I’ve now come to the realization that even as a three striker, I can recommit myself to our community, out there, where the violence rears its ugly head.
I joined Team Exodus Sept. 6, 2008, and this time, it wasn’t for me. You see, I’ve been indulging myself on positive groups at San Quentin, from Non-Verbal Communication, Keepin’-It-Real, Day of Peace, and various college courses, just to name a few. Team Exodus gave me an opportunity to give back to the community.
I, as a Team Exodus member and a reporter for the San Quentin News, interviewed a young man concerning what might be done to stop the violence in our communities. My subject was Paul, a 21-year-old resident from West Oakland, incarcerated for drug offenses.
Q: “What is the most important thing that you need to maintain a life free of violence?” A: “Help like this, because out there I don’t know where to go for help. It’s hard to do the right things I need to do if I don’t know where to go.”
Q: “What curriculum have you taken at SQ?” A: “The Bridging program. It’s a good program, it helps me to learn to communicate with others as well as my daughter.”
Q: “What’s your biggest fear upon being released?” A: “Not being able to get a job.”
I assured Paul that the Job Fair was designed to help him realize his employment goals. Along with that, I told him how I once secured a job by volunteering to work for free. I told the supervisor I had nothing better to do but to hang out in the neighborhood, that I’d give him a free eight hours just to stay out of trouble.
Well, I was told to go fill up that wheelbarrow with water, and that’s just not easy. At the end of the day, the boss told me to come on back, and that I was hired. Paul listened with a smile on his face and said, “I’ll remember that and use it if I have to.”
I told Paul to do just that, and, if by chance he wasn’t hired on the spot, he’d certainly be the first one that they’d call in when an opening came up. “I know they will,” was his response to me. And with that, we returned to the rest of my questions for Paul.
Q: “Paul, just exactly what can we do to stop the violence out there?” A: Paul’s response was beautiful! “Get myself together by getting that job and then talk to the kids, letting them know that’s not it! Spend time with them; listen to them. I really want to do that because I grew up without pops, so I know how that is.” Q: The last question was “What do you do out there, Paul?” A: “I sing man, and R&B is my thang.”
And with that, we concluded what had been my first interview as a San Quentin News correspondent. I am grateful for this opportunity to give back to the community, and, in doing so, I was able to reach out and to encourage one young man to make some positive changes in his life, and perhaps even to reach out and help others. What is my benefit? The reawakening of the humankind within myself and the joy to me that it brings Symbiosis.
