Monica Stigler Johnson is a lecturer in the Dept. of African American and African Studies, the Director of the AAAS Community Extension Center, and an Ohio Prison Educational Exchange Program faculty member.
What prompted you to become an OPEEP instructor?
So often education in prison is focused on incarcerated students gaining technical skills that prepare them for work on the outside. However, I think the goals of education should be much more expansive. When I discovered that OPEEP offered a humanities-centered approach to education in which incarcerated and campus students learn together and from each other, I was hooked! I think OPEEP is a transformative experience for everyone involved.
What course will you be teaching in Spring 2026, and what topics are you excited about covering with your students?
I’ll be teaching African American History Since 1877. In this class we will cover the African American experience from the era of Reconstruction through the present. I am particularly excited to explore with students the ways in which power, policy, and politics have shaped socioeconomic progress and regression, quality of life, and the wellbeing of African Americans across centuries. I am also excited to cover these topics using narratives and other primary archival materials, which tend to help students grasp the gravity and impact of important moments in our collective history.
What goals/takeaways would you like students to leave your class with?
I hope students leave my class understanding how power, policy, and politics shape our lived experiences and feel better prepared to identify, interrogate, and act upon systems to create a more just society for everyone.
What is the one thing you wish more people knew about prison abolition and transformative justice?
I wish people knew that transformative justice isn’t about “being soft” on people who violate the law and cause harm to others. Instead, it is about holding people accountable for their actions while still honoring their humanity and capacity for change, among other important tenets like caring for those who have been harmed and addressing systemic issues that create disharmony. I wish people understood that our own humanity becomes compromised in the dehumanizing of others.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time, I enjoy finding new ways to habit stack self-care. For example, you might catch me listening to an audible or podcast while wearing a hydrating face mask and jogging on my treadmill. I also enjoy traveling and creating special memories with my husband and young children.