On October 10th we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Books to Prisoners with the Opening Night Celebration of the Social Justice Film Festival. The film screened was Mothers of Bedford, a feature length documentary, which followed five women incarcerated in the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility looking at their lives through the lens of motherhood.
This dynamic film examined the struggles and joys these five women faced as prisoners and mothers, showing the normal frustrations of parenting in addition to the surreal experiences of a child’s first birthday party inside prison, the cell that child lives in with her mother, and the biggest celebration of the year, Mother’s Day in prison.
Following the film, we were honored to be joined by Tanya Erzen of the Freedom Education Project of Puget Sound and Traci Matheson, a founder of the Women’s Village who helped lead an audience discussion. It was an inspiring and humbling night and we were so grateful to everyone who participated, and to everyone who has helped make Books to Prisoners a reality over these last four decades. You are truly amazing!