To Say Their Own Word prison program collection

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Overview

Title:To Say Their Own Word prison program collection
Call Number:Coll335
Creator:Conway Marshall 1946- Vogel Brenda 1938- The Real News Network
Dates:1979-1980
Size:430 GB
Abstract:This collection contains 29 digital video and 29 digital audio recordings from the “To Say Their Own Word” prison program (430 GB). Each recording features a speaker, consisting of professors, scholars, journalists, and social activists, as well as incarcerated audience members, detailing topics surrounding the U.S. carceral system and its social consequences. The program sessions were originally recorded on VHS tape between 1979 and 1980 and were digitized and described by The Real News Network in 2022.
Language:English
Citation:To Say Their Own Word prison program collection, Collection 335, Special Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD).

Administrative/Biographical Note

Between 1979 and 1980, Marshall “Eddie” Conway (1946-2023) helped organize a prisoner’s educational outreach program called, “To Say Their Own Word,” a 50-week program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Correctional Libraries of the Maryland State Department of Education, where thinkers and scholars came to Maryland Penitentiary to speak about topics like U.S. fascism, the prison-industrial complex, capitalism, increased surveillance, and other issues. While incarcerated, Conway and other prisoners worked closely with librarian Brenda Vogel, who wrote the grant that funded the “To Say Their Own Word” project. Brenda Vogel was one of the project directors, along with Eddie Conway, a former member of the Black Panther Party and political prisoner during that time. The Real News Network (TRNN) is a nonprofit media organization primarily committed to digital video journalism. Founded in 2007, TRNN engages people as active participants in the struggle for a better world through cooperation, collaboration, and partnership. Their platform highlights the voices and ideas not just of academics and pundits, but grassroots participants in social movements for change.

Scope & Content

This collection is made up of two series. Series I: Digital Video is kept in original order by donor. Series II: Digital Audio is kept in original order by donor.

Provenance Information

Accession MSS2022-14.

The original VHS tapes were held by Brenda Vogel. Al Engerman, Vogel’s widower, loaned the tapes to The Real News Network for digitization in 2022. Funding to summarize the contents of the recordings was provided by the Baltimore Field School. Original VHS tapes were digitized by Cameron Granadino for The Real News Network. Granadino converted the videos to mp4, created separate mp3 audio files, and recorded file descriptions and keywords. The digital collection was donated to UMBC Special Collections by The Real News Network in 2022. The collection was processed in 2023 by Graduate Assistant Mark Breeding, under the supervision of Archivist Acadia Roher.

Access & Use

This collection is open for research. There are no restricted materials.

This collection is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu.

Subject Headings

  • The Real News Network
  • Baraka, Amiri, 1934-2014
  • Begus, Otto, 1932-
  • Benokraitis, Nijole V. (Nijole Vaicaitis)
  • Braly, Malcolm, 1925-1980
  • Brown, Alfie
  • Chambliss, William J.
  • Cheeks, Robert
  • Cobb, Charles E., Jr.
  • Conway, Marshall, 1946-
  • Cripps, Thomas
  • Engleman, Abram
  • Franklin, H. Bruce (Howard Bruce),1934-
  • Franklin, Jane, 1934-
  • Goldman, Connie
  • Gurr, Ted Robert, 1936-
  • Heard, Nathan C.
  • Hogan, Michael, 1943-
  • Johnson, Robert, 1948-
  • Kozol, Jonathan
  • McDade, Jesse
  • Muhammad, Askia
  • O’Connor, William
  • Rothman, David J.
  • Rowan, Bonnie G.
  • Slater, Philip E. (Philip Elliot), 1927-2013
  • Spiliadis, Elias
  • Toland, John
  • Vogel, Brenda, 1938-
  • Baltimore (Md.)
  • Capital punishment–Maryland
  • Civil Rights–United States
  • Convict labor–United States
  • Criminology–United States
  • Incarceration issues
  • Maryland Penitentiary
  • Mental Health
  • Prison-industrial complex
  • Prison reform
  • Prisoners–1970-1980
  • Solitary confinement–United States

Series Description & Container List

Expand all | Collapse all

Series I: Digital Video

TitleDateBoxFolderInfo
Abram Engerman1979View
Johnathan Kozol1979View
Bruce Franklin1979View
Thomas Cripps1979View
Malcolm Braly1979View
Jane Morgan Franklin1979View
Nijole Benokraitis1979View
Alfie Brown1979View
Eddie Conway Movie Panel1980View
Askia Muhammad1980View
Nathan Heard1980View
Charlie Cobb1980View
Ted Robert Gurr1980View
Bob Cheeks1980View
Spiladis, Engleman, Heard1980View
David Rothman1980View
Michael Hogan1980View
Abram Engerman1980View
Jesse McDade1980View
Bonnie Rowan1980View
John Toland1980View
Will Chambliss1980View
Philip Slater1980View
Bob Johnson1980View
Bruce Franklin1980View
Amiri Baraka1980View
Otto Begas1980View
Bill O’ Connor1980View
Constance Goldman1980View

Series II: Digital Audio

TitleDateBoxFolderInfo
Abram Engerman1979View
Jonathan Kozol1979View
Bruce Franklin 21979View
Jane Morgan Franklin1979View
Thomas Cripps1979View
Malcolm Braly1979View
Nijole Benokraitis1979View
Alfie Brown1979View
Charlie Cobb1980View
Eddie Conway Movie Panel1980View
Askia Muhammad1980View
Nathan Heard1980View
David Rothman1980View
Michael Hogan1980View
Abram Engerman 21980View
Jesse McDade1980View
Bonnie Rowan1980View
John Toland1980View
William Chambliss1980View
Philip Slater1980View
Bob Johnson1980View
Bruce Franklin1980View
Amari Baraka1980View
Otto Begas1980View
Bill O’Connor1980View
Constance Goldman1980View
Spiladis, Engerman and Heard1980View
Ted Robert Gurr1980View
Bob Cheeks1980View