For over two years, I conducted a class on A Course In Miracles, a spiritual thought system, not a religion, at Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois.
Cook County Jail is not a prison. It is a huge facility for inmates, over 8000, who are awaiting trial. Usually it is a relatively short stay but sometimes they are there for a couple of years if the procedures are delayed or complicated.
Michael Smith, one of the most notorious gang leaders in the country, was one of those inmates. He wandered in to my class one day, probably out of boredom, and stayed for two years until he was sentenced to a maximum security prison where he is today.
Michael is a brilliant man. I have often wondered what he would have done with his life if he had taken a different turn. He could have been president of the planet. When you look in his eyes, you can see the wheels turning.
Almost nobody is allowed into Cook County Jail with a camera. So, when I went to the warden and asked permission to do an interview with Michael Smith, people told me I was crazy. It would never happen.
I really feel that somehow a divine intervention came down here. I talked to everyone, including Mayor Daley’s office.
I explained that this inmate, who was now dedicated to helping kids instead of enlisting them, wanted to do a video to talk to kids about what it really meant to be in a gang and why they should not join.
I told them it would go on Chicago Public Access television and that we would make the tape available to schools.
Suddenly, I got permission. It was of course contingent upon their review but they agreed I could do it. They approved it.
The interview that follows was not only was shown many, many times on TV in Chicago but it was offered to teachers and principals and was shown in both grammar and high schools in the city. People I knew donated money to have the interview duplicated so it could be offered free.
Word got out about it and I got requests from prisons – from New York to Texas to California. They showed the tape to their young inmates.
Now, it is on the Internet on my blog, thanks to Michelle Vandepas who did the tech work on it. Also for free.
I got a letter from Michael a few weeks ago. He is conducting classes in the prison where he is incarcerated for other inmates on how to change their lives when they reenter the general population in the world.
This is part of what he said.
“I want you to know I’ve never forgotten our talks and studies. I ‘m still fueled by the strength you lent to me when I was a mere fledgeling needing to be spiritually fed and nourished by the milk of God’s grace.
I want you to know that I have stayed the course and my work of propagation and enlightenment continues. Many hearts and souls have been touched and lives changed.”
I hope, especially if you are in an area where you work with young people, you will pass this video along to them.
They need to hear from a well known and huge authority on the subject of joining a gang.
They need to hear, as Michael says in this interview – “It’s not worth it.”
A special thanks to Michelle Vandepas at http://www.divinepurposeunleashed.com for her technical help in making this video possible here.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the thanks. I was fascinated by this man and as I watched the video I wondered how he could help more and more people. Such talent. I hope he finds his purpose…..
What a heartwarming story.I was really moved. Thanks for sharing and congrads… for the positive impact you are having on our society.
Thanks for your comment, Sham. Please share the videos with those who can use them. That is my purpose in putting them on my blog.
You know, Corinne, I never really thought of the difference between jail and prison. Good read on this sensitive subject. I took the Course in Miracles about ten years ago, and its been copied by so many under so many titles … same message . . .