Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Prison Journalism: Black history

06/06/2023

Prison Journalism: Black historyJeffrey Shockley is a writer serving a life sentence in the State Correctional Institution-Fayette in Pennsylvania.

by Jeffrey Shockley

06-06-2023 11:10

in Prison Journalism

Prison cell with inmate. Image: Pixabay

It is that I wonder what of my life represents Black History?

--

Merely being of unknown African descent does not make me Black when the life lived is contradictory to the essence of overcoming historical degradations.

Or does it?

The degeneration of the lessons the ancestors fought to teach through their blood spilled is sadly the norm today. Of which I am a part in by sitting in this external prison bound internally with my the own bloodied hands.

--

How can it be shared with my own daughter and her daughter, the most important women in my life, of which I have been absent in theirs, a better and brighter history of blackness that is not this stereotypical vision depicted in our everyday reality?

ALSO READ: Prison journalism: Time never defined

What strong Black man have I represented to them other than the negative voices heard with every question asked, Where's your dad? that revisits their situational trauma again and again like that sound of a whip cracking in the air upon naked Black flesh?

--

Black History This was not the trajectory of excellence expected when mother gave birth to the first of her five children, giving me a chance of a better life by my living with her mother at the age of three.

Much is the shame imposed upon the family name beyond the preexisting dysfunction which caused such hate of ourselves. Making it difficult to get along or love each other for the color of our skin. In the least consider the capacity of the brain to find peace within the collective body called family, building community.

What can I teach through the lies I've been told about being Black when sitting in the same space as those who do not trust me because my life was not unlike theirs, but not the same either? Yet here we are, together, under the same constraint of restraint and similar conditions in some modem day slavery.

Black History.

Isn't it funny how we can live back every day as Black men and women, yet reflect back on life as such only the second month of the year for a week, unless one is killed by cops?

I have said so often for so long that I want to love this life in honor of those whom I have been the cause for their pains and devastations. It would be easy to blame external things but my upbringing wasn't negatively impacted in the way others were.

As if I knew how theirs was.

Like our complexions, there are many different variations of a Black family. I lived my life trying to fill a void by stealing, drinking, then drugs and other unsavory lifestyle choices. I wanted attention that was nor there. A family I had that was fully mine, but wasn't as I was raised on my own.

ALSO READ: Prison Journalism: The power of hope: crimes don't change, but people do

I sit in this prison at times asking, Who am I?

Who are we in this dynamic? Set aside, apart from the normalcy of society. Our lives have become so engrossed in our environment that we are very detached from anything to connect to as the real world continues to change and evolve while we exist in this closed environment for decades, warehoused.

Black History

We may claim to know a little bit about everything but have never seen an electric car or the ever

Black History

We may claim to know a little bit about everything but have never seen an electric car or the ever evolving technological advances changing how society lives beyond the walls we remain confined behind.

Trying to adjust for what matters within self. We know nothing about living save for the haunting of a surrendered freedom and missing our family. Rationalizing doing what needed to be done only to make it to that next day.

I had a community that stood on the peripherals of my life, but I had no guidance, but for the domestic stuff Grandmom instilled with the minor chores around the house. Yet, I did not know what it was to be responsible.

ALSO READ: Prison Journalism: Dear Momma': A letter with all the things I should have said

How can I love me past these bars, through those scars from a past that tore so many apart?

How can I know what is possible when this time has no end but for the hope I have

There once was love for years, now undone by the pains caused over too many times of I'm sorry.

I remember you in happier times when your smile let me rest. Time no longer allows me to recognize the reflection in this distorted mirror life casts Black Who are you in my head Black man?

Black History

ALSO READ: Prison journalism: How to endure the winters of a life sentence

The article was facilitated by Erin Parish from the Human Kindness Foundation (HKF).

The Human Kindness Foundation's mission is to encourage more kindness in the world beginning with people in our prisons and jails.

HKF has published several books including: We're All Doing Time, Lineage and Other Stories, Deep and Simple, and Just Another Spiritual Book and provide these books for free to people currently serving time in prisons or jails.

Do you have contact with a prison inmate who would like to write for The South African website?

If so, send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211

You can also follow @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook to get the latest prisoner journalism articles.

