Dr. Robin J. Bell: From Military Service to Family Restoration
Release Date: 11/26/2025
The Sentence Beyond the Sentence: How Parental Incarceration Harms Children and Families
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In this season four finale of My Cotton Patch Moment, I reflect on a season that examined incarceration not as an abstract policy issue, but as a lived reality for children and families. Throughout these conversations, one truth remained constant: children do not serve the sentence, but they live with it. This season centered the voices of formerly incarcerated parents, advocates, educators, judges, and lawmakers who revealed how incarceration disrupts families, pushes children out of classrooms and into the justice system, and disproportionately harms Black and Brown communities through...
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Beyond The System: Michael C. Williams On Reforming Child Welfare With Vision And Heart
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In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Michael C. Williams, the newly appointed Child Welfare Director for Oklahoma Human Services and a nationally recognized leader in child welfare reform. With more than 25 years of groundbreaking service—from Connecticut to Oklahoma—Williams has reshaped how systems engage families, uplift communities, and preserve parent-child relationships in moments of crisis. Williams shares the sacred encounter that pulled him into child welfare work: a 12-year-old boy killed by police—after the state had lost track of him for six months while...
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Behind the Bars: Representative Rhonda Taylor on Reform, Reunification, and Restoring Mother’s Dignity
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In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Georgia State Representative Rhonda Taylor, a dedicated advocate for women, families, and justice reform. Representing District 92 in Rockdale County, Representative Taylor shares how poverty, hunger, and survival often push mothers into the criminal legal system—even as overall incarceration rates decline. She reminds us that behind every statistic is a woman trying to care for her children, and that second chances must remain central to justice. We explore Georgia’s efforts to bring dignity to incarcerated mothers, including...
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Rev. Dr. Allison Henderson Brooks: Preaching Beyond the Walls on Faith, Freedom And Women Behind Bars
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In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Reverend Dr. Allison Henderson Brooks—fourth-generation preacher, scholar, and barrier breaker—to explore what it truly means to preach liberation, practice compassion, and carry hope into places many people forget. As the first woman to lead the 157-year-old Hill First Baptist Church in Athens, Georgia, and as Assistant Dean of Students at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Dr. Brooks embodies a faith that isn’t confined to a pulpit—it shows up wherever people are fighting to survive, heal, and be seen. From...
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From Prison to Redemption: Dr. Mica Battle on Second Chances and Community Healing
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In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Dr. Mika V. Battle—founder and executive director of Bridge to Freedom, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to eliminating recidivism and restoring the lives of returning citizens. After her own incarceration, Dr. Battle transformed personal tragedy, addiction, and generational trauma into a powerful mission: to help others rebuild with dignity, stability, and spiritual grounding. During this transformation, she earned her Masters Degree and Ph.D. With a 90% success rate and nearly 500 reentrants served, Bridge to Freedom is rooted...
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Dr. Robin J. Bell: From Military Service to Family Restoration
My Cotton Patch Moment
In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Dr. Robin J. Bell—retired Army veteran, consultant, professor, and founder of Rehabilitation Reform and Reentry Resources (R4)—to explore the deep, generational impact of incarceration and the transformative power of giving people a real chance to rebuild. Dr. Bell has devoted her life to supporting returning citizens and children affected by parental incarceration through workforce development programs, scholarships, and wraparound reentry resources. Her journey began during her final years in the military, when she served as an...
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Redefining Reintegration: Charlotte Garnes on Second Chances and Justice-Impacted Women
My Cotton Patch Moment
In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Charlotte Garnes, founder of RENFORCE and Redemption House, to explore what it truly means to transform pain into purpose. After serving 46 months in federal prison, Charlotte used what she calls her “righteous anger” to create pathways of hope and opportunity for justice-impacted women. Today, she leads initiatives that focus on reentry support, leadership development, and mental health awareness—helping individuals move from surviving to thriving. From being terminated after disclosing her conviction to being named Augusta’s...
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Inside the Walls: Rudolph Brothers on Families, Justice, and Life Beyond the Sentence
My Cotton Patch Moment
In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Rudolph Brothers Jr., a seasoned attorney who has spent over 30 years in the criminal justice system—beginning as a corporate lawyer, then serving as a public defender, prosecutor, and Division Director for the Office of State Counsel for Offenders in Texas. In his decades of service representing incarcerated individuals, Mr. Brothers witnessed firsthand how incarceration impacts not just inmates, but their families, children, and communities. Now retired, Rudolph reflects on his life’s work, the dehumanizing effects of solitary...
