The afternoon was set aside to commemorate freedom, dedicated to the memory of those brothers and sisters who paved the way for future hopes and dreams.
It was not lost on the men that this Juneteenth celebration was held behind locked doors in a cavernous room inside the Lincoln Correctional Center.
The speakers were serving long sentences, a couple of them in for life.
“What used to be slavery is now mass incarceration,†said Brandon Woodruff, speaking to 20 members of the prison’s Harambee Afrikan Cultural Society, and to other correctional staff and Warden Fred Britten, who attended the two-hour Saturday gathering.
The Harambee group is one of the prison's self betterment clubs, dedicated to violence prevention, keeping youth from gang activity and learning about their history and culture.Ìý
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Woodruff went on to encourage his fellow inmates, saying they don't have to allow prison to define them. They decide the quality of their lives.
“If you develop each day with a purpose, you will never serve another day of your sentence,†he said. “You can allow this time to mold you, strengthen you, develop a better you.â€
Their sentences, release or parole dates are reflections of someone telling them where they must spend their time, he said.
“But nobody can tell you what you can do with your time. I hope that you’ll realize the difference,†he told them.
Terrell Thorpe told the men their bodies may be confined, but their minds are free.
“Suffering produces perseverance — the motivation and determination to hold on and keep going. From perseverance we get to character,†he said.
Gang divisions, prison politics and geographic divides all hinder inmates and cause suffering, said Lucky Iromuanya, 36, who was 22 when he came to prison.
Instead of allowing their differences to benefit them, they become barriers, he said.
And survival of the fittest becomes words to live by.
Iromuanya spoke to the men about the need for education and self discipline.
“We lack true education and the power from it,†he said. “Without knowledge you become what I call a blind believer.â€
He won’t be eligible for parole until he’s 60, but the majority of the men and women will rejoin their communities. They need the right help to be able to reintegrate well.
Iromuanya never had been to a Juneteenth celebration until just recently, he said.
“Even at my age now I’m still learning, slowly but surely I’m still learning new things,†he said. “I always feel like you’re not to old to learn things.â€
Rashad Washington, 29, who is from Omaha and serving more than a lifetime worth of years, said Juneteenth celebrations have always been a part of his life.
He is hoping events like this help others to get focused so they are ready to go back to the streets.
“Everyone makes mistakes. But the things that we can learn from, a lot of us have learned from. A lot of us have grown as men,†Washington said.
He came into prison when he was 22. And a lot of people with time he has to serve would give up, he said. But he intends to become a better person every day that he lives, he said.
“I’ve learned more in seven years than I learned my whole life,†he said.
“I’ve found my purpose in life. I’m living free. I’m living in prison but I’m still living free.â€
