Visions of Justice: Carbondale

Michael Coleman studies political science with a concentration in pre-law at Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. He currently serves as Board Director for Rainbow Café LGBTQ Center in Carbondale, where he also heads a number of committees. In 2020 he organized and facilitated a community protest in Carbondale that drew both media attention and over 1,000 people to Carbondale Civic Center to commemorate and educate the community about police brutality, systemic racism, and what white allyship looks like in the hopes of bringing “#JUSTICE4GEORGEFLOYD” (also the name of protest).

Quianya L. Enge is a community navigator and educator, and the Executive Director of Beyond the Walls (BTW), a mobile resource unit for individuals directly impacted by the criminal legal system run by directly impacted peers. BTW is also a member of the Fully Free campaign to end permanent punishments for those with criminal records, as well as the S.A.F.E. Housing Network. Enge received her bachelor’s degree from Northeastern Illinois University in Inner City Studies, a Master’s of Education in Workforce Education and Development, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education and Administration from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

Kim Henry is a lifelong Carbondale resident. She is currently a mental health and substance abuse counselor for a community mental health organization. She pulls from 20+ years of personal experience with the carceral system in her community and personal life. Her primary focus is the impacts of long-term incarceration on the offender and the family unit. She believes that the mental health needs of all involved are ignored. She believes that the carceral system and systems within the community should deeply examine current policy and strive for improved outcomes for all offenders and their families.

Nick Smaligo has a master’s in philosophy from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and is a founding member of Flyover Social Center and the Carbondale Spring, a local grassroots organization that promotes redirecting municipal funds toward community-based initiatives.

VAM STUDIO is an award-winning production company and film collective behind some of the most disruptive narratives, commercials, and branded content in culture today. VAM is an unapologetic, diverse team of filmmakers working from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and disciplines while standing out on a global scale.

The VAM STUDIO team includes filmmakers and writers Sam Bailey, Fatimah Asghar, Jordan Phelps and founder Vincent Martell.

Black owned.

Meredith Nnoka, the Envisioning Justice Fellow at Illinois Humanities, is a Chicago-based writer, educator, and social justice advocate originally from Southern Maryland. She studied the intersecting histories of Black expressive arts and social movements at Smith College for her BA and later the University of Wisconsin-Madison for her MA, where she first considered the questions now central to her work: What is the power in bearing witness, and how can controlling our own narratives be used toward liberation?