Category: kristine Page 3 of 4

As I was reading about slavery in Virginia and Richmond itself, I was horrified at how inhumane slaveowners were towards these human beings. They had no qualms about separating African families, or denying them an education, or allowing them to have some chance at freedom. What I noticed was that even poor white people in bond servitude were allowed a shot at freedom, but this was mostly not offered to enslaved Africans. I knew how atrocious slavery was from my previous education, but reading some firsthand accounts really sealed the deal on how much I did not know. The story about Anthony Burns and his incarceration in Lumpkin’s Slave Jail was absolutely sickening, even more so because of the nature of this primary source. One thing I did find interesting was that some Black people were allowed to join certain churches, although many of them had to be supervised by white leaders. I also never realized how much work was going on behind the scenes in the anti-slavery movement. I didn’t know that some anti-slavery newspapers were published, at least not the ones that I hadn’t already learned about.

The founding of Virginia in “Richmond’s Unhealed History” offered a lot more factual information than the education I was given in elementary school. European exploration was so much more horrifying now that I’ve received a lot more background information. Although I knew that religion was a large motivating factor in European exploration, reading the vivid details of how these Europeans used their religion to justify the genocide of Indigenous people really turned my stomach. Furthermore, reading the ugly language they used to call Indigenous people was also sickening because it was the truth without any filters. Even the direct quotes from primary sources brought such rich detail, so much so that I had no trouble imagining that someone actually wrote or said something back then. The maps helped in that aspect too, by allowing me to visualize where these events unfolded. What surprised me the most, however, was the atrocious amount of greed these Europeans possessed. They believed that their religion gave them permission to take over other lands and slaughter the natives in order to have economic gains. When the natives retaliated with violence, they hit back even harder and had the nerve to wonder why they did so. I feel like my prior education about Virginia’s founding was very glossed over, so this gave me a chance to learn about what really happened without any censoring.

Reading about the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center’s Post-D Program was enlightening because I learned about the different services offered to those in the program. It also discussed how there are certain criteria a person must meet to be in the program, and the approval process they must undergo. The video about the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Facility provided even more information about juvenile incarceration. Watching it made me realize the cold hard reality of being incarcerated at a young age. Everything in your day is structured, and staying connected with family is so difficult because Bon Air is the only juvenile facility in Virginia, so the commutes are often far. I found it atrocious that there is only one juvenile facility in Virginia, so I was happy to find out that some people are advocating for a new one to be built in eastern Virginia. 

As for the reflections on the class syllabus and Endeavor values, I found myself thinking about my progress so far in this class and program. In terms of the class goals, I think I have made some progress on communicating orally. In high school, I often didn’t raise my hand to speak because I was afraid of being judged if I said something I perceived as unintelligent. In this class, however, I am more comfortable with expressing my ideas because it feels like a safe space to say things and move the conversation forward. Also, I have started to become aware of narratives that drive society, specifically, stereotypes about incarcerated people. From the texts we have read and the conversations we heard from our lunch visit, I have been able to debunk negative stereotypes that permeate society in relation to incarceration. For the Endeavor goals, I think I’ve made progress on ethical understanding because I’ve started to realize that my ideas and actions have ethical consequences on the people around me, so I have to be mindful about this.

Lastly, I haven’t thought much about my learning philosophy statement before. If I were to narrow it down into a sentence, I’d say that I value finding meaning in what you learn. If you try to memorize information just to regurgitate it during an exam and forget about it later, that’s not learning to me. I like thinking about how my learning relates to my own life and the world around me.

Question for McConnell: How do correctional facilities prioritize connecting youth with their families and communities?

