Today. I defeated my enemy and self-fear. The fear to openly
express myself. I wrote about the great James Baldwin.
My life. A journal of our society by a minority. Being of mixed
race, my emotions were stirred by Baldwin�s writing.
Stand up and be heard! Stand up and be proud!
Searching for answers, my purpose in life at the age of
fifty-four. I search no more. I have freed myself from
self-oppression.
Watching myself reading James Baldwin and my poems. A memoir of
perseverance. I feared my mistakes and personal appearance. I
saw it through somehow. I did it!
Both manhood and enlightenment are so eternal. So is my
gratitude.
Angelo Benitez, August 6, 2015
Seeing myself in the video has been one of my proudest moments,
especially speaking on such as ongoing and important issue,
Civil Rights. My peers and I contributed so much time and effort
to effectively express the importance of James Baldwin�s role in
the Civil Rights Movement and our lives as we live them today.
Thank you for allowing me to really express myself. I am a
Native Son.
Victor Cotto, August 6, 2015
My view of how I saw us representing James Baldwin, Victor Cotto,
Isom Hawkings, Angelo Benitez and me, encourages and embraces me
with the passion of learning, the most important thing we as
humans have.
My learning about James Baldwin has taught me to fight not with
violence but with my voice, to stand up, speak out and heard.
I am very proud of the men I have worked with to present this
project. To the leaders of this project I give my respect and
honor, to Dale Davis, Charles Kurtz, David Shakes, last but not
least the New York State Literary Center and the Monroe County
Sheriff�s Office and the men with whom I worked Victor Cotto,
Angelo Benitez, and Isom Hawkins,
Aaron Hardaway, August 6, 2015
Having a program like READING JAMES BALDWIN 2015 is a way to
educate us. It is a good way to spread the message and to show
the talents of inmates.
