About Oral Histories Meet the Team Events
Deanna Ackerman Blankenship
CSU, Bakersfield
In her interview with Dr. Michael Burroughs, Deanna Ackerman Blankenship details her life experiences prior to incarceration, her struggles to access education while incarcerated, and her post-incarceration experiences at California State University, Bakersfield and Bakersfield College in pursuit of higher education. She discusses her activism in a correctional facility by distributing educational materials to other incarcerated individuals, and with Project Rebound at CSU Bakersfield, where she advocated for funding for the AB109 program. Blankenship discusses important themes relating to housing individuals who would benefit greatly from guidance rather than incarceration; education as the key to reducing recidivism; the effects of limiting education behind bars; and the multitude of strengths as well as challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals.
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