarmingtonCorrectionalCenter 2024
Being in prison is hard. Coming out as a transgender woman in a men’s prison is harder. Listen to Sabrina’s story.
Is a hotdog a sandwich and other pressing questions from Attica prison | John Tolliver | TEDxAttica 2019
Is a hot dog a sandwich? But more importantly, how could such a question change a "criminal?" John Tolliver's take on the hot dog vs sandwich controversy is thought-provoking as well as humorous. See how the unscientific poll he conducted inside Attica gave him unique insight into labels, which he now shares in the hopes it can lead to others finding new perspectives among old labels. John Tolliver is more than the “Criminal” he was once regrettably known as in the streets of Buffalo, N.Y. He is no longer robbing the world or even himself of his full potential. At 16, armed with his GED, he dropped out of college—this was the first in a series of bad decisions that eventually led to him being incarcerated for 25 years to life. On both sides of the bars, he has sought to encourage youth to remain in school and not replicate his mistakes. While incarcerated, John has earned a certificate as a legal assistant/paralegal from the Blackstone Career Institute and has spent over seven of his years in Attica working with the Inmate Grievance Program. The father of three awesome boys, John constantly strives to improve and to live as a contributing member of a healthy society.
My journey from privilege to prison | James Hooker | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
As the CEO of Televerde, a sales and marketing demand generation company who runs contact centers out of the Perryville Prison Complex in Arizona and the Rockville Correctional Facility in Indiana, Jim knows too well that while may all be created equal, we’re not born equal. We’re automatically categorized by society based on circumstances, not by decisions we’ve made. For many, these categories last a lifetime and are near impossible to change. Why is this? This is even more true for those being released from prison in the United States. Regardless of their crime, their intellect, or their spirit, they are categorized into a single checkbox: a criminal. Withheld from working in favorable jobs or moving into thriving communities. For many, this categorization lasts a lifetime and is near impossible to change. “I believe we can all rethink how we look at those incarcerated. Discarding people for the rest of their lives, based on a decision they made on the worst day of their life, is such a waste of human potential.” In 1995, James Hooker’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to develop Televerde to help companies fill their sales pipelines and marketing funnels through insights and demand generation teleservices. Jim has set an extreme customer service culture and an always get better attitude to deliver results for clients. Prior to Televerde, Jim served as President and COO of Pacific Corp Capital, Executive Vice President for Pacific Atlantic and President and CEO of Ceres Capital Corp. Jim received is BA from Washington & Lee University and his MBA from American University. He has been a world-class novice bridge player in the American Contract Bridge League, and was voted “The Best Parent Fan” in support of his son Joey’s Big Red Cornell wrestling team.
Removing labels | Dominique Goodmond | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018
Prior to Dominique’s incarceration people would label her as smart, talented and determined. Driven and ambitious, she moved to Arizona to obtain another degree that would enable her to accomplish her goal of becoming a professor at HBCU College. After an accident that derailed her path, she ended up incarcerated. The labels others placed on her became liar, manipulator, and criminal. Dominique tried to tell the world that she was so much more but no one could see beyond her orange outfit. She understood why others felt this way, having carried with her the same preconceived notions when entering Perryville. Having gone through this experience she’s now enlightened with the education, talent and worth of the women within Perryville's walls. “We are educated, talented and amazing women. We are also determined to expose our greatness to the world so they can witness the beauty that is being covered by our orange veil. We will leave prison and accomplish every goal, knock down every barrier that stands in our way while proving to ourselves that we are capable of doing anything!” Through Dominique’s talk, she removes the labels society places on felons, challenging you to do the same.
Deconstructing the halo effect of racism and stereotypes | John Schimmel | TEDxDonovanCorrectional 2017
The Halo Effect describes the tendency of humans to judge and label others based on preconceived notions and unconscious biases. In this talk, John Schimmel deconstructs the Halo Effect and reveals how we can move beyond the harmful effects to embrace this family we call humanity as one. "Education is my passion. Pursuing my Associate Degree was my way of believing in myself. This gave me something to be proud of for the first time. It feels good to inspire others to do the same, especially for those who feel like there is no hope. I received four Associate Degrees here in prison in 3 ½ years. For the first time ever in my life, I see that I can be someone."