Letters to the Sons of Society

October 4, 2021
Criminal justice activist Senghor (Writing My Wrongs) explores in these raw and intimate letters to his two sons themes of masculinity, fatherhood, trauma, and redemption. Convicted of murder at age 19, Senghor spent nearly 20 years behind bars. He describes meeting his older son, Jay, for the first time in prison (“there you were, just ten months old, a beautiful brown ball of curiosity and energy”); the mistakes he made when he was finally released and “showed up as a mentor, not a father”; and the wake-up call that came when he mistakenly believed that Jay had been murdered. Addressing his younger son, Sekou, Senghor reflects on how Black men in America are seen “as trouble or danger or a problem to solve.” Elsewhere, he recounts a visit to San Quentin’s death row, and admits to using sex to help “fill the void” he felt during his first five years out of prison, when publicizing his first book meant being “repeatedly dragged back into my worst experiences, reopening and revisiting profound traumas with no idea how to process them.” Shot through with evocative language and openhearted authenticity, this is a memorable tribute to the pain and joy of Black fatherhood.

November 15, 2021
Reflections on love, freedom, and Black lives. In 1991, 19-year-old Senghor was convicted of murder and sent to prison. During his 20-year incarceration, which included a total of seven years in solitary confinement, the author and his father exchanged hundreds of letters about being a father, a son, and a Black man. Treasuring that correspondence, Senghor writes his own candid letters to his two sons: 30-year-old Jay, who grew up while his father was in prison, and 9-year-old Sekou, born about a year after his release in 2010. Now a mentor, criminal justice activist, and memoirist, the author pledges to be both an attentive father and engaged citizen. "We can choose to ignore or get angry or let the bile of racism fill our throats," he writes. "Or we can choose to be entirely present with those around us, entirely open to honest conversations, loving but firm, known as someone who stands for something at all times." Although "the world doesn't always look like a place filled with love," he assures Sekou, "trust me, love is present." But so, sadly, is systemic racism. The world tells Black children to "suck it up, to be tough, that emotion is weakness, that the cold world is coming for us so we'd better be ready." The narrative about Black men is "so distorted. We are only ever seen in a one-dimensional way--as trouble or danger or a problem to solve." Senghor encourages his sons to actively resist, as he has, to change that narrative. He describes in raw detail the degradation he experienced in prison and the consequences of living as an ex-felon. "There is no such thing as full freedom for a man who has served time," he tells Jay. His achievements as a writer, college teacher, and public speaker have been hard-won. "This book," he promises his sons, "is my commitment to you that you won't face what I faced." Heartfelt counsel from a loving father and solid proof that redemption is possible.

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