Byline: Anthony Payton

My fatherhood experience is both grueling and beautiful. It’s both a learning and teaching experience. It’s pain and love. My deepest fears and insecurities arise as I look at our vulnerability in what can be an ugly society at times. This isn’t 1950 Mississippi, but we are a family of color in New Hampshire. Although Manchester is pretty diverse, I would still feel out of place venturing into territories that may have hostility towards us

We are approaching our next event on Thursday, April 22 at  7 p.m. Felon to Freeman, “How to be an ally.” Like our event last month, we are looking to make this one just as impactful and monumental. We have a panel that includes the American Friends Service Committee (A.F.S.C), Rights and Democracy (R.A.D), Upper Valley, Showing Up for Racial Justice (S.U.R.J) and New Hampshire State Rep., Nicole Klein Knight.

he walks up and down the blocks of my neighborhood almost daily. Everyone in this area has seen her…getting in and out of cars, yelling and screaming to herself throughout the day and night. I’m not one to make assumptions, but I grew up in a neighborhood that was filled with addiction, violence and despair. With that being said, it’s safe for me to assume that she’s soliciting herself for money, and more times than not, she’s under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.  

Things will get tough upon release, and I can identify with that. You fought through your sentence and made it out in one piece, so that same hustle, grind, and fight has to be applied post-release. You’ve had months or years of (hopefully) strategic planning. It’s time to execute. It’s now the time to capitalize on opportunity. Whether this opportunity comes in the form of a job, training, or living with someone rent-free.

The biggest factor in my success is the support system that I have, and my hope is that people who are being released back into society have a similar support system. This is monumental in making the crossover into a pro-social and crime-free life.

I unveil these old wounds not for sympathy, but because it may help you and yours. Your children may be walking the path that I once walked. They may need to be spoken to in a familiar tongue from someone who’s been there. Maybe this can serve as a deterrent. I’m all too familiar with this terrain, its landscape of pain and backdrops of humility.

We have the highest incarceration rate in the world, so just by sheer statistics, there’s a great chance that you know someone who’s incarcerated. Outside of the greatly appreciated phone calls and commissary, what can you suggest to them that will give them the greatest chances of success upon release? Let me help guide you.

I write this from a room of which I share with three other residents. We’re all grateful to at least be halfway out of the prison, and we look forward to the next step, which is getting our own places. I’m lucky to have a supportive family, and safety net. Even with the aforementioned weapons, it’s still hard. The transition isn’t easy. A lot of it comes down to resources, ego, humility and discipline, but also the want and need to stay the course. So I continue to trust the process and follow the game plan that I made while doing time.