Can Inkscape reduce the number of incarcerated people?
When the free vector drawing program Inkscape was first released in late 2003, I realized this software could do some part in helping to reduce the number of people incarcerated in the United States. This worthy goal is still within reach. Let me explain.
From 1990 to 2000, I spent quite a bit of time supporting the Adult Literacy Resource Center of the D.C. Public Libraries. Then, this division was exploring how technology could help adults learn how to read (among other things). I saw up close how computers could engage these adults, many of whom had learning disabilities.
Part of my role was to teach the library staff and the adults in this group how to use the ClarisWorks Draw program on the Macintosh computers in their new computer lab. This simple vector drawing program was shipped with every Macintosh computer back then. (A modern equivalent is the Draw program in OpenOffice and LibreOffice, both wonderful, free software programs that run on all major computer platforms—Linux, Macintosh, and Windows.)
The high point of my work in this library system was when my library coworker, Stephon Gray (who has learning disabilities), and I created a two-minute multimedia video: Fannie Lou Hamer: Freedom Fighter. Stephon wrote and narrated this biography of one of the most remarkable leaders of the civil rights movement. We used the ClarisWorks Draw program and a $5 software program from Sweden called SimpleCard, a simplified color version of Apple's HyperCard.
