Support for those withoutSupport for those without
By Brandon Astor Jones
"[Be] like a tree grown in a meadow.
It greens, it doubles its yield,
It stands in front of its lord.
Its fruit is sweet, its shade delightful." — Amenemope (c. 11th century BC)
The words above describe a person I have never met, but for whom I have the utmost respect. He is, in my opinion, like a strong and healthy tree growing in one of life's meadows, bearing and dispensing the abundance of his fruit as he stands before his "lord".
A fellow prisoner brought a radio program to my attention. The program's gospel music format is hosted by Lester White. He constructively interacts with the men, women and children confined in Georgia's prisons. By "interacts", I mean that prisoners write and send poetry to him, and he reads their poetry on the air.
To some, that may not seem like much, but for the prisoners concerned — and, I suspect, to Lester White — it is a lot. At the very least, it gives humanising hope in an atmosphere in which hope is often as elusive as physical freedom itself.
Moreover, White also visits prisons and prisoners, and he even provides financial support to some, at great expense to himself. At present, no less than five men at this prison alone are sporadic recipients of his selfless spiritual and financial assistance.
That makes White the exception rather than the rule. Many, if not most, African-American churches and church folk give little more than self-righteous lip service to the spiritual and financial needs of prisoners. Their places of worship are beautiful, but for too many their interactions with us are shallow at best and ugly. I have brought Lester White to your attention because he clearly deserves recognition for his love for, and service to, us all.
"Better is poverty in the hand of the god/ Than wealth in the storehouse;/ Better is bread with a happy heart/ Than wealth with vexation."
This kind man freely shares his far-reaching spirit and fruit while many so-called "houses of God" treat us with a self-righteous dehumanising that has become politically correct and economically convenient. That is more than sufficient reason to support him and his good works.
Will you praise and support Lester White? I have no doubt that he will appreciate your letters, and I know that he can always use donations, great or small. With your praise, encouragement and donations, he will be able to expand his support of many more men, women and children locked away in Georgia's prisons, most of whom have no support at all.
Write to: Mr Lester White, c/- "Gospel With Lester", Radio Station E-93 FM, PO Box 3565, Savannah, GA, 31404, USA.
[The writer is a prisoner in the United States. He welcomes letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, Georgia State Prison, HCO1, Reidsville, GA 30453, USA. For the first time in 18 years, Brandon has the real hope of his sentence of death being mitigated. If you can help by contributing to his defence fund or in other ways, please contact Australians Against Executions, PO Box 640, Milson's Point NSW 2061. Phone (02) 9955 1731, fax 9427 9489. Cheques can be made payable to "Brandon Astor Jones Defence Fund".]