As part of Uncuffed’s new re-entry storytelling class, we handed the mic over to 12 people who recently returned home from prison. They shared memories about their childhood, their experiences on dating after getting out and apologized to their children. A common theme was how trauma, challenges earlier in life and even your family's own history, can affect the outcome of your life. These three pieces by Allen Bustos, Jamaal "Jae" Morgain, and Christopher Roberts show how reckoning with our past can help us be proud of who we are today.
It’s been a very good strength to finally hear that you’re not wrong or bad or [have] any kind of shame and guilt...there might actually be people who want to hear your perception 'cause maybe you have the secret to eternal life or something.Christopher Roberts
Uncuffed producer Tommy “Shakur” Ross produced all stories, with editing help from Angela Johnston, and scoring from Maserati-E. Uncuffed's class was created in partnership with Community Works, and supported by the California Arts Council and the Unlikely Collaborators Foundation.
To hear more stories from that class, visit our website www.kalw.org/uncuffed.
