Corey Devon Arthur
Corey Devon Arthur is an artist, published writer, and practicing Quaker. His art exhibit, “She Told Me Save the Flower,” presented in March 2023 at My Gallery NYC in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, explores feminism and Corey’s connections with feminist women. Since becoming incarcerated twenty-five years ago at the age of nineteen, Corey has suffered under the patriarchal domination culture of violence, control, and aggression that is at the heart of our prison system. He says, “The criminal justice system with all its patriarchal knowledge and resources gave me a cell/cage to become an animal in. They gave me a wooden baton, chemical agents, gloved fists, and steel toe boots to wound my flesh. They tell society justice has been served. I rebelled against their treatments. In response they increased their doses tenfold. I only became colder and more reverted deeper into the dark.” Historically, Quakers had a hand in reforming 18th-century dungeons into modern-day penitentiaries. Quakers have also accompanied people in ways that have mitigated the pains of incarceration. Corey’s journey is a testimony to this. Corey recalls his first encounter with Quakers: “I attended an AVP (Alternatives to Violence) three-day retreat. It was a pivotal moment in my redemption. I was twenty-three. I only went to get away from the stressful and violent atmosphere of the prison. When I found out the volunteers were Quakers, I went on a rant about how the Quakers created this hell hole, called prison. They let me scream and yell until I began to cry. Cheerful Charlotte (a volunteer) cried along with me and simply responded, ‘I’m sorry Corey.’ Then she hugged me. That was the first time I had an inkling of how bad I was hurting and how bad I had hurt others.”
Corey began to attend Quaker Meetings on a regular basis. “Becoming a Quaker allowed me to confront the pain of my inner truths within a community of love and trust. I learned how to shape out the contours of my spirit using the sources of my truth. As I became more conscious of my spirit, I also became aware of its source and its place in the spiritual community of Quakerism and God. Quakerism cracked a spiritual code that I could never break with just my humanity alone.” In addition to Quakerism, Corey’s personal transformation has been greatly impacted by his relationship with seven women, as well as his exploration of feminism. “These women - Harriet Hendel, Sarah Holtz, Allison Langer, Jeannine Laverty, Judy Meikle, Emily Nonko, and Adina Soloman - introduced me to feminism. They healed me without breaking my bones and locking me in cages...” Corey expresses strong emotions through his art. “Something special comes about by sharing yourself in small but sure measures. As an artist, I take it as one brush stroke at a time. As a wound ed animal, I take it as one heartbeat to becoming a person again. Somewhere along the way, a savage that slings words and sketches, became just a tortured artist, and one painting away from being a whole man.”