Smith has a long and robust list of notable alums, a list about which the College frequently boasts. The Campus Center was recently named after Julia Child ’34. Just last year, Gloria Steinem ’56 visited John M. Greene Hall and spoke to students. The list includes CEOs, political figures, advocates, artists, actors and authors.
One missing from this list is Piper Kerman ’92, author of the New York Times bestseller Orange is the New Black: My Year In A Women’s Prison. Kerman’s book was later adapted into the Netflix Original series with the same title. The series garnered 12 Emmy nominations in its first season and won four Emmy awards, among other accolades, over the course of its seven seasons. Kerman appeared on the series a few times and was a consultant on the show. Orange is the New Black is the first television show nominated for Emmys in the Outstanding Drama and Comedy Series categories. Despite this list of accomplishments, Kerman is not on Smith’s notable alumni list.
After graduating from Smith, Kerman stayed in the Pioneer Valley and fell in love with what she described in her book as a “clique of impossibly stylish and cool lesbians in their mid-30s.”
Through this group, Kerman met her then-partner Catherine Cleary Wolters (Nora Janson in her memoir and Alex Vause in the series), a heroin dealer working for a drug smuggling ring. Kerman’s role in this ring was flying to Belgium with a suitcase of money intended for a West African drug lord. Kerman left this life after several months, but five years later was named as a part of this drug ring, and in 2004, she turned herself in to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Danbury, Connecticut, a minimum security women’s prison. Kerman pleaded guilty and owned up to her actions. Kerman served 13 months of her 15-month sentence there and documented her experiences through a blog titled “The Pipebomb,” which was run by her then-husband Larry Smith while she was incarcerated.
After her release from FCI Danbury, Kerman wrote her memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year In A Women’s Prison, published in 2010; the series premiered on Netflix in 2013. Kerman’s memoir is not a usual prison tell-all. She tells her story from her perspective: one of a white middle-class woman with privileges other incarcerated individuals do not have.
While Kerman’s story is not the typical success story that Smith lauds on its notable alum list, it is a success story nonetheless. Kerman’s story is one of redemption and reparations. Kerman served her time, demonstrating that despite the many inequalities and injustices within the criminal justice system, she fulfilled what was required of her. From there, Kerman wrote a bestselling memoir, which was then turned into what Time magazine called the “Most Important TV Show of the Decade.” Orange is the New Black sheds light on the social structure of prisons, the questionable behavior of corrections officers who worked in the prisons, the conditions of the prisons and life after incarceration.
Kerman is now an advocate for criminal justice reform. In 2015, Kerman relocated to Ohio, where she teaches writing in two state prisons. She also sits on the Board of The Women’s Prison Association. In 2019, Kerman testified before the House Judiciary subcommittee hearing examining women and girls in the criminal justice system. The producers of Orange is the New Black have created a fund to support criminal justice reform and support formerly incarcerated women, a pivotal issue addressed in the show.
I argue that Kerman’s story, a story of growth and redemption, is precisely the kind of story about which Smith should be boasting. Kerman has turned her mistakes or failures, even, into success and is giving back to help others who weren’t afforded the same privileges as her.
The preamble of the College’s handbook states: “Learning to respond, to take responsibility for oneself, and to overcome adversity are important elements of personal growth and of the Smith education.” As a government major focusing on law, I have heard this sentiment echo throughout my classes; despite this, not seeing Kerman’s name on the notable alumni list feels hypocritical.
To Smith’s credit, in 2014, Kerman spoke to Smith students about her experiences and what they can do to support women in prison. Still, Smith has yet to list Kerman as one of its notable alums.
Yes, Kerman broke the law. But her legacy will surely be much less about the relatively small role she played in the 1990s drug trade and much more about her impact due to what she did with that experience.
Life is not a straight path, and recognizing our mistakes and growing from them is one of the most important skills we can learn as human beings. While most of us do not stray as far from the traditional path as Kerman did, the path she took does not make her experience any less valuable. If anything, it teaches a valuable lesson to Smithies on the importance of taking responsibility for their actions, how to succeed through failure, and how to recognize and use our privilege, even when we are at our lowest point.
Smith cannot only acknowledge and boast about alums who have lived typical success stories. Arguably, Kerman is more deserving of a spot on the list than others who did not have significant obstacles to overcome to achieve their successes. It is with this that I call on President Sarah Willie-LeBreton, as well as the rest of the College Administration, to add Piper Kerman ’92 to Smith’s list of notable alums.
