I Never Saw Myself As An Individual

I Don't Think It's Necessary To Feel Guilty. Because I Know That I'm Still Doing The Work That Is Going To Help More Sisters And Brothers To Challenge The Whole Criminal Justice System, And I'm Trying To Use Whatever Knowledge I Was Able To Acquire To Continue To Do The Work In Our Communities That Will Move Us Forward.

I Think It's Important For Us To Recognize That Although Historically Black Communities Have Been Very Progressive With Respect To Issues Of Race And With Respect To Struggles For Racial Equality, That Does Not Necessarily Translate Into Progressive Positions On Gender Issues, Progressive Positions On Issues Of Sexuality And In The Latter 1990s We Have To Recognize The Intersectionality, The Interconnectedness Of All Of These Institutions And Attitudes.

I Can't Really Blame A Lot Of Young Sisters And Brothers Who Believe That Education Has Anything To Offer Them. Because As A Matter Of Fact, It Has Nothing To Offer Them. Suppose They Do Get A High School Diploma That Is Meaningful. What Kind Of Job Is Awaiting Them. The Jobs That Used To Be Available To Working Class People Are Not There As A Result Of The De-industrialization Of This Economy.

It Is Both Humiliating And Humbling To Discover That A Single Generation After The Events That Constructed Me As A Public Personality, I Am Remembered As A Hairdo.

One Of The Reasons That So Many People Of Color And Poor People Are In Prison Is That The Deindustrialization Of The Economy Has Led To The Creation Of New Economies And The Expansion Of Some Old Ones – I Have Already Mentioned The Drug Trade And The Market For Sexual Services. At The Same Time, Though, There Are Any Number Of Communities That More Than Welcome Prisons As A Source Of Employment. Communities Even Compete With One Another To Be The Site Where New Prisons Will Be Constructed Because Prisons Create A Significant Number Of Relatively Good Jobs For Their Residents