Narrator: Kimberly Campbell
Summary: Kimberly Campbell grew up in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. She first arrived at Rikers as a 16-year-old, and she was confined for six months in solitary confinement. She had to navigate a range of difficult emotions at Rikers, including intense anger and panic attacks. She got into fights and was threatened with sexual assault by another incarcerated women. She recalls having to call 311 to get medical attention for a spider bite at Rikers, because jail staff refused to take her to the medical clinic. She witnessed Rikers alter many people, including herself, noting, “If you not strong enough for Rikers, it will ruin you. It will ruin you… forever.” (Summary written by: Annie Anderson)
Interview Date: 2/13/19
Partner Organization: Bronx Freedom Fund
Interviewer: Sarita Daftary-Steel
Tags: Solitary confinement, Policy changes, Getting arrested, Violence in prison, Impact on outside relationships, Youth incarceration, Psychological impact of incarceration, Going to court, Prison facilities, Sexual assault, Defense mechanisms, Threats and fears, Social interactions in prison, Violence normalization, Anxiety / Stress, Insufficient health services, Rikers history, Visitation Process, Emotional impact of visitation, Re-entry, Last-day, Personal history of incarceration, Working after Rikers, Housing after Rikers, Physical impact of incarceration, Poor living conditions, Generation changes, Re-incarceration, Impact on communities, Close Rikers, NYC Policies, Lack of resources/services, Abuse of medication, Rikers Island, Incarceration, Prison abolition, New York City, Oral history, Rikers Public Memory Project, RPMP, Coping mechanisms, Defense mechanisms
To read the transcript of this interview, click here