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Closing the Last Penal Colony

Tue, Feb 4, 2025 @ 6:00 pm 7:30 pm

Screening: Closing the Last Penal Colony

Join filmmaker and organizer Edwin Santana for a screening of his award-winning film, Closing the Last Penal Colony. This documentary delves into the history of the Rikers Island jail complex and the grassroots movement to shut it down. The film received an Honorable Mention for Best Short Documentary at the 2024 Katra LatinX Film Festival in NYC.

Following the screening, Santana and members of the Campaign to Close Rikers will participate in a panel discussion and Q&A. They will discuss the 2019 plan to close Rikers Island jails—achieved through grassroots organizing—and explore strategies for reinvesting in communities.

This event is part of the Rikers Public Memory Project’s exhibition, Torture Island: Past, Present, Future, on view at Weeksville Heritage Center from February 1 to March 1, 2025. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue and learn more about the path to justice and reform.

About Edwin Santana

Edwin Santana is a photographer, filmmaker, and founder of TUFF ART MEDIA. He’s also the host of his own YouTube variety show called THE CHECK IN.  His new documentary entitled CLOSING THE LAST PENAL COLONY,  has won Honorable Mention For Best Short Documentary at the 2024’s Katra Latinx Film Festival.  As a formerly incarcerated individual, and a Community Organizer for Freedom Agenda, Edwin’s advocacy includes closing Riker’s Island, decarcerating New York City, and dismantling mass incarceration.

Panelist Bios

Darren Mack (Moderator), Co-Founder/Co-Director of Freedom Agenda

Darren Mack is a formerly incarcerated activist, advocate, and organizer. Darren was involved as a leader in the #CLOSErikers campaign since it’s launch in 2016, and was awarded the very first Lawrence “Larry” Gelber Award for Justice in 2017 by JustLeadershipUSA. He is an alumnus of the Bard Prison Initiative where he earned his B.A. and graduated from Hunter College with an MSW in 2019. Darren previously worked as the Outreach and Alumni Engagement Coordinator with JustLeadershipUSA.

Michael Higgins Jr., Land Use Planner with New York City Environmental Justice Alliance

Michael Higgins Jr. is a longtime community organizer born and raised in Brooklyn. He got his start in organizing as a member of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) doing base building and political education with public housing residents in Fort Greene, Gowanus and Boerum Hill. Later, he worked with Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) as a staff organizer supporting initiatives such as Turning the Tide and the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ). In his previous position as Senior Organizer of Housing and Sustainability at Brooklyn Movement Center, he led tenant association development at local apartment complexes and recruitment for a renewable solar subscription service for low and moderate-income Central Brooklynites. He received his bachelor’s degree in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

Lezandre Khadu, Member of Freedom Agenda, and mother of Stephan Khadu

Lezandre Khadu is a resident of Bed-Stuy and the mother of Stephan Khadu, who died in 2021 at just 24 years old due to negligence from the Department of Correction when he was detained on ‘The Boat’ — an extension of Rikers Island. She is an active member of Freedom Agenda and the Campaign to Close Rikers, and continues to fight for justice for her son, for all people and communities targeted by the criminal legal system.

Dr. Divine Pryor, Criminal Justice Co-Chair with the NAACP of NYS

Divine Pryor is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the People’s Police Academy (PPA) located in the City University of New York at Medgar Evers College, where he works closely with community leaders, system stakeholders, institutional heads and others to facilitate the integration of solution oriented, outcome-based efforts that minimize risks and maximize positive results. Before ever attending a formal institution, Divine Pryor acquired his very first degree from the “school of hard knocks” with a Ph.D. from UCLA, that is the “University on the Corner of Lenox Avenue” in New York City. While incarcerated, he would rediscover his love for learning and resume his educational journey, obtaining both a B.A. and M.A. in Sociology from S.U.N.Y. New Paltz. After his release in 1991 he would go on to complete his graduate studies at both Kennedy Western & Suffield University and would continue to build his exceptional career in the Criminal Justice field.