In 2023 I read an article in The National Liberator, an Aleph production, here is the excerpt:
” Voters banned slavery from state constitutions, redefining prison labor.
More than 150 years after slavery was abolished, four states- Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont- voted to eliminate language in their constitutions that allows slavery as punishment for a crime, and exception written into the 13th Amendment.
The success of these measures indicates a growing support for prison reform in a country where roughly 800,000 incarcerated people work, and are often forced to do so for little or no pay. These amendments are needed to strip antiquated language from state constitutions and transform the criminal justice system by making all prison work voluntary.
For far too long, incarcerated people have been exploited for their labor, making pennies on the dollar. These victories pave the way for ending modern-day forced labor in prisons and jails nationwide. “
If you ever
Many folks don’t realize that the Federal Government allows each state to determine how the prisoners shall be rewarded for their labor; whether with good time WORK CREDITS, or pennies on the dollar, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH.
This is why folks do more or less time on the same sentence depending on the state.
Here in the feds, we do a little combination. We get 54 days per year for good behavior and a 30-40 hour work week will get you anywhere from $ 15 – $ 100.00. Jobs are scarce here, yet very few women actually want to work in this new generation.
They are caught up in this idea of slavery. I get it.
I never thought that I would find a space to develop powerful skills, translatable skills, in doing manual labor here, working for the man. In my past life, if someone didn’t offer me a job, ask me to work for them, I didn’t pursue employment. I liked being self- employed, not to say I didn’t do any hard work, because I did; I appreciate a good days work.
In reading the words of Michael Santos I can see we seem to both possess some of the same translatable skills and it shows in how we did our time:
– problem solving
– time management
– task masters
Much like in the way I am brilliant in art, design and organization, I have the abilty to walk into a room and see what goes where and how things can be improved to serve the space.
This prison has given me much to puzzle out. Again, I found myself working with strained aesthetics, ah but then I had the gardens.
Working this yard, refined me.
I recently had the most interesting conversation about SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD. Interestingly enough, I have met very few women here for anything to do with that. Perhaps that is one of those upper-echelon crimes where a fine is a more suitable retribution.
Let me paint a picture that seems to need correction:
A judge gives a woman, let’s say her name is Kim, 360 months in a one count indictment for conspiracy to possess over 50 grams of a controlled substance. At the time of arrest, Kim is 50 yrs old. She serves her time, working all the while, making the most of her 30 year sentence and is released at the earliest time when she is 70.
We cannot discount the factors that Kim faces, having lived in a stressful environment for 20 years she has PTSD. With years of sleeping on metal and steel, harsh lights and chaos, poor diet and no access to supplements, Kim may not be aging that well. Yes, we could argue, she is better off than she may have been if she had continued on in her addiction but what matters is that she is released to a world where she has no SOCIAL SECURITY after having worked for pennies on the dollar for 20 years. Kim has no children and her parents both died while she was in prison. She is now, completely, a burden of the state.
This all goes back to this need for, ” WE THE PEOPLE “- those who are paying taxes to house 800,000 folks, most of whom will eventually return to our society to return to our communities as productive members of society.
I am not talking about productive in the way that , ” the man ” defines. I mean in a way in which we find our balance, become whole and understand that we are tribe members who all must bring something to the table, whatever it is that
we are skilled at, our best contributions.
In the wellness wheel, it’s described as the occupational spoke but in truth it could be better defined as a spoke of sustainment. Whatever it is that allows us to be sustained in this world.
I understand there are entire communities in America who have a barter system, where a dentist trades an hour of work for an hour of laundry service or whatever the case may be. That comes to mind as this is a great example of creating a community where each person’s contributions are valued, regardless of what it is, if it’s earnest.
Over these years, I have kept this sketch book, it was really just for me, a fun little book that I pretend to be written by my little monkey, Pablo. In this way, Paublo and the book have served as an ice breaker for me and my cellmates and other women in the community.
One of the most beautiful truths I have discovered is that often times, when we are seeking to find our balance- noticing the spokes of our wellness wheel, there is a fine overlap in the activities we do in what I refer to as, OUR POWERFUL 24.
This little book, spans across the spectrum as it was a mind- freeing exercise in creativity, it created community where sometimes social connections seemed strained under stressful conditions, and best of all, this book shall be published, Pablo will be famous and I will perhaps, see a profit.
If we step back and think about how to improve the life of our Kim’s, we will understand the challenge to be how to help Kim to find her balance, shorten her sentence, give her the space to find her purpose and help her leave her with a solid plan.
” There is no end to the myriad ways to be engaged in repairing the world! ” – Tikkum Olam
