Name: Jake Samuels

Social Justice Group: Juvenile Prison System

Date of Fieldwork: January 30, 2024

Name of Organization and person (people) with whom you met and their title(s):Ramel Small, he is a guard at rikers island

Type of Fieldwork: [69]

What I did and what I learned about my topic, activism, social justice work or civil and human rights work from this fieldwork?:

Since Ramel has worked at Rikers Island Jail for 19 years, he gave us lots of information on the prison system and what goes on inside of the jail daily for kids and adults. Ramel has been a guard for all types of ages who are in different circumstances. He has to take over an important role by monitoring people and their safety. Yet at the same time he has a relationship with inmates in times they don’t have anyone to talk to. Ramel also guards people 16-18 and sees a range of emotions between teens that could have caused them to end up in jail. Many teens in jail have depression and need things they aren’t accessible to in a jail cell at times such as programs or even role models. “Most of the kids don’t have a positive role model in their life which might have created their hard-headed, dangerous mentality.