Unlocking New Hampshire, A Senior Project

Unlocking+New+Hampshire%2C+A+Senior+Project

Angie Boynton

My name is Angie Boynton, I am a senior here at Souhegan, and just like 93% of us in the state of New Hampshire I am white.  Race problems and discrimination don’t directly affect me and I’ve never even witnessed it myself.  But despite all these things being true it doesn’t mean I don’t care about race related issues or that I’m not allowed to advocate for racial equality. In the midst of my junior year I became really interested in this topic called mass incarceration. Mass incarceration refers to the massive increase in incarcerated individuals, specifically individuals of color from 1970 to present. Today there are over 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States, that’s 25% of all the world’s prisoners. The idea that a country accounting for 5% of the world’s population would be holding 25% of the world’s prisoners disgusted me and I wanted to learn more. Why did this happen? How did it happen? and who let it happen? So when it came time to decide what I would do for my senior project I chose to investigate mass incarceration’s in my home state of New Hampshire and share my research in the form of a podcast. Although  senior project was cancelled due to COVID-19, I decided to continue on with my project as it is something I am very passionate about. This podcast takes a look into the problem of mass incarceration in the United States as a whole, and the state of New Hampshire specifically.  I had the absolute honor to interview ACLU of New Hampshire Smart Justice Organizer Joseph Lascaze, to discuss the topic and provide an inside look into incarceration in New Hampshire. Joseph not only works to reform the system in NH but he was also formerly incarcerated here. I  discuss the topic through the lens of history and race, as well as, begging the question of who is benefitting from mass incarceration, and how do we fix a rigged judicial system? I encourage all who are interested to tap the link above to listen and learn more about this important topic that has been neglected for way too long.

If you liked this episode and want to hear more like and follow me on Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, or wherever you like to listen.

To learn more about this topic and how you can help visit https://www.aclu-nh.org/