THIS IS MY STORY
Shaka Senghor
In 1991 at the age of 19 Shaka Senghor was incarcerated, sentenced to a total of 19 years in prison, seven of which he spent in solitary confinement. After serving 19 years for murder, he was ready to speak out against the unforgiving prison system that sealed his faith long before he pulled the trigger. Now five years after his release Senghor is celebrated as a public speaker, writer and activist. His autobiography Writing my Wrongs, is a bestseller in the US and displays his experience with chronicle child abuse, crack houses, depression, being shot as a child, and then fatally turning the gun on someone else during.a drug deal gone wrong. He also speaks about the horror and mundaneness of prison stabbings and rape. Senghor believes that the inmates of American prisons, sadly men of color, more often struggle for people to believe in them. This both before committing the crimes that ended them in jail but also after they are released from serving their sentences. As he stated in his interview with The Guardian magazine, “The judicial system doesn’t teach about healing,” but “I am proving that if you give people a second chance, they can make good of it,”[13]
Reentry Coalition of New Jersey
In this video we get to experience a small clip from the New Jersey conference and their exploration of barriers to overcome reentry. We get a brief comment from a former prisoner about his experience with the transitioning from jail to society. He also shares a new app he has created to help families and friends to send much needed love to those behind bars.[15]
Frederic G. Reamer, PhD
"I have been a first-hand witness to many impressive offenders who, despite long odds, turned their lives around with a complex mix of resilience, perseverance, humility, insight, and an earnest willingness to take full advantage of social workers' efforts to assist them," says Frederic G. Reamer, PhD, a professor at Rhode Island College's School of Social Work who spent 24 years as a member of the Rhode Island Parole Board. "These are among the most satisfying moments a social worker can experience." [14]
Former Gov. Jim McGreevey & Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop
"It’s increasingly difficult to keep poor, undereducated young men and women out of prison when so many forces are armed against them."
“If 70 percent of the people behind bars are addicts and/or alcoholics, and they don’t receive any treatment while they’re behind bars, then we’re not doing ourselves justice,” McGreevey said. “We’re doing a disservice not only to the addict/inmate but to society.” [14]
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop
“People would often say, ‘Why are you spending so much resources on criminals when you should be spending it on people who haven’t committed crimes? And it’s only 2,000 people.’ The response to that is that these 2,000 people have a disproportionately large impact on the broader community and if you don’t help these 2,000 people it impacts everybody,”[14]
Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson
“Once you’re in there, they’re gonna put the whammy on you. Once you’re in there, everything’s gonna change. You have to prevent from going there. Once you’re in there; it’s almost a wrap. Some guys may become more articulate, more didactic, read books and they’re very articulate with their words, but they have their demons in there working. They have their demons and it’s really hard to release those demons when you’re in that place.” [14]
