Rattling The Bars

How a 1970s prisoner-organized literacy program changed Maryland's penitentiaries


Listen Later

Click here to read the transcript

Marshall "Eddie" Conway was framed for the murder of a police officer and incarcerated for 44 years—but even behind bars, he continued to organize. In the early 1970s, Maryland's state prisons were overcrowded and lacked education opportunities for incarcerated people. As a form of intervention, Eddie organized a university-level education program with fellow prisoners known as "To Say Their Own Word." The program not only raised the level of literacy among inmates; it also forged stronger solidarity between prisoners, and catalyzed other organizing and transformation across Maryland's prison system. Former participants of To Say Their Own Word, Saleem El-Amin and Bruce Franklin, join Rattling the Bars for a look back on this project's impact.

Studio/Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

The Real News is an independent, viewer-supported, radical media network.

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:

Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-rtb
Sign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-rtb

Get Rattling the Bars updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-rtb

Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnews
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnews

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Sign up for our newsletter


Follow us on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Donate to support this podcast
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Rattling The BarsBy The Real News Network (TRNN)

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

8 ratings


More shows like Rattling The Bars

View all
On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,185 Listeners

The Real News Podcast by The Real News Network

The Real News Podcast

279 Listeners

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

5,164 Listeners

The Police Accountability Report by The Real News Network (TRNN)

The Police Accountability Report

16 Listeners

Under the Shadow by The Real News Network (TRNN)

Under the Shadow

55 Listeners

Edge of Sports TV with Dave Zirin by The Real News Network (TRNN)

Edge of Sports TV with Dave Zirin

2 Listeners

The Marc Steiner Show by The Real News Network (TRNN)

The Marc Steiner Show

23 Listeners