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Minnesota Legislative Reference Library 
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Bri.dget, U of M student
AmicusNolunteers of America
and Circle Of Peace held their monthly
"Community of Work and Learning"
group here at MCF-Stillwater after
months of not being allowed in the
facility following an extensive lockdown.
Facilitators Dennis Donnovan and
Russel Ballenger brought two guest
with them who were enthusiastic about
hearing personal narratives from MCF-
Stillwater Residents.
Bridget, an undergraduate student
at the University of Minnesota is
interested in pursuing a career in health
care, including advocating for improved
healthcare services for prisoners and better
treatment for substance abuse. She shared
her personal experience of watching her
older brother struggle with addiction and
eventually die from the
disease at the age of30.
"No one could explain
his suffering to him
and help him," Bridget
said. "They just told
him he was being a
bad person." Bridget's
experiences motivated
her to do public
speaking events at various universities.
Mbanga worked as a . prosecutor in
her homeland of Zambia, a country in
the continent of Africa. She is currently a
Humphrey Fellow student studying at the
University of Minnesota.
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Mbanga, Former Zambian prosecutor
When Mbanga was a child, her
parents died of complications from
AIDS. Mbanga said many children suffer
the tragedy of loosing parents to AIDS
and becoming orphans lost and abused
in a failing system. She expressed how
grateful she is that she
rose above her struggles
to become a prosecutor.
Through her job,
she discovered how
poorly Zambia treated
prisoners. She decided
to come up with a plan
to help Zambia comply
with the Nelson Mandela
Rules created by the United Nations (see
The Prison Mirror, June 2018).
Mbanga said she was interested
in visiting MCF-
Stillwater residents
to hear their narrative
of how their life
has been changed
by the expenence
of incarceration.
She stated that she
"believes in the power
of personal stories to
change the wider narrative of tlie world."
Mbanga told the group that "the world
has a history of crushing voices who are
not the majority."
The meeting began with a check-
in. Many of the residence expressed
frustration with how the administration
handled the tragedy of the murder of a
guard in the prison and the subsequent
lock down that lasted a couple months.
Russel shared that he is working
on an exhibit to _be displayed at the
Minnesota History
Center titled "States of
Incarceration" which
will highlight the
history of Minnesota
prisons. "There's been
a shift out there,"
Russel said. "People
are questioning what's
. . .
gomg on m pnson
facilities."
Resident Tony Jackson explained
to Bridget his view that the prison
manages mental health issues by overly
prescribing medication which residents
then sell on the black market inside the
prison, thereby contributing to addiction
and substance abuse issues.
Resident Jamil Eason spoke to
Mbanga's questions stating, "I found
manhood in prison. Prison made me look
at me. Prison changed me for the better."
Mr. Coley Gates asked Jamil to specify
whether it was the prison system that
made him better or the other residents
that he met who mentored him. Jamil
said, "Definitely the men in prison that
helped me change, not the system."
;fflarcb 2019/11