Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin

Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin grew up in Brownsville in Brooklyn, New York. The first time Yolanda was sent to Rikers she was bailed out almost immediately. The second time, she was not granted bail and due to this was forced to stay at Rikers while being pregnant for the first time. When describing what this experience was like she says, “...it was daunting…Rikers is a…horrible, dirty, filthy, emotional place…I had never had any children before, so this was new. I had never seen other pregnant women…so I was able to be with other pregnant women to try to understand what pregnancy really was about.” When speaking about her decision to join the nursery program at Rikers Yolanda says, “...it was a long conversation with my family…because…you would literally be keeping the child in a jail…I…didn’t know whether it was good, bad, indifferent…how that might look with society…I was too young to really even grasp all of that...I was one of the first five mothers…in the Rose M. Singer’s nursery program…” Throughout her interview, she acknowledges she, “didn't have the experience of what happened later” in regards to the mistreatment of pregnant people who give birth while at Rikers like, being shackled during hospital visits or being sent to the hospital in a paddywagon versus a regular car. Yolanda's baby, Demetrius, spent 9 months in the nursery program until her mother realized the baby was forming relationships with the correctional officers, insisting they get sent home with her. Immediately after releasing her baby, Yolanda was sent to a state prison where she began doing activism work helping other incarcerated people dealing with pregnancy and childcare. Since being released, Yolanda has continued her activism work including going back to Rikers as a guest speaker and becoming a social worker. (Summary Written by: Anne Lacy)