SOUTH CENTRAL: A CASE FOR REDEMPTION

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Under The Walnut Tree: A Memoir, by Donnell Joseph, (The Troy Book Makers, Troy, New York, 2015, 252 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

November 7, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Hollywood has a tendency of glamourizing the perceived sordid nature of the South Central area of Los Angeles, as depicted in the movies, Boys In The Hood, starring Lawrence Fishburne, Angela Bassett and Cuba Gooding Jr., as well as Menace To Society, starring Larenz Tate, and most recently in the blockbuster movie Straight Out Of Compton, chronicling the rise to fame of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. Donnell Joseph gives a more realistic and authentic meaning and picture of South Central, as he actually lived through it and on many occasions almost died in it through his involvement in gangs and drugs common to the area when he was coming up.

As a matter of fact, three of his younger brothers, Wilbert, Kenneth and Chris, all were murdered on the mean streets of South Central. Joseph’s memoir, Under The Walnut Tree, tells a sordid story of gang violence and subsequent prison life that would make Hollywood producers and directors blush! While the author was a member of the “Brims” street gang in South Central, the more noted “Crips” and “Bloods” actually had members that had been childhood friends or acquaintances.

There are poignant moments in this well written book, superbly edited by Jeanne Finley, that at times captures the essence of humanity that one might not expect of the author, especially considering revelations of his early childhood and how he was raised. One poignant moment for example, is how the author reflects on the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, and doing so “under the walnut tree” in his family’s back yard. This is in contrast to his demonstrated aberrant behavior throughout this book. Clearly, there are two sides to this man that deserves analyzing if we are to truly understand him and the South Central area of Los Angeles that would breed similar such young men.

In further regard to Dr. King, the author states: “I have always liked to be next to trees and to gather my thoughts under their shelter. I am better able to enter a world of solitude near trees, where my thoughts can flow freely and where I can make sense of matters affecting my immediate existence. It was under the walnut tree in my back yard that I went to think the evening after Dr. King was assassinated. His words of racial harmony had brought me hope and caused me to believe that the world he described could exist. I wondered what would become of my people and all people, and who would carry the burden of responsibility now that Dr. King was gone. My sadness was intermittently broken by the birds singing in the walnut tree.” This would seem to contrast with the racial warfare between the Mexican Mafia and Black gangs in the prisons that Joseph speaks of in his book.

By his own accounting, Donnell Joseph has spent more years of his life in prison than out. But he is one former prisoner who, upon his release and against all odds, has permanently turned his life around. That remains to be seen! “Under The Walnut Tree” is the extraordinary memoir of that life, beginning with Donnell’s childhood in South Central Los Angeles and his introduction to the gangs that would serve as both family and ruin; to his journey through the hells of the California juvenile penal system and, as he grew up, the infamous state prisons at San Quentin and Folsom; to the lost years of federal prison; and finally to the recovery of his own humanity and the blossoming of love. A story not only of “a human being who has grown to learn how to love," Under The Walnut Tree is also one man’s witness to “living life as a fool” offered as example and warning.

Another poignant moment in Joseph’s book is how he describes the realities of prison, which he would get to know all too well, as he states: “Prison is one of the most misunderstood realities. Confined within the walls of this confused maze of pain and ostracism, human beings fight the urge for affection by repudiating the images, treasures, privileges, and wonderment of the free world, which is to be free to love and to be loved in return. Isolation destroys and hampers the growth of a man through a series of petty rules and problems, all of which are designed to retract the course of nature and man’s ability to exist in his natural state.” Does this sound like a man that grew up on the mean streets of South Central – gang-banging and spending the majority of his life in numerous prisons throughout California and other parts of the country, and accused of every other heinous activity imaginable?

As the former President of the Bethel A.M.E. Prison Ministry in San Diego, and regularly visiting and ministering to inmates in Donovan Prison and the George Bailey Center Jail in the San Diego area, as well as the Las Colinas Jail for women, I hope to have the author visit with me to one of these facilities to share his message of redemption. Joseph has indicated that is exactly what he wants to do, as well as visiting schools before the young men and women get to the point of following a life of crime and violence. Who better to get that message across to them than Joseph?

