While serving time in Sing Sing Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in upstate New York, for a crime he didn’t commit, John “Divine G” Whitfield had what he describes as a “spiritual epiphany” from God: Create a transformative experience for his fellow inmates that would prepare them for a life beyond the prison walls. Divine G told The Christian Post, “God works in some very mysterious way, and I’m 100 percent confident that He put me here for a specific reason.”
A former DJ, actor, and writer, Divine used his expertise to help launch the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program, which used music, theater, visual arts and dance to help bring about positive change in the lives of inmates. Divine G believes that the arts can be used as a means of rehabilitation and personal growth and potentially transform lives. He said, “One of the things that was an absolute requirement with RTA — you had to be open to change. You had to be able to embrace change because our whole mission was to use arts as not just a healing and rehabilitative tool but as a tool for growth and development, a tool to make sure that when you walk out of prison, you don’t come back. That was really the ultimate mission.”
Under Divine G’s leadership, the RTA program, established in 1996, flourished and expanded its reach to other correctional facilities, creating a network of chapters across New York State. The average for recidivism in state prisons is estimated to be 60 percent, but for RTA alums, those rates are closer to two percent. “I think we did a pretty good job,” Divine G said, pointing to those statistics. “This program works; the power of arts is breathtaking.” Divine G’s story is the subject of a new A24 film titled “Sing Sing,” starring Colman Domingo as Divine G, Paul Raci as the RTA program director and formerly incarcerated actors and RTA alumni.
Rated R for language, the film, based on the lives and experiences of RTA participants, highlights the possibility of redemption and the ability of the arts to transform lives. As inmates become involved in RTA, performing in Shakespeare plays, dramas and even comedies, they find purpose, mentorship and a sense of community. “It’s just so unfortunate that people assume that there are no redeeming components in prison, that people don’t change,” Divine G, who makes a cameo appearance in the film, said. “People change, and human beings change. I want people to really understand that we need to invest more in our prisons because we want people to come home and be healthy, wholesome, loving and caring because it makes society safe. Our program is a safety mechanism. It’s a community safety network that enables people to come home and be a part of the community.”
The film, the product of eight years’ worth of research and work from writer-director Greg Kwedar and his co-writer Clint Bentley, shows how Divine G served as a jailhouse lawyer, spending countless hours in the prison law library to help himself and other inmates with their legal cases. Divine G told CP he was motivated by his faith, something he said was honed during his time at New York Theological Seminary, where he earned his master’s degree.