Is it Possible for Former Felons to Return to their Community and Really Make a Difference?

On 8/27/16, here at Adrain Correctional facility the NLA sponsored an event which invited two guest speakers: Willis X harris and Shirley Bryant of the Michigan Lifer's Reporter. This event was amazing. The turnout of prisoners was surprising to me. I would have never epected some of the people that were present to have an interest in isues dealing with corrections, changing laws, legislations, legislators, and them (legislators) being uninformed when it comes to corrections. Should we view them being uninformed as a lack of interest, is a question that we must ask ourselves.

This event was very informative. One thing that was highlighted was the need for people in prison and in society to be a voice when it comes to something that you are passionate about. Being a voice by, writing letters by mail or on social media, and even peaceful assembly. Most of us will get offended if someone tells us; "sit down and shut up". However this is what we do through our actions and lack of action, most of us just: "sit down and shut up." This is the case even with someone that needs a job, they don't try to find one, they don't ask a friend, do you know someone that's hiring? They just sit down, sit around, and shut up. How many people do you know that have accoplished anything doing that?

I'm hoping that many of them men that were present in the event left feeling inspired to make some sort of change in their personal life, the system, or a change that could have a positive impact on somone else's life. I'm hoping that the men who's hearts were already filled with the desire to make a positve change left feeling recharged. Sometme we need that. There's a question that I really need answered. How can someone returning to your community have a positve impact. How can they contribute? This is a question that needs to be answered, so I'm one to hearing what anyone have to say. Give your honest opinion. Maybe I can be the voice that shares these needs with the guys that will be coming to your community.

Prisoners Host Hygiene-Product Fundraiser for Anti-Human Trafficking Organization in Michigan

Too often people feel that because they can only do a little that they should do nothing. Ironically enough, the truth is that if everyone in the world just committed to doing a little, the world would actually be a LOT better place. Why? Because a little becomes a lot when it is a united effort.

I recently sat down and thought about how I could pay it forward and make a positive impact in someone else's life. Despite the fact that I am currently incarcerated and that I have limited resources, I figured that with enough creativity and support, I could come up with a way of engaging in a productive and impactful effort of some kind. After discussing the idea with some other inmates, a group of us decided to do a fundraiser to collect hygiene products and donate them to a charitable organization call All Worthy of Love, which is a justice focused non-profit that reaches out to men and women enslaved by street-prostitution.

 

I know that our fundraiser may seem like a menial effort to some, but it is really a selfless, earnest, and admirable act from men who are in various precarious positions who just want to spark something good in the world. This our way of helping an organization that works diligently to fight against human trafficking. A deodorant or a bar of soap can mean the world to someone on the street who doesn't have one and we understand that. I commend all of the men at the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian, MI who have embraced the opportunity to make a difference in a stranger's life. The mere fact that each man participating is willing to put aside his own personal agenda and consider someone else's needs....to offer a helping hand instead of just reaching out a hand for help....means that the ability to be a positive force still exist within each of them. It means that the innate goodwill in their heart hasn't been stamped out by life's disappointments. Instead, it has preserved...it has survived.

If you're reading this blog post then you are probably already familiar with my story. I am an 32-year-old inmate convicted to life without parole at the age of 17 for a crime that I didn't commit. For the last 15 years, I have been painstakingly working to help prove my innocence. Many people would say that I have the right to be angry....the right to be jaded....the right to be cynical and uncaring because of my circumstances and the way the justice system has failed me. But I beg to differ. Bitterness is a choice that I have decided to reject. I actually have more empathy for other people's pain, more compassion for other's hardships, and more hope because of the love that my supporters continue to show me. As a result, I feel it is my obligation to make an earnest effort to do something good in the world because my efforts have the potential to create a ripple effect of goodwill that can positively impact someone else's life forever.

I am not writing this to boast about how good I am. I'm not perfect by any means. I am just a man striving each day to be a better person. So I am writing this piece to inspire everyone reading it to take a look at your world around you. Maybe you don't have a lot to give, but everybody has a little something to share. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "be the change that you want to see in the world." You have the power to make the world a better place and there's no better time to start then the present. So get up today and do something good!

 

 

Do Black Lives Really Matter to Black People?

Without question, the current plight of the African-Americans being subjected to unjustifiable violence by those in authority is both frightening and infuriating. My voice joins in harmony with those who cry out for much-needed and much-deserved justice within the African-American community.  However, the truth is that it saddens me to see us shinning the judicial light on the killings of unarmed blacks around the country without simultaneously exercising the discipline to hold ourselves accountable for the violence that we inflict on one another. I greatly admire the unity of all the movements that are standing united to fight against injustice, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that we must clean our own houses first.

As a people, we would more powerful if we were able to stop killing each other. Black-on-black crime is still destroying cities throughout America. The Black Lives Matter movement has become a powerful vehicle to give a voice and platform to the black community. In turn, we once again have the opportunity to show the same fortitude that our forefathers did in fighting racial injustice and the ability to stand united as a wall. However, the senseless killing of one another destroys this vehicle and weakens the wall that so much time has went into building.

How many people in their right mind would build a nice house just to destroy it? Not too many. The Black Lives Movement is a beautiful house. I deeply admire and respect the cause--but as we kill each other over pennies or a small word, it's like throwing a bomb into you own house. We protest together one minute, but seconds later we take each other’s life.

On July 4, 2016 62 blacks were killed in Chicago, IL and we didn’t march, we didn’t protest, we didn’t flood the streets begging for social change. We are protest the killings of our brothers and sisters by police (which we should), but we should also be protesting the killings of our brothers and sisters by our brothers and sisters.

We protest the killing of brothers by police, but when will we address the needless killings within our own neighborhoods and by our own children that are eating away the very foundation of the structure that has been established to combat the brutality and injustice treatment of blacks? Every black life that is senselessly lost is a voice that has been silenced. A voice that will never have the chance to chant the powerful words of the movement that has gained so much attention. A movement, that with any hope and strategic execution, will help make the world a better place.

I've seen a lot of bloodshed in my lifetime and as I watch the news reports day after day, I wonder when will we begin to value our fellow man. The same man that lives on our block, that same man that once stood united with us, the brother that prayed with you, the brother that ate with you, the brother got turnt with you, and the same brother that if he's killed unjustly then we will unite is his name...

Why does it take death to see the worth in our brother? Too many of us are desensitized to blacks killing blacks and yet are outraged when they die at the hands of white police officers. A question that I would like to pose is how do we address and resolve this problem that is undermining our spirit of unity within the black community? The bottom line is that we can’t afford to ignore black suicide—blacks killing blacks; but rant about blacks being murdered. It defeats the cause. There’s no need for black genocide, when as a people we do the work for them by killing ourselves every day.

Please share your comments on the subject if interested in continuing an intelligent dialogue.