Help Us Spread the Word — Call for Submissions for Fair Opportunity Month 2026
The JSTOR Access in Prison team is proud to announce our 2026 Fair Opportunity Month Open Call for Submissions. Each year, we dedicate April to uplifting the voices, experiences, and creativity of people who have lived, learned, and persevered inside carceral settings. This is our fourth year running this project,
It's Here! Second Chance Month!
For the month of April, JSTOR Access in Prison is exploring Second Chance Month from the perspective of people who are navigating post-release life.
The JSTOR Access in Prison theme for April 2024 is "Second Chance Mentality" First Chance Reality." The title was the result of sessions with learners who were sentenced as juveniles and spent decades in prison.
The Great Equalizer by Neil Gallagher
JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance Essay about the challenges to obtain employment and education once charged with an offense.
These are not exclusive private institutions that are rejecting these applicants; ironically, they have a better shot at these private universities. The ones rejecting these applicants are part of the public university system funded by the taxpayer.
Second Chances Are Limited
Author's Bio: Please do not publish my name if you decide to print. I am in a Physics PhD program in the Midwest. I was completing an undergrad degree when I drove under the influence and almost took someone's life. I thought I would be a
A Journey to My Roots: a Second Chance to Understand by Michael Ronson
A JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance Essay by Michael Ronson about self-education and African culture
This endeavor has brought me a renewed sense of purpose and hope...
Liberal Arts Are For Conservatives Too by Ronald Warren
A JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance Essay about discovery, hope for a degree from UMass Amherst, and a burgeoning interest in the French Revolution
The knowledge I gained in history, philosophy, and sociology proved how little I new about the world.
Dear Society: PLEADING FOR A SECOND CHANCE by Jacob Turner
A JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance letter about our role in upholding social structures, and optimism from a "man looking for a true second chance."
But I'm not asking you to let me come crash on your couch. All I'm asking for is a decent shake at life when I get out of this steel cage: a second chance—not a handout, an opportunity. Let me prove myself.
Fruits of Life by Troy Glover
JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance Essay about ethics, education, and expectations.
Prisoners return to society with skewed ethics because prisons are not concerned with helping them structure their lives for reintegration back into the community. This is because prisons are more about detaining and public safety than rehabilitation.
GED by Raheem Smithson
A JSTOR Second Chance Essay about self-teaching, determination to be better, the power of strong support systems, and, in its own way, a mother's love.
I dream of the day when I walk out of here, not as an old criminal, but as a man who has been given a second chance to make things right.
MOVING FORWARD By Billy Bragg (a comic strip)
A visual interpretation of the challenges of finding employment after prison. A JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance Submission
Billy Bragg illustrates the frustrations of post-release job seeking.
Resilience by Jonathan Wrenn
JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance essay about family, loss, education and purpose.
I had to scream into the phone in the hopes that she could hear me tell her that I loved her and that I was going to make her proud.
DEPTH PERCEPTIONS by Roy Wahlberg
A JSTOR ACCESS IN PRISON Second Chance Essay submission from Minnesota
while every larger rock and boulder sat hinged like the gaping halves of gigantic clams
The Turnaround By Terry Robinson
JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance Essay from Death Row
Second Chances are more than a privilege provided, it is the duty to make a difference when we can
Incarceration, Reentry, Education and Advocacy by Rabia Qutab
JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance Essay that provides a resource list for people with incarceration histories & higher education providers
But with the lack of access to programming, I realized that many women felt discouraged from thinking about education. From the long waiting lists to enroll...
Education and Second Chances by Cantrell Shawn-Norman Garner
A JSTOR Access in Prison Second Chance Essay about discovering self-worth and purpose in a prison-based education.
I began referring to myself as a college student although I was still incarcerated. the prison no longer seemed to be a prison anymore. In my eyes I saw a college campus.