The school-to-prison pipeline is, unfortunately, endemic to minorities. This is largely due to lack of resources, poor schools, no jobs and militarized policing, among other issues, in marginalized communities.
Many of our favorite rappers like Trick Daddy, Maino, Baby and more have served time in prison before garnering their respective record deals. With that, many rappers relate to inmates. That’s why #SchoolsNotPrison is teaming with Revolve Impact, a social impact firm that uses art as a form of reform, to put on rap concerts at prisons.
One of the #SchoolsNotPrion latest stops was at California’s Calipatria State Prison, where rappers Pusha T and John Forte, who served half of a 14-year sentence at Pennsylvania’s Lorreto Federal Penitentiary for possessing 31 pounds of liquid heroin.
On Sept. 18, King Push, who’s former manager Anthony “Geezy” Gonzalez is serving a 32-year sentence for drug trafficking, and Forte put on a show in the middle of the prison yard attended by hundreds of inmates and correctional officers.
“Putting an end to mass incarceration is important to me. It’s something I’ve watched destroy a generation of my peers”, Pusha T said via e-mail. “I was able to go to Calipatria and see there was still inspiration and hope in the inmates, that was motivation for me to keep fighting for this cause.”
The prison visit kicked off with a meeting with the warden and a tour of Calipatria Prison, which holds 3, 841 inmates. #SchoolNotPrison tour advocates more government spending on education and health and other investments that will hopefully ensure the success of inmates after their release.
This isn’t the first time rappers have performed in prisons. Years ago the late Big Pun and Fat Joe performed for inmates at the infamous Rikers Island Prison in New York.
For more information about #SchoolsNotPrison visit their website.