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“Yeah, I know you are the dude that was protesting civil rights or something like that. A pig got popped, and you ran until they caught you.”
“You saw that on TV?”
“Yep.”
Samuel
Several weeks had passedsince I’d moved into the cell with Reggie. We were getting along well. He took on the role of mentor and me his mentee. We held long evening discussions about life, freedom, money, women and the role of the black male in society.
“What are your plans after you get out of here?” Reggie asked me one night after we’d been counted and secured in our cells.
“I don’t know. I want to work somewhere and make enough money to take care of my momma and my sister.”
“Do you know what an entrepreneur is?”
“An entrepreneur is someone who owns a business.”
“Right, a business or a service. Entrepreneurship should be the goal of every black man. We need to own the businesses where our people shop, eat and receive services. It’s nothing wrong with starting out working for someone, but ultimately, you should think about what you could own that would positively impact the community. We should keep our money in our community.”
I’d never thought about owning my own business. My uncle had a small restaurant but other than him, I didn’t know any black people with their own business.
“I don’t know what that could be.”
“You don’t have to know the answer now. I want you to think about it. In the meantime, you should start taking some college courses. Several schools offer classes here. You can start with the basic classes like English and math. Once you figure out what you want to do, then you can declare a major.”
I did well in high school, but I wasn’t really checking for college. My mother had encouraged me to look at the local community college, but I hadn’t made it there before I got arrested. With all this free time on my hands, college was not a bad idea.
“Your education is something no one can ever take from you. You need to get as much education as you can. See, people will look at your history of incarceration and try to deny you employment but, if you get an education, they can’t stop you.”
“Did you go to college?”
“I did. I have a master’s degree in Psychology. I am currently working on my doctoral degree in Psychology.”
“You will be a doctor?”
“Yes, but not a medical doctor.”
“That’s a lot of years of college, right?”
“Yes, but anything you do is going to require sacrifice and commitment. That’s why I am always reading and studying. They can take my freedom, but they can’t take my mind. I will continue to grow and learn. You should do the same. An educated black man is an unstoppable force. Nothing on Earth can reconcile the sheer force of a god with knowledge and wisdom.”
* * *
I tookReggie’s advice and started taking college classes. The classwork was simple. I thought it would give me a little bit of a challenge, but it didn’t. I hadn’t decided what degree I wanted to pursue, but I didn’t need to know right away.
My mother and my sister came once a month to visit me. I looked forward to the hugs and the snacks from the vending machines in the visiting room. My mother kept money on my books, so I always had snacks in my cell, but the snacks in the vending machines were different.
Both Reggie and I were notified we had visitors. We walked single file to the visitation room and were allowed to enter the large room and find our loved ones. I followed behind Reggie because he was walking in the direction of my mother and sister. I thought he would pass their table and keep going, but he stopped at my mother’s table and said, “Hi, Vivian.”
I didn’t remember telling him her name. I don’t recall a time where her name would have even slipped out during conversation. I watch my mother as the recognition immediately hit her.
“Reggie?”
She looked at me and then quickly back to him.
“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious isn’t it?” Reggie replied in a lower tone.
I looked from my mother to Reggie and back to my mother. I was waiting for someone to explain.
