In a new episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald sits down with three formerly incarcerated filmmakers — Dana Dickerson, Heather Jarvis, and Naje “Gigi” Webster — to explore the emotional and systemic realities of life after prison. Produced in partnership with Represent Justice, the conversation shines a light on the women behind the films The Trauma We Carry, It’s Not Okay, and The Truth Behind the Mask, each a deeply personal exploration of survival, stigma, and transformation after incarceration.
Dickerson, a founding member of the Offender Alumni Association and outreach coordinator for the Alabama Prison Arts and Education Program, speaks candidly about how unhealed childhood trauma shapes pathways into the criminal legal system — and why true rehabilitation must begin long before release. Jarvis, a journalist and advocate from West Virginia, shares how writing became her way back to herself, describing reentry as a daily emotional struggle that too few understand. Webster, who served eight years in Illinois, uses film to expose the quiet pain behind “successful” reentry — the hidden battles with housing, employment, and self-worth that continue long after freedom.
Across their stories, the women uncover the same truth: America’s reentry system isn’t designed for success. Each describes a process riddled with barriers — from limited programming and housing discrimination to the constant need to “prove” their humanity to landlords, employers, and even their communities. As Dickerson puts it, “Society’s our second prison,” where people carry lifelong sentences of stigma and exclusion even after they’ve served their time.
But the episode is also about hope, power, and storytelling as justice work. Through their films and voices, Dickerson, Jarvis, and Webster invite listeners to see beyond labels and into the full humanity of people rebuilding their lives. Their message is clear: healing and reform begin with understanding — and with asking not “what’s wrong with you,” but “what happened to you.”
