Chapter 11 starts with Shaka contemplating suicide. He talks to his friends whom he is drinking with in a basement but they don’t really understand or get what he’s saying, they laugh it off. He recognizes that despite growing up around guns and violence, suicide was something they never talked about. He says he didn’t understand the power of depression, didn’t understand how it could cause someone to end his or her life, just to get rid of the pain that person was carrying. This is representative of what many black men experience, where despite the difficult sorroundings and lives they must act tough and don’t talk about mental health and their pain. Shaka explains that even though his life should be looking up since he moved in with his father and step-family, he is still feeling isolated, depressed, and like a burden. He does attempt to kill himself but he tells his step-sister who gets his father to come help him. Even though while helping him, his father had said all the right things about loving him Shaka’s behavior still spiraled further from there. In this chapter, Shaka is arrested on a drug charge and sent to Job Corps where he was exposed to more racism than he ever knew. He was terminated for fighting with a racist guard and sent home.
Chapter 12 being in Carson City Correctional Facility. Shaka was reading and learning about white supremacy. He had a lot of internal anger and turned that anger towards white people. He didn’t have any money in the commissary so him and Murder try to rob their neighbor. He accidently flipped an officer and he was brought to the “segregation unit” before he is transferred back to the Michigan Reformatory. Here he began to write letters as a form of escape from the solitude and incarceration. At the end he is being transferred to the Maximum Security Facility at Standish.
Chapter 13 they are back in Detroit following his expulsion from the Job Corps. His friend Coop gives Shaka his job dealing drugs after he is arrested for murdering a cusatomer who was trying to rob him, so now Shaka is selling drugs again. Shaka gets into an altercation and shot by his ex girlfriends new boyfriend. Shaka explains that in their culture men have to defend their women if another man disrespects her. Somewhat chivalrous but also plays into the misogynoir element we discussed in class. They call 911 after Shaka is shot but no help ever comes, shows the status of their city but also represents how their is no help for people like Shaka. He doesn’t “snitch” because thats another important part of their culture. Shaka is also shocked that the people in the hospital don’t care more that a kid has been shot, again shows what the city is like and how much they are valuing young black men. He complains that no one counseled him after this incident even though his parent scame and pleaded with him to get off the streets, I think this shows how his mindset was part of the problem.
Chapter 14 takes place at the Standish Maximum Correctional Facility in 1992. Shaka is still only 20 years old. He spends almost a year in solitary confinement. He starts playing basketball and joins with the Melanic brothers. He’s learning about African history through books but also starts fighting others. He fights a hitman and gains cred. He also has to stab a rival gang member to show other people not to mess with them. He does find a mentor in Baruti, who tries to get him to do the right things. Shaka ends up getting transferred back to Reformatory but he stays in contact with Baruti and finds Baruti’s son at the Reformatory. Here he has the first visit with his family. His son is at first scared of him and this breaks his heart. The son warms up by the end but the experience of watching his son leave sunk Shaka deeper into depression. He starts being violent and says, “My actions stood in stark contrast to the man I said I was trying to become. I desired to be a strong Black man and a leader, but my actions showed that I was still little more than a street thug.”
These chapters made me wonder if all the transferring effected Shaka’s progress? Had he stayed in one facility for any longer period of time would that have helped or hurt his progress towards becoming the man he wanted to be? I think if he had longer with Baruti his journey could have been expedited.
Is Shaka’s detailed memoir changing anyone’s perspective on incarceration or those incarcerated? I feel that going with him on his journey is very illuminating on the experience of an incarcerated person and this has the potential to teach us a lot.
Well said Ava. I think Shaka’s very self aware descriptions of his struggle have altered my perception of those who spend decades behind bars. This has been especially noticeable to me in moments where he discusses “wiser” inmates, those who others turn to for guidance and advice in their times of trouble, such as L. I think Shaka’s ability to recognize the rage which built up inside of him and the direct correlation between this and the lack of family care and attention is extremely impressive. This level of honesty and reflection is fairly uncommon in adults, let alone those considered to be the least mature/emotionally advanced in our society. Because of how well spoken Shaka is about these struggles, I have definitely altered my perception of incarcerated citizens.
