Video Recorded Prior to COVID-19 Pandemic

In an effort to enrich the lives of the men they serve, staff at the Billy Moore Correctional Center in Overton, TX, organized a talent show. Participants Adam Robbins and Kwan Crooms talked about the experience:

Adam Robbins: “I got to experience a lot of different talents from people that I wouldn’t expect had talent like that. It was very eye-opening.”

Kwan Crooms: “There’s a lot of talent; a lot of individuals that are very skilled and gifted that are here behind the penitentiary walls. It gave a lot of individuals that normally would not have taken the steps to step out on their own to explore those talents. It gave them that extra push that they needed. And it also helped them to realize that the gifts that they do have can take them a whole lot further than the behaviors that got us locked up here.”

Adam Robbins: “The experience was also very rewarding because I got to collaborate with some of these individuals. Most of you would say that ‘Oh, those people wouldn’t get along out in the world or you wouldn’t see those types of people together – coming together to make music or make poetry or an act.’ It was very cool.”

Kwan Crooms: “It brought us together in such a way to where everybody was looking forward to actually being a part of the talent show, whether they were a part of it as one of the acts, or whether they were in the audience just observing. And it was very uplifting.”

Adam Robbins: “And as far as the impact it had on the facility, immediately after the talent show, and a few days after, everyone was talking about it, everyone had a smile from talking about the good times and the things that happened at this talent show. I think it had a very positive impact.”