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An Evening of Freedom: Alice Walker
Alice Walker: (Applause) I grew up in Georgia, and you kind of had to be active to get out of there, at the time. Anyway, I’m so happy to see you. It’s really wonderful to… Full Transcript
Alice Walker Speaks
Alice Walker: (Applause) I grew up in Georgia, and you kind of had to be active to get out of there, at the time. Anyway, I’m so happy to see you. It’s really wonderful to… Full Transcript
How Long
Spoon Jackson
I dreamt about you once, when tiny raindrops cascaded across the windowpane. I dreamt about you once, when the snowflakes covered the woodlands and made it too cold to go outside for weeks. I dreamt… Full Transcript
Denied
Spoon Jackson
Denied. This life, a collection of sweet and bitter memories. The dreams are fantasies, made up of forgotten tomorrow that may be played out or remain forever lost, deep within the deception of the mind.… Full Transcript
In A Heavy Way
Spoon Jackson
I do not understand this drought in letters; it’s like a stream in Death Valley. I’ve been writing a lot of poetry. Perhaps they are letters to myself, for loneliness has touched me in every… Full Transcript
Love: A Message from Mumia
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Dear brothers, sisters, comrades, friends on the MOVE. As we meet today, we are living examples of a truly remarkable movement: a movement for life, for liberation, for resistance, and yes, for love. We have… Full Transcript
Love and Economics
Charles Karim Diggs
Charles Karim Diggs. I’m in Graterford, Pennsylvania, Graterford State Correctional Institution. Um, my topic for this evening is “Love and Economics.” Wealth should help more than the wealthy. Riches should enrich the community. Success should… Full Transcript
How Convicted Women Are Treated
Terri Harper
Hi, this is Terri Harper calling from SCI Muncy in Pennsylvania. This piece is about a conversation that I had with one of my sisters about how I am looked upon as a woman who… Full Transcript
Is There a Fear To Love?
Charles Karim Diggs
Charles Karim Diggs, and I’m calling from Pennsylvania, Graterford. And, uh, my, uh, title for the subject tonight is, “Is There a Fear to Love?” You may ask yourself, what does love have to do… Full Transcript
Street Combatant to Servant of the People
Khalfani Malik Khaldun
Hello. My name is brother Khalfani Malik Khaldun, Indiana political prisoner. I am calling from Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. This is a piece called “From Organizational Street Combatant to Revolutionary Servant of the People,” by… Full Transcript
On Parole For Lifers
Omar Askia Ali
My name is, uh, Omar Askia Ali, aka Edward Sistrunk. I’m housed in Coal Township in Pennsylvania. I’m speaking about parole eligibility for life-sentence prisoners in the state of Pennsylvania. There is a dire need… Full Transcript
Loving Day
Bryant Arroyo
“Landmark of Love: Loving v. Virginia.” In 1967, United State Supreme Court civil rights decision Loving v. Virginia set the precedent for interracial constitutional love. The background on loving is the family name of Mildred… Full Transcript
Beauty in Cell Bars
Spoon Jackson
Beauty in cell bars. We locked ourselves up. Not because of the bars and steel that surrounds us. Not because life doesn’t bend to our every whim. But because of the projections we placed onto… Full Transcript
Go On
Spoon Jackson
My name is Spoon Jackson in that New Folsom Prison. And the title of the poem I’m reading is “Go On.” I cannot go on like this, but I will go on, on and on… Full Transcript
Acceptance
Lisa Strawn
Lisa Strawn, CMS Vacaville, “Acceptance.” Currently where I am and who I am, I’m not accepted for anything. Being a trans woman in a man’s prison, I’m not entitled to acceptance. The reality of acceptance… Full Transcript
Prisoner Blues
Christian Weaver
My name’s Christian Weaver. I’m calling from Mountain City, TN, contributing to the Cruel, Not Unusual Enough audiobook, and the name of my poem, the first poem, is “Prison blues.” You don’t know loneliness until… Full Transcript
Peace, Love and Joy
Lisa Strawn
Lisa Strawn, CMS Vacaville, “Peace, Love, and Joy.” At Christmas time, when everyone talks about peace and joy and the love of family, I’m reminded daily how the struggles people face over addiction, violence, and… Full Transcript
Heal. Like a heart that keeps giving, I must keep believing in the power of healing. Sometimes I grind down so hard on my teeth I crack them during the night. I must wear a… Full Transcript