- Jermaine Archer served time in Sing Sing, where a prison arts program was his lifeline. Now, he’ll lead that program, the inspiration for an Oscar-nominated film.
PURCHASE – These are heady times for the Westchester-based prison-arts program Rehabilitation Through the Arts, founded 29 years ago to help incarcerated men at Sing Sing learn to deal with their emotions and each other.
The nonprofit, now in prisons across New York and in California, is having a Hollywood moment: Two of its former members (Clarence Maclin and John “Divine G” Whitfield) are Oscar nominees for “Sing Sing,” a feature film about the program, starring fellow Oscar nominee Colman Domingo.
Hollywood moment:Ossining prison program, highlighted in ‘Sing Sing,’ grabs attention of the Oscars
A third former member, Jermaine Archer, has just been named the nonprofit’s executive director, only the second in RTA’s history and the first to come from among the program’s ranks.
Archer — named executive director on Feb. 6 to take office on Feb. 18 — was an RTA leader while incarcerated for murder at Sing Sing. He appeared regularly in RTA theatrical productions, playing George in “Of Mice & Men,” Riff in “West Side Story,” and The Stage Manager in a stirring 2013 production of “Our Town,” among other roles.
Archer also made his mark as a member of the RTA steering committee, helping to guide and protect the program.
Members of RTA are protective of what they have, a lifeline to learning empathy and coping skills that will serve them when they are released. The program employs all sorts of art forms to teach communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and other critical life skills.
Its reentry program, “Reimagining Myself,” prepares incarcerated people approaching release for the social and emotional challenges they will likely face when transitioning back to their communities. Its success is demonstrated in the fact that less than 3% of RTA members return to prison within three years, compared to the national recidivism rate of over 60%. (Details about RTA at rta-arts.org.)
New Rehabilitation Through the Arts head: ‘A full heart moment’
After the Flatbush, Brooklyn, native’s release in 2020, Archer joined RTA’s board of directors. He comes to the RTA helm after serving as a program associate for the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies Criminal Justice Grantmaking team, where they oversaw a budget of $40 million and gave grants to more than 80 organizations.
“This is a full circle with a full heart moment,” Archer said in a news release. “RTA changed my life. It’s more than an organization to me; it’s family, and it feels good to be coming home. RTA is a creative outlet but so also a community and a path to a better life. I have experience on both sides of the wall, and I’m honored and excited to play a lead role in ushering in this exciting new chapter of growth for RTA.”
While incarcerated, he earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences from Mercy University, a master’s degree in professional studies from the New York Theological Seminary, and his paralegal certification. After his release, he worked as a paralegal for The Legal Aid Society of Westchester County, advocating for clients in sentence mitigation.
Arts program is about unlocking potential, changing lives
Sheryl Baker, the director of the nonprofit’s board, said: “RTA is about allowing individuals to unlock their potential and empower them to change their lives. Jermaine has done that on an exponential level, giving back to his community and being a powerful leader of change inside and outside prison walls.”
Kate Powers, an RTA teaching artist who directed Archer in “Our Town,” welcomed the news.
“Jermaine is an extraordinary human being, he is insightful, he models leading with humility and grace,” Powers said hours after Archer was named executive director. “He did that inside the walls and he has done that since he has returned home. He is incredibly well positioned to lead this organization, to review and refine the work towards ever greater service to the community we support.”
Reporter Peter D. Kramer is a 36-year staffer. Reach him at pkramer@gannett.com.
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