Free Minds’ “On the Same Page” outreach program visited both Cesar Chavez Public Policy High School and Center City Public Charter School in Spring 2013. At Cesar Chavez, Poet Ambassadors Gary, Andre, Latrae and Michael came to speak individually about their experiences during incarceration, the stigma a formerly incarcerated person might feel, and the harsh nature of reentry. Joining the Free Minds team at Cesar Chavez were two women from the Ronald McDonald House Charities, important and long lasting supporters of Free Minds.

The students at Cesar Chavez were studying the DC criminal justice system as their final unit, the outreach event a real life application to their studies. To start the introductions, everyone in the room went around to say their names and what they thought was the most surprising thing about incarceration. The answers were mixed and many students initially said that they were unsurprised by the phenomena that occur in prisons. However, as the Free Minds members spoke about their lives, the students’ shock was palpable. Andre poignantly stated, “I lost five years of my life to incarceration, five years I won’t get back, and I’ll live with that for the rest of my life.” The concept of losing time in life seemed to inculcate a message of ambition within the students.

Michael and Gary both spoke about the importance of writing and reading to them during and after incarceration, Michael saying that “poetry is my medicine, it’s like a drug to me.” After returning from prison, Michael admitted that the streets still tempt him, but that writing has prompted him to “use [his] voice to make a change on the block.” Gary, who was a star athlete in high school, got by in school without ever reading or writing. Once in jail, he said that the book club pushed him to value the importance of reading books and writing poetry, something that aided him as he served time in the federal system all over the country. The event at Cesar Chavez touched everyone, including the women from the Ronald McDonald House Charities who were adamant about spreading the knowledge they obtained from Free Minds members’ stories.

The outreach at Center City Public Charter School was just as successful. Gary, Andre and Latrae came to this event, and spoke more specifically about their motivations before incarceration and their actual situations within prison. Latrae set the tone of the event with his honesty, speaking about the death of his father. Latrae only met his father at the age of ten, and two years later, lost him to the streets. This was the reason then that Latrae took to the streets, attempting to “go out like [his dad].” However, after connecting with Free Minds and reading the stories of people who underwent his same challenges in life, he understood that this was not the path he truly wished to take.

Gary’s story followed Latrae’s and he spoke in depth about his experience within prison. In the system since he was thirteen years old, Gary turned eighteen and was sent to multiple prisons in the nation, ending up in California. There, he said that he endured two years of solitary confinement, causing many of the students to gasp and silently applaud him. Gary said that he “would walk in circles around [his] cell,” and that reading and writing brought him solace that nothing else could. Andre highlighted the importance of writing, even when out of prison, by reading his new poem that no one at Free Minds had ever even heard before.

The conversation within the classroom fell to the difficulties of getting a job after prison, whether or not the Free Minds members felt suicidal within prison, and finally ended with a toast for change. Each student raised a plastic champagne glass filled with sparkling cider and said one thing they want to change about themselves for the future. Many of the students and members wanted to better themselves, their attitudes and their efforts to help those within communities that don’t get enough support. The Free Minds “On the Same Page” program continues to educate and influence the minds of DC’s future leaders and residents.

 

By Free Minds Intern Abby Taskier

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