Letter from a North Carolina Jail
May 24, 2006
Man it was so good to hear from you. Whether you realize it or not you inspire me. God has a way of making provisions in our life to get us through those times that seem impossible. You were brought into my life brother and I am so thankful to Our Father in Heaven that he cared enough about me to do so. I love you Bro and will always be your brother until God calls me home.
Life in prison is very different than what most people perceive it to be. Prison is not a physical battle, it's mental. They have arranged the facilities now to keep people separated at most times. Each inmate has an individual cell, which they can keep locked at all times. There are physical confrontations, but usually over some gambling dispute or something minimal. You don’t see people getting “shanked” or sexually assaulted like in the movies. At least I haven’t seen it. God protects me from that.
90% or more of the inmates are Black. When I look around, that’s all I see. BLACK MEN. Black men between the ages of 21 and 45. This prison is brand new. It just opened in April and it is a 1,000 bed facility. It’s almost full already! They are shipping men in here like packages. How they transport us is reminiscent of the slave trade. They wake you up early, don’t allow you to contact your family and you don’t know where your going until you get there. Your family may or may not be able to hear from you, because you are not guaranteed to get to use the phone. That’s the most difficult part of being here. The system disconnects you from your family. By transporting you without notice, they systematically keep the inmate and the family in a state of stress. To make things worse they place you wherever they want to. Look at me, I’m six hours away from home. I know it s hard on Rhonda, but she doesn’t say anything. She loves me that much man.
Sorry about the stamps you sent being returned. They don’t allow you to get much of anything from the outside, because they don’t get to make any money. We all wear the same underwear and clothes! I kid you not. Each day you turn in a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt. They wash them and there’s no telling who was wearing them before you. This system is nothing more than a means of making money man. We can’t go to the library every day, which by the way doesn’t have a law library, but we get to go to the canteen twice a day to spend money. Prison is the new money maker for North Carolina. Tobacco is out, Prison is in! I have been told that the state receives almost $20,000 a year for each inmate. It provides jobs to the communities because they need correctional officers. It all Economics! If Black people don’t wake up and voice their concerns black men will be extinct!
The courses they teach here won’t help any of these men to grow into productive members of society. It’s sad. Prisons are storage units from for society’s misfits. The people who are here are those who get caught up in crime and primarily do so as a result of socialization and environment. Everything they teach here is targeted towards a specific market or demographic of people, primarily those who have little education, impoverished, and minimal technical skills. It’s as if they know who will be coming to prison so they are prepared for them when they get here.
I see so many men in this system whose lives fall apart the minute they get locked up yet my life continues to move forward through God’s love and support via my friends and family. The work God had me doing, moved people beyond my understanding, and they are still in my corner. Wow, is all I can say.
Man it was so good to hear from you. Whether you realize it or not you inspire me. God has a way of making provisions in our life to get us through those times that seem impossible. You were brought into my life brother and I am so thankful to Our Father in Heaven that he cared enough about me to do so. I love you Bro and will always be your brother until God calls me home.
Life in prison is very different than what most people perceive it to be. Prison is not a physical battle, it's mental. They have arranged the facilities now to keep people separated at most times. Each inmate has an individual cell, which they can keep locked at all times. There are physical confrontations, but usually over some gambling dispute or something minimal. You don’t see people getting “shanked” or sexually assaulted like in the movies. At least I haven’t seen it. God protects me from that.
90% or more of the inmates are Black. When I look around, that’s all I see. BLACK MEN. Black men between the ages of 21 and 45. This prison is brand new. It just opened in April and it is a 1,000 bed facility. It’s almost full already! They are shipping men in here like packages. How they transport us is reminiscent of the slave trade. They wake you up early, don’t allow you to contact your family and you don’t know where your going until you get there. Your family may or may not be able to hear from you, because you are not guaranteed to get to use the phone. That’s the most difficult part of being here. The system disconnects you from your family. By transporting you without notice, they systematically keep the inmate and the family in a state of stress. To make things worse they place you wherever they want to. Look at me, I’m six hours away from home. I know it s hard on Rhonda, but she doesn’t say anything. She loves me that much man.
Sorry about the stamps you sent being returned. They don’t allow you to get much of anything from the outside, because they don’t get to make any money. We all wear the same underwear and clothes! I kid you not. Each day you turn in a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt. They wash them and there’s no telling who was wearing them before you. This system is nothing more than a means of making money man. We can’t go to the library every day, which by the way doesn’t have a law library, but we get to go to the canteen twice a day to spend money. Prison is the new money maker for North Carolina. Tobacco is out, Prison is in! I have been told that the state receives almost $20,000 a year for each inmate. It provides jobs to the communities because they need correctional officers. It all Economics! If Black people don’t wake up and voice their concerns black men will be extinct!
The courses they teach here won’t help any of these men to grow into productive members of society. It’s sad. Prisons are storage units from for society’s misfits. The people who are here are those who get caught up in crime and primarily do so as a result of socialization and environment. Everything they teach here is targeted towards a specific market or demographic of people, primarily those who have little education, impoverished, and minimal technical skills. It’s as if they know who will be coming to prison so they are prepared for them when they get here.
I see so many men in this system whose lives fall apart the minute they get locked up yet my life continues to move forward through God’s love and support via my friends and family. The work God had me doing, moved people beyond my understanding, and they are still in my corner. Wow, is all I can say.
posted by Dr. C.A. Friend @ 11:14 AM
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