The author also gives a disturbing picture and viewpoint of his early life in the juvenile justice system, as he states: “And I listened to the nightly cries and rapes. Each morning brought the stories of the previous night. There was a look on the faces of the boys who had been raped in the night. I could feel their sadness, and it hurt me to know that no one cared. I could feel the pain of the victims of rape in Juvenile Hall, but not the pain of the victims of my own iniquity. I was a hypocrite who hated violence when I saw its victims, but justified my own violence and gang activity.”

Joseph gives a candid and graphic description of his incarceration at San Quentin (“Bastille by the Bay”), one of many prisons throughout the country that he would serve time at. He describes it as such: “There seemed to be no end to the height or breadth of San Quentin. I had never imagined people would build a place that big, in which to put those who had broken the law.” Ironically, upon his arrival at San Quentin he was sent for orientation to North Block, the Hole, the block that housed Death Row, where many died within San Quentin’s gas chamber, including the author’s childhood friend, StanleyTookie Williams, several years ago. I recall quite vividly and painfully Tookie Williams’ execution, as activists from all over the world, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the South Africa’s Bishop Desmond Tutu, called for a stay of execution. The Governor of California at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, had the power in his hands to let Tookie Williams live or die. He chose to let him die! That is something that I will always remember and associate with the former actor, not his movies “Terminator” or “Predator”.

In his memoir, “Under The Walnut Tree”, the author states that in San Quentin; “Murder and assaults were the common language, and to speak of killing someone was natural within the normalcy of incarceration.” Joseph writes of his own “life-or-death’ experience at San Quentin, that with an inmate known as “Killer Dog”.

Just last night, the author and I had a long distance phone conversation about a subject that he writes about in his book, and evidently means a lot to him and has caused pain to him and many others in South Central Los Angeles, the crack cocaine epidemic in his neighborhood. He touched on a conspiracy theory, that of the “Arm & Hammer” company involvement in the making and distribution of crack cocaine. He further indicated that the baking soda made by Arm & Hammer was absolutely necessary and an essential element in crack cocaine. Interestingly, a George Allen Ward, serving a 200 month sentence in the Petersburg Low Federal Institution in Virginia for the distribution of crack cocaine, filed a civil action (Civ. No. 03-6113) against Defendant Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (“Church & Dwight”), the manufacturer of Arm & Hammer baking soda. Plaintiff Ward asserts that Church & Dwight should be held liable for failing to include a warning on the package regarding the consequences of criminally misusing baking soda with cocaine to manufacture crack cocaine. Needless to say, Judge Stanley R. Chesler ruled against him.

It makes one wonder what would Beverly Hills or Malibu look like today if the amounts of crack cocaine introduced to the South Central community had been introduced there – or if the powers that be would have even allowed such a phenomenon to occur? Joseph states in his memoir, and he knows all too well: “The drug trade brought with it the evils of addiction. Prostitution was widespread and the crime rate increased as crackheads stole everything they could get to support their habit. It was worse for the women, who lost their beauty to addiction. The dealers made them perform perverted sex acts for drugs; sick dealers gave them crack for having sex with dogs.” Although the author professed an aversion for using and selling drugs, he didn’t practice what he preached!

Perhaps most profound in his book, and to sum up the author's life, is this statement: "I'm not the fortunate son of the American dream. I'm not the son of a land filled with milk and honey, opportunity and compassion. I'm a product of the American nightmare in its truest reality. I come from a world of poverty, sickness, and perversity, from a society where violence and human immorality exist with no shame or remorse. I come from a world where people prey on the weak and ignorant. I've tasted the putrid bitterness of poverty. I've risen up with the smells of violence and human excrement and have sought to escape through drugs and alcohol. But this means of escape only pulled me deeper into it." 

It is interesting to note that just recently two members of the “Crips” street gang were convicted of the 2014 murder of former Boron High School football star Reggie Heard, who prosecutors believe was gunned down in front of a college teammate’s Compton house because he was wearing a red shirt – mistaken as a Blood gang member. When I shared this with the author Joseph just last night, he indicated to me that he wanted to make it his life mission to stop this deadly trend by educating young people about this dead end street of glamourizing and glorifying street gang violence. This book that he has written is a start, and I believe he will succeed.

