“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was all vanity; But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act of their dreams with open eyes to make them all possible. ” -T. E Lawrence
Mutulu and I first met in 1989 at MCC New York, where I was awaiting trial. I read somewhere once that, ‘some people can spot goodness at a glance while others cannot see goodness even if it is staring them in their face.’ Though Mutulu and I had never actually met, we shared several associates and friends. What started out as simply someone to chop it up with, our relationship rapidly moved from friendship to camaraderie and eventually to a brotherhood that has now spanned nearly three decades.
It was over this time period that I was afforded the opportunity to peer at what I can only describe as a loving spirit and a giving, sharing soul. The years between 1989 and 1999 that Mutulu and I spent together at various federal penitentiaries would show me, up close and in no uncertain terms, that what I thought I had glanced early on in Mutulu, was in point of fact who he truly was and how he lived his life. A man that was the poster child of what it meant to be a brother, a friend and for many a mentor, a father figure.
In the often violent, testosterone-ridden environment of United States penitentiaries, Mutulu somehow found within himself the intestinal fortitude to consistently extend a hand of friendship and brotherhood. A reconciler of beefs, that could have easily spiraled out of control and into life and deaths situations, a font of information and learning to young men, who were often unlettered, unlearned, with no agenda, Mutulu made himself available to an endless stream of young and old brothers alike, to offer whatever aid he could in the daily challenges that is attendant to life spent inside our country’s various prisons.
In a world in which inmates are disenfranchised and marginalized, a world in which the divorce rates for inmates are twice the national average, a world in which society has elected to dump its mentally and psychologically challenged, Mutulu in his own quiet, but persistent way, has consistently sought to find a way to empower the powerless; to heal the wounds of the scarred young souls that people jails from one end of our country to the other.
A creator of programs, and assembler of seminars, symposiums and panel discussions, though perhaps devalued in some quarters, he was and remains an invaluable asset for the endless flow of young men confined in our country’s FCIs and Penitentiaries. Over the last now 28 years, I have witnessed Mutulu’s power for good, all done for no other reason than this is who he is innately and how he has selected to live his life.
He is a dreamer perhaps, an idealist certainly, but he is definitely a pragmatist with a can-do spirit when dealing with the needs of his community. I read somewhere that, ‘not even God can change the past.’ None of us is the sum of the things we have done wrong in our lives. Now in the autumn of his days, Mutulu has earned the right to live a life in the bosom of his friends, family and supporters.
Comrade Mutulu is the most influential man I have ever had a chance to meet in my lifetime. To be in his presence is to be in the presence of greatness. Me and so many of his other students/proteges have gained and learned so many valuable lessons on self-worth and what being a real black man truly is. I was privileged enough to be an associate of his son 2Pac, and now after actually being with and around Doc I see why 2Pac was ahead of his time. Mr. Shakur has touched and changed the lives of all nationalities. For the powers that be, I beg that you give this changed man a chance at freedom and the chance to affect and change more lives.
-Big Gotti