From the Yazoo City Prison to Federal Correctional Institution, Atlanta – Kristin O. Bailey sees inmates in a different light

By Janice K. Neal-Vincent, Ph.D.,
Contributing Writer,

Many people in the workforce understand their jobs and are dutiful. In time they realize that those jobs afford them opportunities to learn how to work with humanity while learning a variety of skills. They come to understand what it means to be team players as opposed to being self-serving workers.

Kristin O. Bailey worked as a correctional officer at the Yazoo City Prison sixteen months from February 2018 – July 2019. Working in the housing unit, she maintained safety and security. In that capacity she underscored to the inmates “that education is the key to reducing recidivism.” Although many of the imprisoned had high regard for learning, many gravitated to that endeavor under the interviewee’s leadership.

Since July 2019, Bailey has been working as the RE-entry Affairs Coordinator at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Atlanta – a place that landed her closer to her family. In this role she is primarily responsible for providing resources that enable the inmates to be successful once they are released from prison. In 2023, Ray Coleman, Jr. – Supervisor of Education – conceptualized that the inmates could showcase their artwork to the outside community.

This conception led Bailey who works in the predominantly male environment to have her first art show that year. Since then, she has had two additional shows (2024 and 2025). All three shows were held in the Education Department of the facility. Bailey explained that for the 2025 art show which occurred October 24th, inmates were invited to enter the art contest by signing a roster in the Re-Entry Resource Center.

Twenty-five inmates participated in the art contest. Their art depicted a variety of emotions. Some included beauty; amazement; disappointment; loneliness; disbelief; thankfulness; peace; determination; and wonderment.

One inmate did a sketch of the infamous actor James Earl Jones (Arkabutla, Miss. native who passed September 9th last year at the age of 93 at his home in Dutchess County, New York). He welcomed the opportunity to put pen to paper. Hence, impressed with the actor’s illustrious career, the inmate produced a commemorative piece.

Bailey has learned an invaluable lesson from working with inmates in their confinement. While concentrating on her duties as a correctional officer, she was blinded to other aspects of their personalities. She attests that “their current situations do not define who they are or take away from their natural raw talent that highlights their creativity. “I bring in people from the local community to judge the art work and engage the inmates so they can work on their social skills. Watching the art shows develop into epic events, I have come to the realization that art is a medium that gives [the inmates] a therapeutic outlet and the staff an opportunity to view them not as criminals, but true artists dedicated to their craft.”

Referencing the October 24, 2025, art show, Bailey received expressions of gratitude from many viewers. They were amazed by the number of skilled inmates currently in her care. The inmates were overwhelmed with joy. Said one, “Thank you, Ms. Bailey. For the last three hours we were free. I felt like we weren’t in prison.”

Bailey says she now sees the inmates as talented persons who are eager to express themselves and are willing to share their skills with humanity. Of the art shows, she articulated, “Seeing the smiles on their faces was priceless. I look forward to what the future holds for each and every one of them.”