Hi, this is Jamil Pirant calling out of the Indiana Department of Corrections. And the title of this is called, “Support Khalfani.” It was like, probably like 2015 and I heard this big voice, he got like a growl voice. He said, “As-salamu alaykum.” Like the ground almost shook. Turned around, we never seen this big brother before.
So, you know, he was happy to see us, hugging us like he knew us, he just got out the SHU. So, you know, we interested into him, it’s an elder, so we go over and we get to greeting – I mean – you know, introducing ourselves, things like that. He took a good liking to a lot of young brothers that was on the camp in Wabash Valley.
He created his own little program in the day room and things like this, despite if the administration let him do it in classrooms. So he led it during the day room. We come to the day room, we rally up, and it was called Grief and Loss, so how we deal with our grief and how we deal with our loss. You know what I’m saying? He put a lot of time into the ones around here. So over this time, he gave me a lot of strength to keep fighting the campaign.
In fact, he introduced me to Prison Radio. And I’m hearing that he’s going through a lot of stuff down there in Wabash Valley right now. I know personally how that plantation get down. I know they do not like leaders, I know they do not like Black men that can lead people, that’s positive. Now, if Khalfani was down there doing drugs, and ripping and hooting and hollering, it would be no problem. They would let him pass by. But since he investing his time and his energy into the ones that can spread it a little farther than maybe than he could, that’s the problem. Everything that we can do, everything that we can say, we should do it to support Khalfani Khaldun. That brother really, really, really changed my life.
He was on the SHU for 20 years. I was barely 23 or something like that. It was a young brother who was with me and he was like, “Man, I ain’t even 20 yet.” He was on the SHU for 20 years and came out smiling. He was on the SHU for 20 years and came out loving everybody. I never seen no Black men in prison that the Aryans loved like that. That the Mexicans loved like that. At least not in my journey. And he came out teaching us what Mumia Abu-Jamal taught him. It’s like we all was raised by Mumia Abu-Jamal through him. You know, and Hugo Pinell and things like this, that he was teaching us and grooming us with.
So I just want to send my support to Khalfani and I really love that brother. And I know many of us do because the ones that I’m touching and reaching out to, the young brothers that come and rally around me, they don’t even know what I’m giving them I done got from Khalfani. And Khalfani done got it from such and such and such and such. And God willing it keep going on so we can keep motivating brothers to keep their heads up in these places.
Khalfani told me a story one time. He said a man burnt his self in his cell, killed his self. The police hated him so much that when they took the man out the cell, they put him in the cell while the flesh was still on the floor. That man came up out that cell, came up out the SHU, and didn’t do nothing like, and still, like, you know, and didn’t hold no grudges, man. Of course he put it all into his fight, how he was supposed to and how he showed me. That’s why I fight how I fight. That’s why I can call Prison Radio and feel like I got a voice. He gave me a voice, man. It’s like liberating, it’s like being heard.
So I understand now and I just beg y’all people and I beg their people, man, support Khalfani. Whatever it is, if it’s just a letter, if it’s just reaching out to his family, or whatever it is, support Khalfani and let him know we love him. He one of our last ones, man, for real, that I know of. Thank y’all.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