SOCCER QUIZ | FIVE simple answers could win you R500 in cash! ENTER HERE
LINK: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/culture/prison-journalism/prison-journ...
See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

10/04/2026

The Invisible OPEX Killer: Is Your Server Room Dragging You Down?

The Invisible OPEX Killer: Is Your Server Room Dragging You Down? In the broadcast world, we talk a lot about uptime. We talk about talent retention, latency...

10/04/2026

NAB 2026: Imagine Communications to Showcase Expanded Multiviewer Portfolio

Imagine Communications will showcase its multiviewer portfolio at NAB Show 2026 (April 19-22, Booth N1328, Las Vegas Convention Center), including Prismon and t...

10/04/2026

NAB 2026: Chyron Releases PRIME VSAR 2.3 with Updated Unreal Engine Integration

Chyron has released PRIME VSAR 2.3, an update to its virtual set and augmented reality solution for broadcast. The release adds compatibility with Unreal Engine...

10/04/2026

NAB 2026: Techex to Showcase New tx darwin Capabilities

Techex will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2267, April 19-23, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating new tx darwin features including consumer multiview,...

10/04/2026

NAB 2026: NDI to Showcase Ecosystem and NDI 6.3

NDI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026, demonstrating its IP video ecosystem through live partner integrations, NDI 6.3 features, AI metadata workflows, and creator ...

10/04/2026

FOR-A Acquires Tamura Corporations Information Equipment Business

FOR-A has announced the acquisition of all shares of Tamu Radiance Corporation, a new company spun off from the Information Equipment Business of Tamura Corpora...

10/04/2026

NAB 2026: InSync Technology to Unveil New Video Processing and Frame Rate Conversion Products

InSync Technology will showcase new and updated video conversion products at NAB...

10/04/2026

TNT Sports and DAZN Announce Monthly Boxing Event Series in the United States

TNT Sports and DAZN have announced a partnership to air monthly boxing events in the United States under the brand The Fight. The series will be promoted in p...

10/04/2026

Panasonic Introduces SQ3 Series 4K LCD Displays for Professional Environments

Panasonic Projector and Display has announced the SQ3 Series of 4K LCD displays as part of its MEVIX professional display portfolio. All sizes will be available...

10/04/2026

Amagi Adds Agentic Capabilities to Its Media Operations Platform

Amagi has announced the addition of Agentic Media Operations to its Amagi NOW platform, integrating AI reasoning agents across its media supply chain workflows ...

10/04/2026

LTN Announces Network Enhancements Ahead of C-Band Spectrum Auction

LTN has announced enhancements to its global IP video network targeting broadcasters transitioning from satellite distribution. The updates come ahead of US fed...

10/04/2026

Daktronics Installs New LED Displays at Yankee Stadium

Daktronics has installed new LED displays at Yankee Stadium, upgrading the main centerfield board, two flanking boards, and two ribbon displays spanning the 200...

10/04/2026

NAB 2026: Harmonic Announces AI and Cloud Updates to Hybrid Streaming Solution

Harmonic has announced updates to its hybrid streaming solution, including Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectivity for AI applications, cloud-native deploymen...

10/04/2026

NAB 2026: MultiDyne to Debut FiberSaver-10G and VF-9100

MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will introduce two new fiber transport products at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C4425, April 19-22): the FiberSaver-10G waveleng...

10/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance and ip-studio to Demonstrate STUDIO ZERO

Telos Alliance and ip-studio will demonstrate STUDIO ZERO, a cloud-hosted virtual studio, at NAB Show 2026. First introduced at NAB Show 2023, STUDIO ZERO integ...

10/04/2026

Pixotope and d&b Solutions Announce Strategic Partnership for XR and Virtual Studio Production

d&b solutions, a London-based audio-visual, lighting, and media integration grou...

10/04/2026

ARRI and SmallHD Announce Lens Data Monitor Overlay License for Hi-5 and Hi-5 SX

ARRI and SmallHD have announced a new expansion license for ARRI's Hi-5 and Hi-5 SX hand units that displays lens data overlays on supported SmallHD monitor...

10/04/2026

Roku to Stream Exclusive Savannah Bananas Game Package on Roku Sports Channel

Roku and the Banana Ball Championship League (BBCL) have announced an exclusive streaming partnership to bring five BBCL games to the Roku Sports Channel in 202...

