What's Happening

Judy Wenzel

December 15, 2023, Adrian, Michigan – What is it like to teach high-school completion courses to inmates in a federal correctional facility? Judy Wenzel, author of the 2017 book Light from the Cage: 25 Years in a Prison Classroom, speaks of her experiences with the inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan. Her presentation, Light from the Cage, begins at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, January 11, 2024, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center. This program is also being live streamed at adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

The free program is sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters Office of Racial Equity and Cultural Inclusion as part of the office’s series of presentations to expose Sisters, Associates, and the broader community to the experiences of people of different races, faith traditions, cultures, and sexual orientations. 

Kevin Hofmann, Director of the Office of Racial Equity and Cultural Inclusion, said Judy will address the issue of racism in the U.S. criminal justice system. “She has first-hand knowledge of the disproportionate number of Blacks in prison,” he said. “Blacks are over-represented.” 

Judy will also speak of her experience with the general population of prison inmates, who often face a stigma. “She will show the humanity of those who have ended up in prison,” Kevin said. “It’s a story you don’t often get to hear – and hopefully, she’ll change our viewpoint of those in the system.”  

The presentation is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. To watch via live stream, visit https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

Weber Center is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse, Adrian, Michigan. Traveling east on Siena Heights Drive, pass the Adrian Rea Literacy Center and turn left just before the solar panel-covered parking lot. Follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.