Beyond Bars: Pathways to Reentry
The United States leads the world in incarceration rates—driven by deep economic and racial inequities—and the impacts of one’s criminal background continue even after their time is served. Limited access to jobs, housing, and financial resources creates a cycle in which incarceration and poverty reinforce one another, affecting families and broader communities.
Jerry Blassingame, author, community leader, and executive director of Soteria Community Development Corporation, and Furman sociology professor Dr. Geniece Crawford Mondé, discussed breaking these cycles at this event. Drawing on lived experiences, research, and community leadership, Blassingame and Mondé discussed the historical context behind current inequities fueling mass incarceration and barriers to opportunity after prison. After landscaping the issues, speakers engaged in a solutions-oriented dialogue on policy solutions and practical pathways to reentry.
Event Details
- March 11, 2026
- 5 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
- Watkins Room, Trone Student Center
Panelists
JERRY BLASSINGAME
Jerry Blassingame is the founder and CEO of Soteria CDC. He attended Columbia International University and studied architectural engineering at Greenville Technical College. Jerry received a 20 year prison sentence in 1995 and only served 3.5 years after being paroled in 1999. Jerry has continued to fight for change in legislation since he was granted a pardon in 2004. After 14 years of advocacy, South Carolina passed its first legislation to expunge felony drug charges in December of 2018.
GENIECE MONDÉ
Geniece Crawford Mondé is the Herman N. Hipp Associate Professor of Sociology at Furman University. A scholar of race, crime, gender, and culture, her research and teaching interests include mass incarceration, Black cultural identity, Black feminist theory, and deliberative justice. Her expertise on race, culture and crime has made her a sought after expert, both locally and nationally.
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