Member LoginMember Login - User registration - Setup as front page - Add to favorites - Sitemap College students, inmates and a nun: A unique book club meets at one of the nation’s largest jails !

College students, inmates and a nun: A unique book club meets at one of the nation’s largest jails

Time:2024-05-21 08:32:19 source:International Idiom news portal

CHICAGO (AP) — For college senior Nana Ampofo, an unconventional book club inside one of the nation’s largest jails has transformed her career ambitions.

Each week, the 22-year-old drives a van of her DePaul University peers to Cook County Jail to discuss books with inmates and recently, the well-known activist Sister Helen Prejean. Ampofo comes prepared with thought-provoking questions to launch the conversations at the Chicago jail about the most recent books they’ve been reading together.

One club rule is clear: Discussions about personal lives are encouraged, but no questions are permitted about why other members are in jail.

“That’s part of dehumanizing people. You want people to tell you their own story and have their own autonomy,” Ampofo said. “When you go in with an open mind, you see how similar people are to you.”

The student-led volunteer effort started years ago as an offshoot of a DePaul program offering college credit classes at the jail on the city’s southwest side for students and detainees. The book club, with a new cohort each academic quarter, tackles books that resonate personally with group members who are nearly all Black or Latino.

Related information
  • Investigators return to Long Island home of Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect
  • Staggering figures reveal America's gun violence in 2023
  • UN refugee agency calls for action to address climate change's effects on displaced population
  • Palestinian death toll rises to 22,438 in Gaza: ministry
  • Here comes the char
  • Bankruptcies in Japan rise for 19th month
  • Unmasking the reality behind US economic data
  • Int'l ministerial meeting calls for peace in Gaza
Recommended content
  • Philippines blames China for loss of giant clams in disputed shoal and urges environmental inquiry
  • Death toll rises to 30 in Japanese quakes: local gov't
  • Outlook for China's energy transition released at COP28
  • Can homeless people be fined for sleeping outside? A rural Oregon city asks the US Supreme Court
  • Young Boys seals 6th Swiss soccer league title in 7 years after rallying from firing coach Wicky
  • Indian gov't decides to extend food security scheme for 5 years