Dennis Moore is the Associate Editor of the East County Magazine in San Diego and the book review editor of SDWriteway, an online newsletter for writers in San Diego that has partnered with the East County Magazine, as well as a freelance contributor to EURweb based out of Los Angeles. He is also the author of a book about Chicago politics; “The City That Works: Power, Politics, and corruption in Chicago.” Mr. Moore can be contacted at contractsagency@gmail.com or you can follow him on Twitter at: @DennisMoore8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Comments

Re: Dennis Moore

Very well done Mr. Dennis Moore, I really feel like this book will be an eye-opener for a lot of young men and women alike. I work in juvenile justice currently, and I worked in an adult psychiatric prison for many years as well as a police officer. I watch young people come in and out of the jail doors full of anger, and a spirit of being invincible against a system that is designed for failure. I explain to them, that once the system is a part of their lives, it can be consuming. Once a person is released from prison, especially on parole; there are fees and guidelines that the parolee must abide by. I have watched the eyes of a new parolee who is ready to get out and do well in society, but the look soon turns into fear, as there are no jobs; no jobs mean no money, and when the little spark of hope begins to flicker, the look turns into anger, and hopelessness that soon drives them right back into the system. However, this is the design; the purpose, to keep people in a cycle of hopelessness, poverty, crime, drugs, and death, so that they can not vote; and they are in too much despair, dealing with a very real struggle of life, to fight back against a system that is trying to be all-consuming. Donnell Joseph, thank you for being open with us, and laying down the facts, people need to know. I am proud of you and wish you complete success!!! Great job Mr. Joseph, and thank you for a wonderful review Mr. Dennis Moore! Cortina Jackson Author of "On Earth As It Is In Hell" www.cortinajackson.com

Under the Walnut Tree - grateful reply from the author

Ms. Jackson, thank you so much for your very kind and intelligent response to Dennis Moore's review of my memoir. I felt a great honor to read your comments - they filled me with gratitude. I do trust and hope that my book will reach our youth, and help prevent them from making the choices I made that led to so many years of incarceration. I welcome and appreciate any advice you could share to help me reach as many people as possible.Thank you again, Ms. Jackson - and thank you, Mr. Moore.

REPORT: ALARMING ABUSES SEEN AT CALIFORNIA PRISON

Guards at an isolated state prison have created a "culture of racism," engage in alarming use of force against inmates and have a code of silence encouraged by the union that represents most corrections officers, the California inspector general said Wednesday, according to an Associated Press story by Don Thompson in the Lancaster Antelope Valley Press. The scathing report calls for management and other changes at High Desert State Prison in the northeast corner of the state.

 

More broadly, the report finds rising violence statewide in special housing units designed to protect vulnerable inmates, including sex offenders, gang dropouts and prisoners with physical disabilities. The months-long investigation was sparked by reports that some guards at the Susanville prison mistreated inmates with disabilities and set up sex offenders for assaults because of their crimes.

 

The investigation also found evidence of "a culture of racism and lack of acceptance of ethnic differences" among correctional officers, three-quarters of whom are white. Inspector General Robert Barton said the California Correctional Peace Officers Association advised members not to cooperate and filed a lawsuit and collective bargaining grievance in a bid to hinder the investigation. The author of this book, Donnell Joseph, gives first hand insight into the conditions mentioned in this report.

An Engaging Review of "Under the Walnut Tree" by Dennis Moore

I like reading stories of redemption and the resiliency of the human spirit. This very engaging review of Donnell Joseph's story by Dennis Moore has peeked my interest in this book and I am looking forward to reading it. I am also anxiously awaiting Mr. Moore's review of my own book, "Coveting the Dream," a fictional story centered around the controversial issue of immigration reform and the American Dream.

"Coveting the Dream" by Jacintha Griffith

Thank you for your comments about my review of "Under The Walnut Tree", it actually is an engaging story. I hope to do similar with my review of your book, "Coveting the Dream", which I am currently reading.

