-YM, Albuquerque I had a few teachers in my life. My first teachers were my mom and dad. They always showed me right from wrong, and how to treat the people you love or respect. They also taught me how to love. I appreciate them a lot for that. My other teachers have been my big brothers. My first big brother is my blood. We have the same mom. I’m not gonna say his name because he wouldn’t want me to, but he taught me how to be a man, he and my dad did. He taught me to stand
Continue ReadingMonth: March 2025
What We Deserve
-Gabriel, Santa Cruz I deserve to be home with my family. So far, I’ve been trying my absolute best, but I keep finding myself in situations. I just wanna move on with life and move on with probation. I’m sad to see myself back here. I was doing so good, almost off probation. I wish I woulda thought about my actions before doing what I did. If I do get released, I wanna engage in sports to keep me occupied with my day and I just wanna prove I can do good and successfully get off probation. I wish I
Continue ReadingMy CGA Experience as a Facilitator: Taking the Mask Off
-Hugo, California Health Care Facility in Stockton, CA During my thirty plus years of incarceration, I made a life changing decision in 2013 when I joined CGA’s Correspondence/Prep Program, while being housed in the SHU Program at Pelican Bay State Prison. In the first assignments that I received, I quickly realized that CGA was attacking the conditioning and beliefs that have been instilled in me through this lifestyle. For so many years I have been tricked into believing that gangsters don’t snitch, nor do they divulge any information revolving their constitution. Knowing from an early age that joining a gang
Continue ReadingA Safe Space to Dwell
-André, California Medical Facility, Vacaville, CA “Darkness cannot drive away darkness, only light can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr. The longer I live, the more I understand this quote. Most of my life, I have been fighting hate with hate, violence with violence, tit for tat, etc. That pattern and cycle of dealing with the “darkness” has never produced the desired outcome I was looking for. Being in prison, most people believe the only way to survive is to adopt the long-lasting culture already in place. That norm only produces racist, antisocial, cruel, uneducated, criminal minded, emotionally broken individuals.
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