Incarcerated: 23 years 
Housed: Stateville Correctional Center, Joliet, Illinois

I express my reality through art and poetry. My biggest regret is failing my son. I take responsibility for him sitting in the cell right above me. Despite all the things that challenge us as black men, I fail him as a father.

My art is born out of the many social injustice issues that we face day to day; such as the school to prison pipeline, protests and to black lives matter. There are proud moments, to man’s call and dependence on something higher than himself.  I paint and write with the purpose and intent to provoke thought and conversation. I ask you for your feedback and suggestions and if it motivates you to get involved in helping the marginalization of the black and brown. We are often forgotten.

Incarcerated: 27 years

Tell us when you first became interested in art?

It’s a really funny story, how I fell in love with art. When I was nine, my father had a friend who was a painter. At the time my family had just moved into a new house and the friend gave my father a painting. It was so amazing to me. The painting had such lifelike characteristics. I was hooked. It’s so funny to think about it now, I would get up close to it and look at it from the side to see if somehow it bulged out to trick the eye into seeing that. I had to figure it out. I guess in one sense I have been chasing that image ever since. Since then art has been a refuge, a companion and more importantly a connection to others. The ability to bring others together is the most satisfying part for me. Most of the affection my work has gotten has come recently. Because of you, my art has received more attention and the feedback from others has been so positive. I’m falling in love with it all over again. I thank you from my heart, God bless you. Finally, for another time, there is another aspect to my art: this story is the very essence of irony and fate. Again God bless you all.