Under the Walnut Tree - Donnell Joseph

Firstly, my congratulations on Mr. Donnell Joseph for shedding light on our prison system which oftentimes do not reform prisoners. I am elated that Mr. Joseph wrote this book, not only is it therapeutic for him but it helps the public to better understand what goes on within the prison walls. I was saddened when I read about the raping of some of the juveniles, I actually visualize their screams and their sense of helplessness, and hopelessness, thanks in part for the well written format of the author, and the very captivating review by Mr. Moore. This book is an eye opener, and a page turner. We, the readers are better educated about the prison system. It's up to us to think about ways how we can help to right some of the wrongs that go on behind the prison walls. Jacqueline Carr, Author - A Selected Few Just For You.

Judge faults Trutanich in capital case

In his campaign to win elected office in Los Angeles, Carmen Trutanich billed himself as a fearless crime fighter, according to reporter Joel Rubin in a Los Angeles Times newspaper story dated April 25, 2016. To drive home the point, he (Trutanich) talked frequently about a murder conviction he won as a young prosecutor against a South L.A. gang member who was sentenced to death for a 1982 killing. Trutanich, who served four years as city attorney, told of how he hadn't wavered in his face-off with Barry Williams, whom he called "one of the most notorious and violent gang leaders in Los Angeles." But as Trutanich was giving stump speeches, lawyers for Williams were telling a federal judge a very different story about the candidate and the murder case. Serious misconduct by Trutanich, they alleged, had deprived Williams of a fair trial.

 

In a recent sharply worded ruling, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter agreed, concluding that Trutanich had broken two cardinal rules for criminal prosecutors by withholding the identity of a witness and failing to correct false tesstimony by his key witness. "trutanich's failure at trial," the judge wrote, "was deepling troubling."

Spot-On Review

Thank you so much for your spot-on review of Under the Walnut Tree. It was my privilege to work with Donnell and his wife to "midwife" the book from manuscript to publication, and I'm so glad that it is beginning to reach people who can make a difference and further Donnell's purpose(s) for writing it. Now we need to spread the word: here are the two places where you can order it: http://tbmbooks.corecommerce.com/Under_the_Walnut_Tree.html and http://www.amazon.com/dp/1614682852 We are spreading the word about this review and these great comments! --Jeanne Finley

Under the Walnut Tree / A Gripping Review - Carole McKee

Thank you for your comments - it is an honor to be recognized by you. My memoir is a testament of the dysfunctional culture and society of South Central LA that was perpetuated by anger, hate, and systemic racism. I wrote my memoir to help others not to make the mistakes I made - and to make amends for the iniquities I subjected upon society.

Under the Walnut Tree, reviewed by Dennis Moore

According to the ACLU and other sources, the United States comprises only 5% of the world's population, yet houses more than 20% of its prison residents--an issue of heated debate among political and social commentators. Peter Wagner, attorney, co-founder, and Executive Director of the Prison Policy Initiative, states that in 2013, there were 2,220,300 adults incarcerated in county jails, state prisons, and in U.S. federal prisons, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). His data further reveals that almost 9% of Black men in their late 20s are behind bars, while nearly 4% of Latinos in the same age group are incarcerated. But it was not, Wagner states, an "equal opportunity punishment...The young, the male, the Black and the Latino are disproportionately incarcerated." Conspicuously missing in far too many such reports, however, is the incarceration rate for Native American men: four times that of white men, while Native American women are incarcerated at six times that of white women--according to a report compiled by the Lakota People's Law Project. With these statistics in mind, Donnell's story is timely and riveting--one that sheds light on a problem that has long spiraled out of control. I think that his book would make a welcome "give-away" through prison ministries or outreaches to men--and women--who are currently incarcerated. There is nothing more realistic that a story told by one who has "been there." Thank you Dennis, for your in-depth review of Donnell Joseph's story, and best wishes to you, Donnell, in sharing a poignant and powerful message through your experiencies . --KB Schaller, Author, 100+ Native American Women Who Changed the World.

A Gripping Review

Just from reading the review, I felt the emotion. Donnell Joseph's story is one that should interest anyone who was in the prison system and those who were never there, as well. I could almost touch the emotions conveyed from reading this review. I wish Mr. Joseph good luck with the book. I, myself, will purchase a copy. I'm one of the 'never been' people, so I'm sure I'll find it fascinating. As always, Dennis Moore has managed to spike my interest in another writer's work.