Hey —

What’s been up, I’ve been waiting for a letter from you for forever. Me I’m doing as good as I can. I’m at one of the worst prisons in the state. How are things? That draft (of Durham Human Relations Commission’s recommendations on the jail) looks great! What’s the status with things in the jail? Trump is…I don’t know,,,but what is very evident is that change is coming and not the kind that’s easy transitional type kind of stuff. This is more of the brute force, force feed kind of thing. I listen to the news radio about 3 hours a day and the global climate went from progressively hopeful and optimistic to almost hostile. You got Trump banning people from certain countries from entry, and Iran doing missile tests. Rumors of secret documents imply some plot to insert Trump in the White House. It’s just a lot going on out there, I feel that nuclear war is imminent…

Those books that you sent me are great–the poems from Margaret Randall are cool, too, powerful. I’ve learned a lot from the books you’ve sent me. I could try to explain some, but I’d fill pages up about Richard Wright and the others. I’ve definitely got a lot further to go. I respect the thinking of the authors, but I don’t want to get caught up in the story more than the ideals and the motive and purpose of the story. But still remain to have my own ideals. Middle Passage is also a wild book. But the historical background is beautiful. Anyway, I’m glad to be away from the county (Durham), it’s a very sad place.

It seems that Durham is going through some serious changes, I just hope that African Americans can on a wider spectrum see the obstacles and oppositions we face, not just us but minorities and those that see the bigger picture. The system seems like it’s on its last leg. There’s been a lot of exposure these last couple years. And it seems there’s bound to be a lot more uncovering of the eyes with our new president. Well, I’m running low on writing space.

Thanks for the push.

Your brother,

T.B.