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"I hope that all of you have seen the amazing film SINCE I BEEN DOWN. If you are not convinced of the liberatory potential of education, I guarantee you will be transformed after seeing this film!”
- Angela Davis
Activist, Author, DistinguishedProfessor Emerita UC Santa Cruz
Festivals
The culture of punishment and its consequence is our shared reality in America today. Especially in these times of legislated violence and fear of difference, who better to show us the triumph of the human spirit than those caught behind bars for life?
- Filmmaker Gilda Sheppard
Synopsis
Meet Kimonti Carter.
Former president and current member of an over 40-year Washington State prisoner-initiated program, the Black Prisoners’ Caucus. At 34, Kimonti founded TEACH (Taking Education and Creating History), a remarkably innovative prisoner education program.
Kimonti and a group of his peers maneuver through a non-negotiable pathway to joining gangs as early as 11-years-old. This is a community profoundly impacted by the city's disinvestment in housing, education, and employment as well as our policies in the 1990's
The film, told by the people who have lived these conditions, unravels intimate stories from interviews brought to life through archival footage, cinema verité discussions, masquerade, and dance , unravelling why children commit violent crime and how these children – now adults – are breaking free from their fate by creating a model of justice that is transforming their lives, our humanity and a quality of life for all our children.
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