In 2016, songwriters Susannah Long and Michael Conner received a grant to hold a songwriting class in the women’s prison in Raleigh, North Carolina in partnership with Interfaith Prison Ministry for Women (IPMW). During the 10-week class, 10 women wrote over two dozen songs about life, loss, prison, faith, and freedom. As Long and Conner toured the songs around North Carolina, visiting churches, festivals, conferences, and theaters, the stories and melodies of these powerful songs opened hearts and minds to the concerns of incarcerated women.
Though the grant cycle only lasted a year, Long and Conner kept receiving requests for recordings of the songs, sharing the music as widely as possible as the songwriters remained in prison. Now, three-and-a-half years later, nine of the ten songwriters are living free, some of whom have joined the “Conviction Band,” singing their own songs for dozens of organizations and faith communities who hope for a better understanding of what leads women to — and through — prison. In the summer of 2019, we held our second songwriting class, adding even more inspiring voices to the chorus. Listen to our segment on WUNC’s The State of Things.
Many of the songwriters are now living free in North Carolina and we’re ready to get into the studio! We’ll be whittling our track list down from about 20 songs and working together to arrange, record, and produce each song in a way that fully expresses the artists vision. These songs are about how women get to prison: grief, addiction, abuse, and loss-of-self. They’re about seeking justice and freedom while serving time. They’re about falling in love with partners, children, God, and making peace with all people. Some are funny. Some are sad. Some celebrate victory and some reckon with defeat. Together, this collection of songs is a testament to the strength and wisdom of women who choose to rise when the world would hold them down. Throughout the month, we’ll be sharing lyric sheets of some of the songs we’ll be working on.
Women are the fastest-growing segment of the prison population. Over 95% of those currently incarcerated will be released one day. They have paid their debt to society and can become successful, productive citizens, but far too often they face significant barriers to obtaining jobs, housing and social services. As a result, almost 30% of them return to prison within three years; even more return over time.
For 40 years, IPMW has helped thousands of women realize their own dignity and worth. We strive to interrupt cycles of poverty, addiction, and violence by resourcing women mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically both before and after release. In celebration of our 40th anniversary, we’re partnering with the Conviction Band to crowdfund this full-length album as a tribute to the strength of spirit of our incarcerated sisters.
This project is being directed and performed by the writers of these songs and not handed off to a third party for production or performance. While we have many friends to help us with making this album great, we know that it will require respect and mutual trust to help each songwriter realize her artistic vision for her song. In accordance with rules laid out by the Department of Public Safety, currently-incarcerated women cannot participate in this recording project. All songs recorded for this project are the intellectual property of free women and performed by free women.