Posts Tagged ‘Ashanti Witherspoon’
My education at Angola Prison
Over the years I learned that I could grow in strength if I didn’t blame others for the negative things that had occurred in my life and accepted responsibility for my own actions. I learned that I had a stubborn side of me that really gave me the strength and determination to stay focused on the path that I had choose to travel. I learned how to detach from many of the events that were taking place around me so that I wouldn’t be effected emotionally and if I maintained control of my emotions I was have a clear enough mind to think through each situation I faced. I learned a lot about God and my relationship with God gave me a sense of hope that one day “everything is going to be alright.” I learned that I had the power to reshape the world around me by the words that I speak, the thoughts that I think and the prayers that I prayed. I also learned to love people (it was a gradual process, but I learned that it was really alright to love people as simply being who they were). All of those things gave me a sense of freedom and a different sort of power within me.
Posted by Ashanti
Communicating With a Father in Angola Prison
The way that I communicated with my father when he was in prison were though letters. We would write each other all the time. H would call at least twice a week when I was younger. He told me that when I first born he would tell my mother to put the phone to my ear and he would read to me or tell me a poem.
The words of wisdom that my father would write to me were so inspirational. Those words and poems helped me stay focused. His experiences helped me to keep a cool head and a clear and peaceful mind. Even though I did get into a little trouble growing up, I knew what was needed of me. It helped me to begin to write words of wisdom and to always try to uplift others.
Posted by Bwashena
The Journey of Healing in Angola Prison
It was several years before I decided to change my life. I had seen a lot of violence and was classified as a jail jouse lawyer and a militant, but it wasn’t until I had been confined to a maximum security cell (I had gotten caught with two knives in my possession) for about a year that I seriously began to think about my life, my family and everything that I had lost that the reality of my 75-year entence began to sink into my mind. At that point I hadn’t ever had the opportunity to see my daughter and that caused me a lot of anger and grief. It was also during that time of confinement that I decided to change and never go back to the life I had lived. It was the beginning of a long journey that would be filled with trials, set-backs and victories, but it was a journey that I wouldn’t turn away from.
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Ashanti Witherspoon spent 27 years in Angola Prison. In 1999 he was granted parole. Since leaving prison Ashanti has become a motivational speaker and is devoted to mentoring at-risk youth. He was featured in Jonathan Stack’s film THE FARM and THE FARM: 10 DOWN, which will be released June 16th, 2009 on National Geographic Channel.
Posted by Ashanti
My First Memory of My Father – a Prison Visit
The first memory of my father was when my grandmother, uncles, and I went to visit him in Angola. It was my very first visit.
We sat at a table in the lunch room/ visiting room and he drank Root Beer pop, that was his favorite at the time. We talked and talked and talked. He taught me how to spell lots of big words. That has never left my mind. I can still picture that moment.
I knew that my father was in prison, ever since I was about 1 or 2 years old. My grandmother and mother always said that I was a very smart little girl. They were very informative about his situation. He would call me ALL THE TIME.
What it meant for me was that I would not be able to grow up with him in the house, go to the store together, pick me up from school, help me with homework, read to me at night , and meet my first boyfriend, etc., etc. I especially could not call him whenever I wanted to talk to him.
Visiting days were the best! I always got extremely sad when it was time to leave, but the relief of being able to give my father a big hug was always comforting on the ride home.
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Bwashena Witherspoon is the daughter of Ashanti Witherspoon who is featured in the documentaries THE FARM and THE FARM: 10 DOWN. Bwashena has spent time touring with her father and speaking about being the child of a former prisoner.
Posted by Bwashena
My first day in Angola Prison
There were different “first days” of my confinement:
- There was the period when I woke up in the hospital and realized that I had been shot in the head.
- There was the day when I was moved from the hospital to the Caddo Parish Prison, and on to the Caddo Correctional Center.
- There was the day when I was transferred back to the Caddo Parish Prison (when the new prison was built).
- There was the day when I was transferred back to the Caddo Correctional Center. 5) There was the day when I first arrived in Angola.
As you can see my first day had different meanings at different points of my “first day,” but for now let’s look at my first day in Angola.
Traveling to Angola was an emotionally moving experience. I was nervous, tense and prepared to kill or die. The horror stories of Angola seemed to find a permanent place in my thoughts and it wasn’t a comfortable feeling. I was relieved when I got off of the bus, stepped through the doors of the Reception Center and recognized the face of someone from the city Shreveport. He worked in the area and was assisting the security guards with checking in the new arrivals. He nodded to me, and when we were out of ear shot of the others he told me that he had a knife for me and would get it to me by the time I reached the dorm.
Posted by Ashanti