A local organizer believes that through processing trauma and tapping into their emotional wellness, inmates at correctional facilities may have an increased chance at controlling their environment and seeing a positive outcome for themselves.
“The jailers and deputy jailers think that they actually control the jail, and they don’t,” says entrepreneur, facilitator, and professional organizer Keedran Franklin. “The people who are living there control the culture of how things go inside of the jail.”
Through his facilitation work, Franklin says that he deals with processing trauma, and is involved in a local group called Inward Journey.
While Franklin and Inward Journey pursue doing inner work and emotional healing for their community, they have also been able to provide a space for healing inside correctional facilities as well.
Franklin posted a picture of a recent meeting at 201 Poplar, where he explained that this particular group has zero percent recidivism. Franklin refers to the project as “Inside Circle/Inward Journey” and “Black Men Build.”
According to Franklin, guards brought what he called the “12 most influential people … people who are making things happen around there.”
“It’s almost like a behavior modification model,” says Franklin. “Guys sit in circles, talk amongst each other.”
The idea is for the individuals to work out their traumas so that they don’t “go from zero to 100.”
“They stop at 10 and think. They stop at 20 and think. They stop at 50 and think. They don’t get to 100,” said Franklin. “In a sense, the guards will realize that they don’t have to be so hard. They don’t have to inculcate, suppress, or oppress the residents as much because they think they’re in lock-up or consignment.”
Franklin cites the work laid out by one of his elders, Dr. James McLeary. McLeary is a board member for Inside Circle.
According to information provided by Inside Circle, McLeary has been a “critical force driving the growth and success of programs at both Folsom State Prison and San Quentin State Prison.” Franklin says that McLeary’s work involves meetings with gang members in those facilities.
Inside Circle was formerly known as the Men’s Support Group at the California State Prison, Sacramento. It was started in the aftermath of a race riot in 1996. An inmate named Patrick Nolan spent time reflecting on the event, and had an “ intense determination to shift the dynamic driving such extreme violence and hatred.”
Many years have passed since the initial meeting of the group, but the work has been spread to centers in Illinois, New Jersey, and San Quentin.
“It was pretty miraculous. You had guys with life first, without parole, plus 200 years, are now on the outside,” says Franklin. “The parole board was seeing enough change to say ‘you’ll do well outside.’”
McLeary’s work serves as a catalyst for the work that Franklin and others are doing at 201 Poplar. The group had their first meeting on Monday, October 16th.
“I know the model, and what it has done for people who are far worse than these guys, on paper, far worse than these guys in 201 and the county lockup,” said Franklin.
