The OU Carceral Studies Consortium announced Wednesday it donated 130 books to an Oklahoma women’s correctional facility struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CSC began a book drive in September 2020 for the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center, a prison that houses more than 800 prisoners and has struggled with COVID-19. Per the CSC’s press release, 580 inmates tested positive in September.
Olivia Robson, a member of the CSC and a letters and international studies senior, said donating books is their way of helping out during a pandemic. With prisons being hit hard by COVID-19, Robson said visitations have been shut down at Eddie Warrior and educational opportunities and book access have been hindered.
“A lot of the events, from my understanding, that they would normally have — educational opportunities, visitation opportunities — have been shut down,” Robson said. “They can still have access to books and read, just as something to do.”
Robson said the CSC — which also includes organizers Emma Colven and Anthony Levenda, both OU professors — reached out to Eddie Warrior librarian Roxie Kirk and received information about popular genres and authors the inmates have been most interested in. The team put together a list and have received donations from people buying books to send to the correctional center.
According to the release, books ranging from Tommy Orange’s "There, There" and Octavia Butler’s "Parable of the Sower" have been sent to the prison.
“I was really glad to be able to do something,” Robson said. “I love reading. I love books, they're an important part of my life. Being able to help provide that to the women at the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center. ... I'm really glad that we were able to do something.”
In the release, Kirk said the inmates have been “devouring” the 130 new books.
“[The books] have been unbelievably helpful during this stressful time,” Kirk said in the release. “I can’t thank you enough. The women have been devouring them.”
Robson said when the book drive was created, there weren’t any specific goal in terms of how many books they would donate or a timeframe of how long the drive would last. Robson said the group plans to keep the drive going as long as they can.
“I think we're just gonna keep it open indefinitely,” Robson said. “So anybody can go on and select which books they would want to send and purchase them and send them. We don't have a date in mind to shut it down right now.”
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