The lunch visit was different than I expected because we didn’t get the chance to ask all of our questions. It took longer than expected to get each question answered, which was not a bad thing because we got some really in-depth answers from our guests. I also didn’t expect the conversation to go as in-depth as it did. At one point we were discussing how the government works and getting down to the roots of society. This visit changed my understanding of the book by showing me that these stories are absolutely real, and there is a real person attached to each story. Reading a book can give you the false assumption that these stories are a work of fiction, that such a thing can never happen in real life. Upon hearing Kelvin and Terence speak though, it felt so much more real in the saddest way. My understanding of the book was also changed because I realized that so much time has passed since the project began and even when it was published. I think Terence mentioned that they’d been involved in this for 16 years or so, since 2007. That’s a long time to be writing and reflecting and sharing their experiences to audiences like us. To know that all this started in this exact city also changed my understanding of the book. It happened not very far from us, and that in itself is surprising to me. I do wish that this talk was longer though because there were so many questions left unanswered, and I felt like I could listen to them talk forever. But I am grateful for what they offered to us regardless because I learned so much from them. I considered things I never would have thought about, like the word “habilitation” as opposed to “rehabilitation.” Upon Googling, I have discovered that “habilitation” refers to the attainment of skills needed for daily functioning that haven’t developed, whereas “rehabilitation” means gaining back these skills that were lost.

1. (David Coogan) There were several times when people in your class said that no one had ever asked them these kinds of questions before. How did you come up with these questions? Did you prepare them in advance or improvise?
2. (Other writers) Do you still find yourself writing these days? If so, what forms of writing are they (journaling, more published works) and how has this writing helped you?

While reading the latter part of “Writing Our Way Out,” I was happy to find out that these men were mostly able to reclaim their lives after incarceration. I liked that many of them found some sort of outlet or motivational factor to keep them going, such as religion or knowing that their family needed them. I was also happy to read that writing their stories helped them reconcile with their pasts. Some of them believed that their way of thinking back then was twisted, which they didn’t realize until they had physically written down their stories on paper. However, I was sad when I found out that some of the men were re-arrested. It’s important to know that progress isn’t linear. It ebbs and flows and that’s just how life is sometimes. I was extremely saddened to find out that Andre was killed due to his involvement in a robbery after he had just worked so hard to get acquitted on three trials. Most of all, I learned to view prisoners as humans with stories while I was reading this book. Sometimes, I found myself in disbelief that these stories I was reading were real. I think it will start to feel more real when we are visited by David Coogan and some of the ex-offenders in class. I think it will be a surreal experience meeting them in person, but I am still very excited to hear what they have to say.

I have decided to focus on Naji’s story in particular because some of the events that happened in his life were so profound that they just stuck with me. When he was young, his mother died unexpectedly and he never knew his father. He ended up living with his grandparents, who inflicted physical abuse on him and his brother. His grandmother was emphasized as the main abuser. This caused him to seek love and acceptance throughout his life, which might have led him to do irresponsible things. He started to use drugs and steal to sustain his drug habits, all to distract from his abusive home life. While he was incarcerated, he began to educate himself. All his life, he had learned to hate white people due to racist experiences growing up. When he was introduced to the Nation of Islam, he started seeing the world through new eyes upon discovering that the first man on earth was Black. He even changed his name from James Canady to Naji Faruk Mujahid because it was more fitting to who he was becoming. After he was released, he discovered that his grandmother had Alzheimer’s and that she didn’t remember any of the abuse she subjected to him. He took care of her regardless and became more responsible with his life. Although he didn’t focus as much as he intended on his religion, learning about the Muslim faith was a large factor in rebuilding his life. Writing through Dr. Coogan’s project was also a major contributor because it helped him analyze his life through a new lens.

I have enjoyed reading “Writing Our Way Out” because of the storytelling aspect of the book. At first, I was confused what this would be about, and later I wondered how the introduction of the writing class would transition to the ex-offenders’ stories. I like how David Coogan tells the story of how the writing class came to be and then seamlessly introduces each person’s story into the narrative. The stories are by far the most interesting part for me. Reading about lives that are vastly different from mine really opens up my eyes to what some people were born into and how that can affect how their lives play out. In many stories, family members and other people they knew heavily influenced their life outcomes in awful ways, which I found to be very disturbing. From sexual assault to physical and verbal abuse, every one of their stories had me empathizing with them and wondering what it would have been like if I had been born into such a life. I really admire how these people were so genuine and dedicated to this writing project that they were comfortable enough to have them published. Something else I appreciated was the portraits of all the contributors on the back of the book. Whenever I read books, I focus less on the descriptions and more on the dialogue. In this instance however, I wanted to view these people as real humans with real stories, so seeing their faces really helped me see the humanity in them. In the latter parts of the book, I hope we find out what happens to these people after they are released back into the world and if this project helped them in any way.