College Behind Bars
WVU Human Rights Film Series
Wednesday March 4, 2026
from 6-8pm
Room G 21 in Ming Hsieh Hall
Film screening, panel discussion, and book signing with WVU’s Center for Prison Education and Research in Appalachia.
The screening is followed by a panel discussion co-led by Dr. Katy Ryan, director of the WVU Center for Prison Education and Research and founder of the Appalachian Prison Book Project (APBP), and WVU doctoral student Danielle Stoneberg, a coordinator for both APBP and the WV Higher Education in Prison Initiative (HEPI). Panelists include Bard College graduate Darryl Byers-Robinson, who was formerly incarcerated and is featured in the film, and Celeste Monette Blair, a poet and visual artist recently released from federal prison. WVU Bookstore will staff a book-signing for This Book is Free and yours to Keep: Notes from the Appalachian Prison Book Project, an award-winning WVU Press publication.
Meet Our Panelists
Darryl Byers-Robinson is described as a leader who refuses to let a complex past dictate his future. After facing the consequences of early life-changing decisions and enduring a period of incarceration, Darryl transformed his trajectory through education. As a founding member of the Bard Prison Initiative debate team, he helped defeat Harvard University—a historic achievement documented in "College Behind Bars." Mr. Byers-Robinson Bard College graduate and is the Site Coord. for Georgetown University's Prison and Justice Initiative. Driven by a unique desire to lead from within the system rather than as an external observer, he applies his nuanced understanding of carceral transformation to advocate for real, systemic reform. Sharing his journey, Darryl provides underserved populations with tools to create their own opportunities, proving lasting change is possible for anyone willing to choose it.
Celeste Monette Blair is an artist, writer, and formerly incarcerated advocate who received a presidential commutation after serving more than a decade of a 30-year sentence. She is a faculty member with Prison Professors and the founder of the Peer Success Reentry Collective, a mentorship-based initiative supporting leadership development and reentry success. While incarcerated, Ms. Blair participated in Inside-Out and the Appalachian Prison Book Project, experiences that shaped her commitment to education, storytelling, and community building. She is the author of Peer-Led Mentorship Handbook and is currently completing her forthcoming book, In the Absence of Paint, a creative–wellness work exploring grief, transformation, and healing.
About the Film
"College Behind Bars" is the inspiring, emotional, deeply human story of men and women struggling to earn college degrees while in prison for serious crimes. In four years of study, they become scholars, shatter stereotypes, reckon with their pasts, and prepare to return to society. The film is a groundbreaking exploration of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education." This 4-part documentary series by award- winning filmmaker Lynn Novick, produced by Sarah Botstein, and executive produced by Ken Burns, is focused on a small group of incarcerated people enrolled in the Bard Initiative, one of the most rigorous and effective programs in the US. PBS.org/show/college-behind-bars
The film series is made possible by the WVU Community Human Rights Film Fund, established by Morgantown residents Don Spencer and the late Carol Howe Hamblen. WVU's Native American Studies Program oversees the Film Fund.