Dear Community,
On February 20th, 2018, we hosted the first ever Black Prisoners’ Caucus sponsored youth summit at the Washington Correction Center in Shelton, WA. Over 125 members of the community came and supported this summit. Our aim with this summit was to have a positive impact on the communities we came from. As men who have been in prison reflecting on the bad decisions we made which led to our incarceration, and often times damaged communities we came from, we wanted to give back. Those of you from the community who joined us were to be conduits through which our words become action outside of these gates.
The day began normal but by about 9:00 am the ground outside was covered with snow and it didn’t seem like the snow would slow up any time soon. We nervously awaited the start of the summit, hoping that our guests hadn’t been discouraged by the bad weather. The room quickly filled up with wonderful people from many different walks of life. There were students, educators, future mayors, parents, community activists, etc. It was a beautiful feeling being in the room, no matter where you were seated.
The event went even better than planned and we feel like we accomplished the goal we set out to accomplish. The Superintendent of the prison, Mr. Dan White, was impressed with the Summit and attended the B.P.C.’s next monthly meeting to inquire as to what was next. He assured us that we had the institutions support moving forward with education and the other things we’re planning.
A letter of this sort could never truly convey the amount of appreciation we have for the support we received from you all in the community. Seeing the love and support we have is fuel to continue to work towards becoming better sons, better fathers, better brothers, and better men in general.
Thank you so much for attending, helping plan, spreading the work, and anything else that assisted in the success of this youth summit. We look forward to continuing to grow with you all. Just know that we are doing the work and eventually we hope to all return to our communities better than when we left.
With Gratitude,
The Black Prisoners’ Caucus, WCC – Shelton