From Incarceration to Inspiration: Underdawg Talk

As momentum builds on the campaign to exonerate Vernon T. Bateman, including Congressman André D. Carson’s February 2025 letter of support, an increasing number of community members from diverse backgrounds are reaching out to us with their support and resources to share.

This is episode 110 in Underdawg Talk‘s podcast series, where host Eric Jones Jr. interviews Bateman shortly after his June 2023 release from prison. Through this dialogue, Jones spotlights the remarkable resilience and revolutionary optimism that Bateman embodies. Learn more about this wrongly-convicted neighbor of ours. When we listen to Bateman explain when, why, and how he started writing children’s books, our appreciation of his hope and inspiration intensifies. We encourage everyone to get to know Vernon better through this enlightening dialogue that brings the contradictions between oppression and resistance into sharp relief.

Watch “A Conversation with Vernon T. Bateman”

Image: Vernon T. Bateman presents Eric Jones Jr. with a certificate of appreciation for his solidarity throughout the years. Credit: Coalition to Free Vernon Bateman.