doi:10.7916/23mn-wf45Oral history interview with Akilah Shedrick, 2018Shedrick, Akilahoral historiesmixed materialMass incarceration--United StatesFamilies, Black--Effect of imprisonment onHomelessness--United StatesLegal aid--United StatesMandatory sentences--Law and legislation--United StatesParole--United StatesShedrick, AkilahNorth Carolina Correctional Institution for WomenAkilah Shedrick discusses her childhood, growing up in Brooklyn and the south Bronx, and experiencing homelessness. She talks about carrying drugs to North Carolina for a friend and being arrested and incarcerated for her first offense. She details what jail and prison were like in terms of conditions, work assignments, relationships between prisoners, and the inadequacy of the legal aid system. She then discusses her experience with parole, focusing on her undergraduate education and the financial difficulties of being a student. She talks about later in life going into mass communications as a TV producer