Family
By Brandon Astor Jones
"The rise and fall of a people begin at home. Our future depends on the unity, love and support of the family." — Susan L. Taylor, editor in chief, Essence magazine
I received a very nice letter recently from Ms Elizabeth Wilson, 89, of the United Kingdom. She was once the secretary of the Huddersfield Famine Relief Committee there.
She considerately enclosed a "coupon-response international" voucher that can be redeemed at the post office for stamps, to be used to respond to her letter. Unfortunately, she did not know that such vouchers are useless to me; prisoners are only allowed to obtain stamps by ordering them, using money on account, from the prison store.*
Ms Wilson commends those of us on death row who were involved a few years ago in the Afghan Project, a program dear to her heart that provided meals for homeless men, women and children. The Afghan Project eventually sank from a lack of local participation.
In her letter, she says, "Naturally I feel a link with what you and your little group are doing, [crocheting] afghan rugs [and] giving the money raised to a local charity ... I have a deep appreciation for you ... [you are] lighting a candle ... in a dark situation". What a nice thing to say. We thank you Ms Wilson.
Such sentiments are common outside of the United States, but here, few share them. During the years that we struggled to do everything we could to keep the Afghan Project afloat, not one penny's worth of support came from a US citizen.
Indeed, we could not even find help for the good Reverend R. B. Cottonreader, who we enlisted to dispense to those in need the fruits of the program: hot meals served in an Atlanta restaurant and warm Afghans to ward off the cold. Most of the recipients were African Americans.
Essence magazine is the most widely read monthly publication in the US aimed primarily at the country's women of colour. Before Susan L. Taylor, an African-American single mother who was once on welfare, became one of the heads of Essence magazine, she knew poverty. So, when we started the Afghan Project, I thought Ms Taylor was an appropriate person to contact. We were seeking support and some exposure for the program in her publication.
Over the years that the program was active, I repeatedly sent letters to her. She never acknowledged them. Since I have great respect for the work that she does, I prefer to think that perhaps she never got them.
Currently, a group of men here on death row have decided to resume the Afghan Project. As state prisoners we are not allowed to sell the Afghans we crochet, so we give them away in exchange for donations. Donations are pooled into a fund used to replenish supplies to create more Afghans.
What is left over is sent to individuals we enlist (such as the Reverend Cottonreader) who go directly to the street and gather hungry men, women and children together to take them all to a local eatery which, by prearrangement, agrees to reduce the regular cost per meal.
Serving those in need in this manner recognises their humanity and preserves their dignity. The process embraces them, satisfying their self-esteem as well as their hunger.
We would like the support of Essence magazine. To that end, I respectfully request that my readers clip and send this article to: Susan L. Taylor, Editor-in-chief, Essence magazine, 1500 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, USA, or e-mail her at <letters@essence.com>. Ms Taylor's words are entirely true: "Our future depends on the unity, love and support of the family".
* At the time of this writing I do not have a dime in my account and can purchase neither stamps nor writing supplies. I need your help. Please send donations (and make cheques payable to) my trustee: Mr Del Cassidy, 142 Wilmer Street, Glassboro, New Jersey, 08028, USA. He will make sure that every cent goes directly into my prison account.
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He welcomes letters commenting on his columns (include your name and full return address on the envelope, or prison authorities may refuse to deliver it). He is also seeking a publisher for his autobiography, Growing Down. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G3-63, Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA.]