On Friday, February 7th, 2020 from 8am-4pm Professor Bryonn Bain emceed a day of TED Talks at Sing Sing Prison. The theme of this year’s event was “Re-Defining What Matters,” and featured innovative talks from a wide range of interdisciplinary perspectives and backgrounds and included team members Gina Belafonte, Steve Forbes and Tiny “Deebo” Lister.
More than half of the featured speakers were chosen from the entire population of men living at Sing Sing.
Working in collaboration with the prison education program — HudsonLink and Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) it was important to Bryonn and his group that they include those directly impacted by the prison system, and highlight the humanity, the voices, the stories and the insight of those who are too often overlooked.
In 2014 Hudson Link sponsored the first-ever TEDx event in a New York State prison with a theme of "Creating Healthy Communities" where the speakers explored this theme from a variety of perspectives including individual, physical, mental and emotional health and how to work together to build a nourishing and supportive community, no matter where you live.
If you were not able to attend and haven't seen video of the speakers, visit: http://www.hudsonlink.org/hudson-link-in-the-news/tedxsingsing/. As a matter of fact, you'll see footage of Kenyatta Hughes, their new Executive Assistant, presenting and performing in "Connecting Through Art."
The first TEDx event at Sing Sing was an overwhelming success and the hope is that the 2020 event will be just as successful.