Programs & Events

“What We Leave Behind”: The women of Grace House & Beyondmedia on personal narrative beyond the prison system

In Winter 2021 The Block was honored to present Voices Across Time: Sharing Women’s Experiences of Re-entry, a special program bringing together organizers from Beyondmedia Education with current and former members of Grace House, a residential program for women exiting the Illinois prison system. This screening and discussion centered on women’s experiences of re-entry after […]

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Collection News, On Equity and Action

Now Available: Teaching “Just Mercy” Through the Block’s Collection [PDF]

Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is the One Book One Northwestern reading selection for the 2020-2021 school year. Just Mercy follows Stevenson through the beginning of his career as a lawyer devoted to seeking justice for those who have already been treated unfairly by the judicial system.  In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson calls on each […]

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Block Cinema

Picturing “The Long Term”: A discussion with Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project [Video]

Since 2011, Chicago’s Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project has brought artists, educators, and activists together with incarcerated individuals at Illinois’ Stateville Correctional Center.  Through classes, workshops, and exhibitions, PNAP creates opportunities for learning across prison walls, connecting those inside with the tools and resources needed to creatively communicate their concerns to the larger Chicago community.  […]

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