Plan B (Bakari's that is)

From: Julie Swartzendruber
To: Bakari's Fans

Hi Everyone,

Hey Bakari, if you are still up for it, I am amenable to proceeding as outlined in "Plan B". Sounds good; we can discuss in detail when you return home.

Thanks, everyone, for listening.

Julie

Prematurely?!?!

From: Julie Swartzendruber
To: Bakari's Fans

Well, Folks, I may have resigned prematurely.

I learned today that our situation may more closely resemble the lyrics of Maxwell's "Reunion" rather than Avril Lavigne's "My Happy Ending", as in "so much for my happy ending".

Anyway, I will keep all of you apprised of the details as they become available.

Take care!

Signing off...

From: Julie Swartzendruber
To: Bakari's fans

Hi Everyone,

I am very glad I could share Bakari's story with all of you; I hope this blog served its intended purpose for him, as well.

Well, I hope all of you enjoyed reading it as much I valued having the opportunity to work on it, edit and post it. And I am also grateful to all of my friends, who were very gracious and complimented me on its eloquence, style and conciseness; I really appreciated their kudos. And yes, I enjoyed the ego boost.

Regretfully, from this point on, I will no longer be affiliated with this enterprise. Regardless, I enjoyed making this contribution and I extend my best wishes to all of you.

And Bakari, as always, thanks for the opportunity.

Good Luck!

"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer" ----------- Albert Camus

Thankful!

Julie, thank you for loving me in spite of me. You are far more than a companion. You are my best friend! Mom, Boo-Boo and Big Daddy, I am so ashamed of all of this, but I am very grateful to you and I do thank you for standing by me for all of my 39 years. "Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning".

To all of my friends and supporters: God Bless You! Thank you for you concern and prayers. You will all be BLESSED. I assure you of that.

On your mark, get set, parole...

Once again I am ready to re-enter society; needless to say, this isn't the first time I have looked forward to being released from prison. I am ashamed that a lot of my life has been a revolving door in and out of prison and this is really getting old at this point in my life.

Recently, on a clear day, I was looking out my cell window here at CSP and in the distance I could see a highway. I saw the trucks and cars going back and forth and I could just FEEL my freedom. And I also had this epiphany: there is absolutely no reason for me to continue this cycle and insinuating all those that love me into this as well.

I have mourned my father's death and I also realized following his death that it is time for healing, building and connecting. My family, my son and Julie are all depending on me to get it together and I believe that I am finally equipped to do just that. I am ready to put that life of self-destruction behind me for good.

The section that I currently "reside" in here at CSP is incredibly disturbing. The aura here is very different compared to other sections within this institution. There is a sense of hopelessness that permeates this area; it is very distressing on so many levels. It is sad; some are psychotic and act like imbeciles because they have succumbed to their circumstances. While others are merely poor and ignorant and got the "shaft" so to speak. Regardless, they know I am going home soon and I shouldn't be around for them to see, since it is torture for them.

I don't know how, but my spirit remains alive and vibrant despite the fact that I have been deprived of everything. However, no one can deprive me of hope, support and faith which sustains my heart and soul.

Despite my circumstances here, I have been incredibly fortunate. There is a man a few cells away who has done nothing but help me. The pen and paper I use came from him. He has also shared is dictionary and books with me. This man has a very good vibe emanating from him. He is Christian by faith and I can truly attest to that. He has 5-1/2 years left and he hasn't been to the commissary in 5 years and doesn't even have toothpaste or deodorant. I wish I could get my property back and leave it all to him!

I realize how blessed I have been my entire life and I just cannot face something like this again. So I have vowed to take it slow and easy this time. I also need to be responsible and supportive of those who have supported me. AND...finally, I just want to LIVE!

Lifers

I have been assigned to a section here at CSP where 90% of the men around me have been sentenced to life in prison. This really makes me reflect on my life and my choices. I am the only lucky one here that is going home anytime soon. I only have to serve a few more weeks and everyone else has 5 - 7 years or more.

I cannot judge these men and I do not why they have this life in hell. I empathize with them, but living here, for the moment, really makes me cherish my freedom, family, wife-to-be and friends.

Blessings in Disguise

Sometimes what we dread the most ends up being a blessing - much to our surprise. The solitude of my life thus far at CSP has sharpened my focus. I've thought long and hard about the positive steips I am going to have to take in order for me to prevail on the "outside". And I have been able to focus on that exercise despite the fact that I am still deprived of my canteen food, books, photos, stationery, toiletries, legal materials and bible. I know that I still have God, faith, hope and peace.

Reprisals

This morning, I was awakened by the smell of "poo". It was so strong that I thought it was emanating from me. Later, I found out that it was an elderly Black man who had succumbed to this hell-hole. He had smeared excretement all over himself and his cell and was yelling that his constitutional rights were being violated.

So why am I here at CSP so close to parole? I believe it is a reprisal because I filed a complaint against an Officer Vargas at DVI for his misconduct because he violated my due process rights. I believe he was violating my right with respect to how my legal correspondence was being conducted. Now I will be here at CSP for approximately 3 weeks and then I will moved one more time to a prison closer to Sacramento. And my parole officer will pick me up there after I am released.