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Behind Bars Beyond Walls: Dr. Karma Johnson's Ministry To Children Of Incarcerated Parents
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In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Reverend Dr. Karma Johnson—Senior Chaplain, Assistant Pastor at Turner Monumental AME Church, and longtime Angel Tree advocate. With a ministry grounded in compassion and community service, Dr. Johnson has dedicated her life to supporting incarcerated individuals and, just as importantly, their children and families left behind. She opens up about the transformative power of the Angel Tree program, how faith communities can bridge the gap for children impacted by incarceration, and the ripple effects of love and mentorship on...
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Balancing the Scales: Judge Tonya Rainwater’s Reflections on Justice and Equity
My Cotton Patch Moment
In this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with retired Florida Circuit Judge Tonya Rainwater, a trailblazing leader who presided over every division of the 18th Judicial Circuit from 1991 to 2019 and helped establish Brevard County’s first drug court. Twice elected chief judge, Rainwater spearheaded programs like the Rainwater Center for Girls, offering a lifeline to juvenile girls in crisis and reshaping approaches to justice with compassion. She reflects on the moment she chose law as her path and how years on the bench taught her that listening with empathy can be a judge’s...
info_outlineIn this episode of My Cotton Patch Moment, I sit down with Dr. Robin J. Bell—retired Army veteran, consultant, professor, and founder of Rehabilitation Reform and Reentry Resources (R4)—to explore the deep, generational impact of incarceration and the transformative power of giving people a real chance to rebuild. Dr. Bell has devoted her life to supporting returning citizens and children affected by parental incarceration through workforce development programs, scholarships, and wraparound reentry resources.
Her journey began during her final years in the military, when she served as an Equal Opportunity Advisor and witnessed, firsthand, the devastating sentencing disparities facing young Black men in D.C. courts. That experience ignited a calling: to ensure that returning citizens are not simply released, but restored. Today, her nonprofit and consulting work bridges gaps in mental health, digital literacy, financial stability, employment, and education—opening doors for individuals and families long shut out by the system.
From creating scholarship programs for youth, to partnering with the D.C. Department of Corrections to build life-changing reentry pathways, to writing books and producing films that expose the realities of incarceration, Dr. Bell’s work invites us to rethink justice, uplift families, and center the children who often carry the quietest burdens.
Together, we discuss the generational effects of maternal incarceration, the emotional realities children face, the communal responsibility we share in reintegration, and how storytelling can shift the narrative—and even change policy. Dr. Bell also shares powerful stories from her upcoming short film A Fight for Time, inspired by the real-life experience of a juvenile lifer who entered the system at just 17 with a third-grade education.
Three Key Takeaways
1. The Unseen Weight on Children
Maternal incarceration carries a unique emotional toll for children—shame, secrecy, embarrassment, and isolation. Dr. Bell’s work, including her scholarship program and her children’s book collaborations, helps kids feel seen, supported, and understood.
2. Reintegration Requires Community, Not Judgment
Successful reentry is not achieved alone. Digital literacy training, soft skills development, mental health care, employer partnerships, and mentorship all contribute to whether someone thrives outside prison walls. As Dr. Bell reminds us, rehabilitation is “not for people who need it—it’s for people who want it”—and communities must meet that desire with opportunity.
3. Storytelling as Advocacy
Through her film A Fight for Time and her writing, Dr. Bell uses narrative to humanize returning citizens and illuminate the systemic failures that shape their journeys. Storytelling becomes a bridge to empathy—and a vehicle for change.
Why Listen
If you’ve ever wondered what real reintegration looks like—or how to support families affected by incarceration—this conversation will open your heart and shift your lens. Dr. Robin J. Bell brings clarity, compassion, and conviction to a subject too often shrouded in silence. Her work shows that when we invest in returning citizens and their children, we don’t just change individual lives—we strengthen communities, disrupt generational cycles, and create a more just future for everyone.
Connect with Dr. Robin J. Bell
🌐 Website: www.r4resources.org
📚 Books: False Start: Race to Prison, My Mom Set Me Up; Until We Are Together Again
🎬 Upcoming Film: A Fight for Time
📱 Social media links available on her website
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This podcast is hosted by Mildred J. Mills. Mildred writes raw and poignant stories describing monumental highs and devastating lows as she takes her reader and listener on a journey of laughter and tears. Mildred survived a childhood of picking cotton on her strict, domineering father’s farm and thrived in a male-dominant IT industry for forty years.
You can find Mildred's memoir, "Daddy’s House: A Daughter’s Memoir of Setbacks, Triumphs & Rising Above Her Roots" and when her new book, The Hope Club, publishes here.
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If you would love to connect with Mildred, join her in these following spaces:
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The music and sound effects for this episode came from Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe and/or Pixabay.
Crackers In Soup is the audio editor and producer for this episode.