{"id":4475,"date":"2026-08-17T21:09:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T21:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/finding-aids\/coll335\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T15:11:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T15:11:32","slug":"coll335","status":"publish","type":"finding_aid","link":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/finding-aids\/coll335\/","title":{"rendered":"To Say Their Own Word prison program collection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Overview<\/h1>\n
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Title:<\/td>\nTo Say Their Own Word prison program collection<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Call Number:<\/td>\nColl335<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Creator:<\/td>\nConway, Marshall, 1946- Vogel, Brenda, 1938- The Real News Network<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dates:<\/td>\n1979-1980<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Size:<\/td>\n430 GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Language:<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Abstract:<\/td>\nThis 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.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Citation:<\/td>\nTo Say Their Own Word prison program collection, Collection 335, Special Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n
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Administrative\/Biographical Note<\/h1>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Scope & Content<\/h1>\n

Arrangement<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Provenance Information<\/h1>\n

Provenance and Acquisition Information<\/h2>\n

Accession MSS2022-14.<\/p>\n

Related Collections<\/h2>\n

To Say Their Own Words<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n