Justice Through Code Program Featured in Amazon Web Services Short Documentary

February 17, 2021

From Prison to Programming: Justice Through Code Provides a Pathway to Careers in Tech

This week, Amazon Web Services, a Justice Through Code (JTC) supporter, released a short documentary video on how the Justice Through Code program has changed the lives of students and given them a sense of respect and hope for the future.

Justice Through Code - The Big Idea

Justice Through Code, a partnership of the Center for Justice and the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School, is a free coding intensive that provides opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals to grow and develop into the technology leaders of tomorrow. Amazon Web Services announced their support of Justice Through Code last year and pledged to provide resources and financial support to secure more internships for JTC students. 

"I want my daughter to  look at me one day and see all that I have accomplished, where I came from, and what I'm doing with my life and how successful I am. And that's what's behind everything I do every day."

The program's ultimate goal is to ensure every Justice Through Code student is placed in an internship upon graduation. To achieve this, JTC is launching a fundraising goal of $100,000. Join us in offering formerly incarcerated people life-changing access to career-track opportunities in the technology industry. Donate here(Please indicate in the special instructions on the last page that the donation is for Justice Through Code.)

"Software doesn't judge, it just wants to work. The code doesn't care about your race, your religion, your age, your education, or whether you have been to prison. All it cares about is, can you write the code?"

Watch the video featuring Justice Through Code Program Manager Aedan Macdonald and JTC students Antwan and Alissa here. Read the video release announcement from Amazon Web Services here, and a TechCrunch article on Antwan and Justice Through Code here.