PASTOR ISAAC'S TESTIMONY"In 2006 at the age of 23, I was arrested and incarcerated for attempted murder and conspiracy to possess and distribute a controlled substance. After much prayer and contemplation, I surrendered my street reputation and was Baptized in 2008 at The Good Shepherd Church by Rev. Lewis Stewart, while I was serving time at Five Points Correctional Facility. During my incarceration I enrolled into several self-help courses, including Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment and Aggression Replacement Therapy. To become more employable upon release, I completed three vocational trades to add to my A.S. degree in Computer Networking Technologies. After receiving certifications in Residential Electricity, Floor Covering, and Masonry, I finished my sentence by holding an elected position as an Inmate Grievance Representative for 3 years in various prisons. My role in the inmate grievance program fostered my knowledge and lived-experience in social injustice and inequality. The experiences that were most valuable to me were the opportunities for education and artistic expression I discovered while incarcerated. After seven year, 8 months, and sixteen day, I was released home to Harlem, NY early on good behavior.
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Since 2013 I have applied a strategic arts engagement methodology to criminal justice advocacy by organizing public art projects, online art exhibitions, poetry performances, and storytelling projects to interrogate and bring about awareness around the intersecting pathways to incarceration. In my social practice I integrate research and strategic arts engagement as a means for enhancing methodologies, fostering collaboration, and liberating the mental & physical. As a result of this impactful work, I receive foundation support and have been awarded a historic five consecutive Change Agent Awards from the School of General Studies at Columbia University, where I study Visual Arts as a Justice in Education Scholar. In May of 2018 I was ordained as the Associate Pastor of God’s Touch Healing Ministry by the Rev. Dr Mable S Elliott, where I served for more than three years establishing the media ministry and conducting biblical life lessons. In 2019 I was called to start Insight Ministries Unlimited to foster strategic arts engagement into faith building. In 2021 I was led to serve as a Community Partner Pastor at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church, NYC. I also serve on the U.S. Prisons Program Advisory Council for the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.
My passion for equal human rights runs deep, and comes as a result of being directly affected by the criminal justice system and its disenfranchising nature. I understand the healing power of the arts; it holds the power to transform both the artist and the audience. I believe that art, in every form, can and does effectively change perceptions and conquers stigma. Through my own lived experience, I understands the need for realistic representations of individuals, like himself, convicted of a crime in the past. I have dedicated my life to using artistry and storytelling, to continue educating, building lasting relationships, and promoting change."
-Pastor Isaac I. Scott
My passion for equal human rights runs deep, and comes as a result of being directly affected by the criminal justice system and its disenfranchising nature. I understand the healing power of the arts; it holds the power to transform both the artist and the audience. I believe that art, in every form, can and does effectively change perceptions and conquers stigma. Through my own lived experience, I understands the need for realistic representations of individuals, like himself, convicted of a crime in the past. I have dedicated my life to using artistry and storytelling, to continue educating, building lasting relationships, and promoting change."
-Pastor Isaac I. Scott