Ava, I very much agree with your point of what many men and black men in particular experience in terms of being overlooked mental health wise for the sake of appearances. Throughout the book Shaka talks about how he just wanted his mother to want him back and to be loved and accepted by her. While his father cares about him deeply, there is a sense of abandonment that drives him to lose interest in education and become suicidal. Additionally his father was also undergoing struggles unknown to others around him as well. He states, “Years later, during conversations with my father, I would learn about the struggles he had been facing at the time- those of being a recent divorcé and a father to three biological children and three step children while trying to make a new relationship work” (112). In many ways, Shaka, his father, and many other men experience this need to hide their own personal struggles and stay silent about mental health even with the people closest to them. He eventually attempts to kill himself by swallowing pills after deciding against killing himself with a gun and he states, “I begged her not to, but deep inside, I was happy that she was taking action. For the first time in years, I felt like someone cared about me” (115). I also noticed what you re-iterated about the culture of suicide being this laughable and unspoken act, this was an incredibly moving chapter that was written with raw emotion and incredible honesty.
Mental health is not neglected for the sake of appearances. Rather, it is the response of people already saddled with stigmas and a history of slavery. Black people are exceptionally sensitive to any additional stigmas. Try to imagine existing in a world where you are considered unintelligent, dishonest, unclean, unattractive. No one wants to add “mentally ill” to the list.
In response to your questions, I do believe that if Shaka was not transferred from facility to facility he would have found it easier to focus on his personal growth. The constant transfer of inmates seems, to me, to be an institutional ploy to further uproot incarcerated individuals at a time in which they have already been stripped of all sense of normalcy. Constantly moving inmates requires them to acclimate to a new prison culture, which (as Shaka highlights) often includes establishing their ‘toughness’ early on. In addition, it means the separation from the friends they have made during their time at a specific facility. Connections among inmates—just like all connections amongst all people— are critical in bettering oneself and maintaining steady progress. No one can fully change without the support of friends; moving inmates sporadically strips them of their ability to make and maintain these crucial, in-person connections. Shaka’s experience in the prison system highlights that individuals can often be moved from facility to facility for no reason. I also believe that this lack of explanation is intentional; it reminds inmates that they have no autonomy over themselves. This reminder can further stunt the personal progress they may have struggled for, as it fosters anger—both toward individuals and the system.
In response to your second question, I do believe that Shaka’s memoir has changed my perspective on the incarcerated. Shaka speaks with such clarity about the downfalls and struggles of his youth and young environment. Shaka committed a terrible crime, yet he was capable of accepting his guilt and using this tragedy to ensure others do not make the same mistakes. However, while I find the memoir incredibly moving, hearing his voice (on the video we watched in class and a separate podcast episode I found) has a completely unique impact. Shaka speaks with force, and the sincerity and vulnerability in his voice highlights his passion for his work and the struggles of his story. Most importantly, Shaka does not ‘gloss over’ any aspect of his story; he is honest in telling readers just how long and difficult his rehabilitative journey was. He illustrates his acts of violence while in prison, and, in doing so, his story is representative of just how difficult personal change can be.
Your statement about the constant transferring as an “institutional ploy” is well-taken. Sometimes prisoners are moved to fill up a privately-owned or privately-run prison. However, it makes sense to me that sometimes there are multiple benefits to shifting the population, especially when it involves someone as smart and persuasive as Shaka.
Ava, thank you for your summary and enlightening analysis. In response to your second question, about my personal experience reading this memoir, I absolutely feel that my perspective has changed. I had never really learned much about incarceration from this point of view, and I am continuously horrified by Shaka’s description of the violence and injustices experienced within the walls of our U.S. jails and prisons. I have been particularly intrigued by the relationships that Shaka makes as he moves from one location to another. Having the Melanic brothers organization was useful for him to have a structured way to meet people, but it also presented its own challenges. I was surprised to learn how Shaka could formulate such real and deep friendships, despite having such limited opportunities for quality time or even remotely ideal circumstances to conversate. The way that inmates bond is a unique and special process that I had never thought about before. This refers back to your first question, about the difficulties in transferring around, because I found myself feeling saddened when Shaka would recount a meaningful experience with someone, and then often not have the opportunity to speak to them again. I can only imagine that was one of the more challenging parts of moving around, especially in the case of Shaka who could be considered a fairly personable and social guy. That being said, I do think that being able to start over after experiencing particularly violent or harsh altercations could have been useful for Shaka to avoid continuing certain behaviors. There are obviously some moves for the worse; however, in the case that the relocation was more of a fresh reset, Shaka could potentially feel motivated to change some of his negative behaviors since he would no longer be surrounded by the same people.