The United States of America v. The United States of America: Filtering Through Social Movements from the Inside-Out

• In Event: Social Movements & Government

Abstract

This essay will critically examine the nuances of activism and the evolution of social movements in America, from the perspectives of two federally incarcerated offenders, and self-described political prisoners. During the Spring 2016 academic term at UPB, two incarcerated educators at Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McKean, with first-hand subject-matter expertise in grassroots activism and social movement construction, co-designed and taught an advanced upper-level University of Pittsburgh course, Special Topics in Courts: The United States of America v. The United States of America. The essay will highlight the unique perspectives of these incarcerated educators and forever challenge the constructs of radicalism and domestic terrorism.

Author

• Tony Gaskew, University of Pittsburgh