10/04/2026

Ratings Roundup: More Than 18 Million Fans Tune Into 2026 NCAA Mens March Madness on TNT and CBS Sports

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

10/04/2026

No Other Land, Mr. Nobody Against Putin,and More Sundance Institute-Supported Films Nominated for Peabody Awards

The Peabody Awards don't just recognize great storytelling, they spotlight t...

10/04/2026

Fans Crown Winners at the First Spotify Podcast Awards in France

After launching the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico last year, we brought the fan-voted celebration to Paris this week for its first edition in France. Hosted ...

10/04/2026

Yamaha launch the DXR/DXS & CXR/CXS Mk3

Powered and unpowered live PA ranges upgraded Yamaha have just refreshed four of their hugely popular PA speaker ranges, delivering significant improvements...

10/04/2026

UJAM open Gorilla Engine to third-party developers

Underlying plug-in & VI technology now available to others UJAM's latest announcement sees the company open up' Gorilla Engine, the development pla...

10/04/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Bitcentral

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/04/2026

Bitcentral To Feature Connected Media Workflows At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/04/2026

Bitcentral to Showcase Connected Media Workflows and Inte...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 10, 2026 Bitcentral, a leading provider of professional media solutions for broadcast and digital video, will showcase its latest...

10/04/2026

Ikegami to Introduce Expanded Range of Broadcast Production Solutions at NAB 2026

Ikegami to Introduce Expanded Range of Broadcast Production Solutions at NAB 202...

10/04/2026

AJA Debuts SMPTE ST 2110 and openGear Solutions Ahead of NAB 2026

AJA Debuts SMPTE ST 2110 and openGear Solutions Ahead of NAB 2026 Brie Clayton April 10, 2026 0 Comments New gear and updates address evolving hybrid ...

10/04/2026

Portland Fire+ Streaming Platform Launches

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/04/2026

Tod Musgrave Joins Proton as U.S. Sales & Marketing Director

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/04/2026

Proton Expands Minicam Portfolio With Proton Pro At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/04/2026

FCC To Vote on Changes to Audible Crawl Rule

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/04/2026

Frequency Launches AI Platform for Streaming Television a...

Frequency, the engine behind the worlds leading streaming television channels, today launched its AI platform for Frequency Studio, powering the entire channel ...

10/04/2026

UKTV Highlights: Saturday April 25th - Friday May 1st 2026

What can I watch on UKTV and stream on U this week? This week on UKTV and the free streaming service U, viewers can watch a range of new and returning programm...

10/04/2026

Jnger Audio Joins EBU ADM Integration Group as Founding Member to Help Advance ADM/S-ADM Integration

J nger Audio Joins EBU ADM Integration Group as Founding Member to Help Advance...

10/04/2026

Multi-BAFTA-winning Chernobyl makes its free-to-air debut, marking 40 years since the disaster

Five-part Sky Original drama airs nightly on Sky Mix and Sky Atlantic from 20 Ap...

09/04/2026

Yospace surpasses 10 billion ads stitched in a single month, as ad-supported streaming surges

Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 09, April, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dynam...

09/04/2026

just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026 Sneak Preview News for NAB 2026

just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026 Sneak Preview News for NAB 2026 More Details:At NAB 2026, ToolsOnAir will showcase just:play pro 2026 and just:live p...

09/04/2026

just:in mac pro 2026 - The Next Level of Professional Recording on macOS at NAB 2026

just:in mac pro 2026 - The Next Level of Professional Recording on macOS at NAB ...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: Zixi to Demonstrate Live Video Workflows and Satellite Replacement

Zixi will demonstrate IP-based live video workflow solutions at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2057). The industry is moving quickly toward IP-based distribution as br...

09/04/2026

Deloitte Research: Women's Elite Sports Revenues Expected to Reach at Least $3 Billion in 2026

Global women's elite sports revenues are expected to reach at least $3 billi...

09/04/2026

Monitor Engineer Gavin Tempany Mixes Kylie Minogue's Tension Tour on Solid State Logic L550 Plus

Monitor engineer Gavin Tempany mixed Kylie Minogue s Tension Tour on a Solid Sta...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America to Debut New 4K Camera and Remote Control Panel

KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5507), debu...

09/04/2026

NBC Sports Reviews Innovations and Milestones from Its 2025-26 NBA Regular Season

With the 2025-26 NBA regular season concluded and the playoffs beginning next we...