However there are other reprecussions that have been imposed upon me. I still don't have my property and I probably won't be in possession of it before I am released. The CSP Operational Procedure #801G.1 states that I am supposed to receive my property after 15 days. And the problem is that the Property Officer has informed me that he is 4 weeks behind, And on top of that all, Officers' Vargas and Navarro coerced me into signing my property receipt prior to documenting my inventoried property. So, in essence, what has happened is that someone has screwed my out of all of my property.

I am suffering and it is having an adverse effect on me and my mental health. And this is all transpiring within a month of my release. I could've stayed at DVI and my parole officer could have picked me up there. Instead, they play this game and ship me all over the state, and all along, I am deprived of my personal property.

I believe this is grounds for further legal action. As of now, I've been provided paper and reading material by total strangers. Under NORMAL circumstances I wouldn't be so upset because I would need to wait like everyone else; however, this isn't normal. Rather, this was a strategic move on behalf of those in power who wish to deprive me of comfort, and my possessions. There are many loopholes and this is one way to punish me without writing a report. This isn't rehabilitation, but rather a chance to agititate me this close to my release. This is systematic oppression and I don't have any way to take action against this unlawful treatment.

Please voice your concern by contacting the warden, Derrel Adams and also, by contacting the "Appeals Office, 801 Capital Mall, Sacramento, CA, 94244-2010". I need my my property which consists of my addresses, legal materials, toiletries, books, food and photos. Also, you may write me

Michael Brown, #P-69851
CSP 4B3L-16
PO Box 3481
Corcoran, CA 93212.

Thank you for your support and your caring.


Drafted October 1st, 2007

Bakari's (MIchael's) residence @ Corcoran State Prison

Bakari's incarceration @ Corcoran State Prison

I have been sent to another prison and I have less than a month to do. I will be transferred again to a different prison and my parole officer will pick me up there. I do not have any personal property and I may not for duration of my stay here in Corcoran. So I am without canteen food, stationery, photos, legal documents or my addresses.

This is not rehabilitation and this move has caused me to become very frustrated. The men in this section have shared their supplies with me. I opened up to total strangers and I told them I was James Brown's son, and I got love in return. Thank God for that.

However, I am still stressed out about that because it takes 4 weeks to get property and I won't even be at this location. And yet, my property may end up here. And that means, I parole without it. Or, oooopppssss, it shows up at home, where my wife is.

Please write me and if you will, please contact the warden in support of me. You may now reach me:

Michael Brown #P69851
CSP 4B3L - 16L
PO Box 3481
Corcoran, CA 93212

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks!

Derral G. Adams, Warden
PO Box 8800
Corcoran, CA 93212-8309

559.992.8800

Villifying Black Men

Does it seem that there is a preponderance of Black men continually arrested and villified in the media relative to number of White men held accountable for their purported crimes? It seems that it has become sport for the "media" that is "White America" to villify Black men. If it isn't Michael Jackson, Michael Vick, James Brown, Barry Bonds, then it is OJ Simpson. Does this seem racist to you? It does to me.

People attacked Michael Vick for his role in dog fighting, and yet, these same people don't seem to be offended by people who hunt duck, rabbit, deer, quail, pheasant etc. for sport. The issue was never about a dog, it was about a Black man's role in something defined as a crime and it seemed like a double-standard has been applied to him. So it seems people were gunning for a wealthy Black man, or sadly, to some, a run-away slave. What I see is a bunch of blood-thirsty savages who have revealed their true colors yet again.

And the focus is on OJ Simpson again. How many charges are you people going to trump up? What was the purpose of remand? This man is a celebrity. The real story should've read "High-Tech Lynch Mob Pursues OJ Simpson". Why wasn't the media so hell bent on covering Lindsay Lohan and her crack addiction? If OJ Simpson had been pulled over with crack cocaine on his person, then throngs of reporters would've waited outside for him to emerge from the detention center or for a press release.

Let's see it for what it really is. The zoo is a living hell for many animals. It is unethical to euthinize hundreds of dogs and cats yearly as animal shelters do. Sigfried and Roy made millions and were celebrated because of their seemingly unethical treatment of tigers and lions. However that tiger made it loud and clear how it felt about Roy. I don't see the media heads camping out in front of the zoos or the circus. Why not? Because they don't care about that and they really didn't care about Pit Bulls. Rather, it is all about lynching a Black man.

As far as I'm concerned, OJ is innocent of any wrong-doing, just as Michael Vick, Michael Jackson, Rodney King and whomever else that these, the true villians try to villify.

Do you want to investigate something? Then investigate your local public school's history curriculum and see if America's children are being taught about the real contributors to civilization as we know it, by people of African ancestory!

Reunion

Recently, I came across an elder of mine, Big Hank. I haven't seen him in nearly two years, and the last time I saw him, I was very angry and hot-headed. One thing I remember about him is his humility, and it has been very humbling and therapeutic to be in his presence again. One thing that really impresses me about Big Hank are his arms. They are huge - about 23" or 24" and yet despite his size and the power that accommodates that, he remains very humble. I think of him as a gentle giant and he seems to exude such wisdom because he could use his size to intimidate and that is the antithesis of his existence. Some people teach through words, while others teach through their actions; Big Hank does the latter and I see great wisdom in that. It is wondrous to witness life and yes, I am basking in life these days. I feel like I've been born again.

Drafted September 24th, 2007