Making History
By Donnell Green
On Nov. 15, 2023, 16 Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP) students became the first incarcerated students to graduate from a top 10 university.
On Nov. 15, 2023, 16 NPEP students made history as the first incarcerated students in the country to be conferred a bachelor’s degree from a top 10 university.
The ceremony was held at the theater at Stateville Correctional Center, where wide smiles, camera crews, and Kleenex were out in full force.
Before the ceremony began, there was limited room as graduating students made their rounds to embrace their friends, family, and loved ones.
Members of the media, invited to witness and report on this special day, set up behind the audience and were very casual in their interactions with students. CBS Chicago’s Noel Brennan invited people behind the lens as he set up for what he called an “amazing event.” Alex Perez of ABC News stood astonished by one of the “biggest” ceremonies he’s covered. He admitted that this commencement felt different, as he candidly shared that he had two brothers who fell into the clutches of prison. “This [graduation] gives people a sense that not all doors are closed,” he said.
Before the ceremony began, NPEP Graduate Michael Broadway reunited with his mother for the first time in nearly 20 years, thanks to Warden Charles Truitt expeditiously granting Ms. Broadway clearance inside. There wasn’t a dry eye in the section.
As the ceremony began, faculty from Northwestern University floated gracefully from the balcony in beautiful academic regalia, shaking hands and hugging their students in the crowd as they made their way up to the stage.
Illinois Department of Corrections’s Acting Director Latoya Hughes welcomed those in attendance with a message that spoke to the graduating students’ perseverance.
“Your success bears testament to the transformative power of education and demonstrates that this is an investment worth making,” Hughes said. “As you join the ranks of the same college graduates who came before you, I hope that this milestone is only one of many of the investments you make in yourself, your families, and your communities.”
Northwestern University Provost Kathleen Hagerty conferred the diplomas to graduates later in the ceremony, but first took to the podium to speak about their achievement in the face of adversity.
“At Northwestern, we believe in transformation,” Hagerty said to the graduating class. “In fact, one of our guiding principles is ‘We transform society.’ And that's not an easy thing to do. All of our graduates here today can attest to the hard work it takes to make a positive change. I congratulate and commend all our graduates for harnessing the power of education to make positive changes in your lives and to be able to share what you've learned with your communities.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also addressed students through a pre-recorded video message to the graduates, congratulating the class for defying the “assumption and stereotypes that have been heaped upon you.”
Gov. Pritzker is a 1993 graduate of Northwestern’s law school, now called Pritzker School of Law.
Lt. Governor Julia Stratton gave an impassioned speech, beginning her speech with a brief assurance to the graduates: “I see you.”
“This graduation is a significant step forward for higher education within the criminal legal system and we must do more. All people, regardless of their circumstances, deserve access to education and to realize their full potential,” Stratton said.
“The Northwestern Prison Education Program is a testament to how the power of education can truly transform lives and provide hope for a better future, both within and outside prison walls.”
When NPEP Director Jennifer Lackey was given the podium to say her remarks, the entire NPEP community rose to their feet. She was applauded and given huge shout-outs.
Lackey did her best to hold back tears as she got through her remarks. Her message was clear, though: she remained steadfast in her pursuit to show the transformative power of education.
“It is often said that education is transformative, and I believe this even more wholeheartedly with each passing day in our community,” Lackey said.
“But I have also been powerfully moved by the way you all have transformed education. You have radically expanded what it means to be a Northwestern student. You have enriched Northwestern University in ways that will echo for decades to come.”
Following Lackey’s impassioned remarks, Ta-Nehisi Coates, award-winning journalist and author of several bestselling books, stood before the graduates.
He gave a powerful speech, which was more impressive considering that the speech he prepared was on his iPad, which was not allowed inside Stateville (unless previously cleared, electronic devices are not allowed within Stateville).
Coates said that though his journey with education has been “troubled,” he felt compelled to speak at NPEP’s graduation.
“When I got the invitation to come here to address you, wild horses couldn't stop me because I'm addressing myself,” Coates said. “I don’t know you, but I know you. I don’t know you, but I love you.”
Said Coates: “I think I can safely say that I will never in my life address a class that’s as decorated as this.”
As a self-proclaimed bad speller in his youth, Coates said he struggled to come to terms with the notion that his underdevelopment in language could result in him being dead or in jail. At age 14, Coates said he was arrested for assaulting a teacher but, due to parental intervention, the case did not proceed. He feels he made it by luck.
Though the graduates succeeded by walking across the stage that day, Coates said that society had ultimately failed them. When the graduates finally took the stage, NPEP students had tears rolling down their cheeks as they listened to how Michael Broadway beat cancer while pursuing a degree; how Malik Muhammed thanked the governor for saving his life; and how Benard McKinley reversed his 100-year sentence and became the first person in Illinois history to take the LSAT while in custody.
Each student was then conferred their diploma — making history from inside Stateville.
Following the ceremony, many of the attendees lost their sense of being in a prison setting; in prison, it’s rare to see children galloping around with cookies in hand as hip-hop plays through loudspeakers.
“This is the first time I smiled in two weeks,” said NPEP student Pierre Cole. The smell of cheese pizza and sweet melon kept the serving lines occupied as everyone took advantage of having their fill.
At one point, some students attempted to persuade Jennifer Lackey to Cha-Cha Slide (she didn’t, unfortunately). Gerpha Gerlin, a member of the NPEP Wellness Team, smiled at the scene. She wished she could “put this moment in a box.”
Reality set in during the mid-afternoon, confirming that this experience — inside a prison — was a bubble. As students were paraded out of the ceremony, a tactical team officer was asked to rate the experience. He gushed smugly as if he had been waiting for this question. “Zero,” he said. “This was a waste of time.”
There is a saying that old habits die hard, but the truth is that some people are afraid of change; it’s easier for them to believe that others can’t change for them to justify their stagnation. But no amount of badge-flexing can surmount what these graduates achieved.
Some studied for class while bodies draped in white sheets lay outside their cells during the worst of the pandemic. Others continued their studies while dealing with the daily grind of prison life.
