I'll admitt it. I have a hard time feeling sorry for former U.S. Representative "Messy Jessie" Jackson Jr.. Yes he's in jail, and yes his life, his career and his legacy are all ruined. But I still have a hard time dealing with his betrayal. I could climb up on a soap box and talk about how he betrayed the public trust, lied, cheated, and used public money for his own selfish gain. But it's much deeper than that. As much as I've tried to shake my proclivity for taking pride in the achievements of all African-Americans as if they are my own. I cannot. This feeling is almost visceral and deeply rooted in the African-American struggle to beat the odds. The reason I've tried to fight the urge to live vicariously through people like Jackson Jr. is because I feel their falls almost as much as I feel their triumph, and the disappointment is becoming all too common. The saddest part is, I don't think he realized that his mistakes have just as much of an impact as his accomplishments. The admiration that many of us had for a man of his stature has quickly turned into contempt. So excuse me if I didn't shed a tear when I heard about Jackson Jr. being thrown into solitary confinement. Although I believe that such treatment is far too harsh and inhumane for any human being to be forced to endur, many men with names that are far less recognizable are placed in solitary confinement some where in America each and every day, and nobody blinks an eye. African-American men and women who are in the system who have become a prized commodity in the prison industrial complex not because the were rich and had a desire to be richer. But because many of them had less than nothing, and wanted something to eat.
Jackson Jr. has been moved from a federal prison in North Carolina to a minimum-security prison camp in Montgomery, Ala., a month after finishing his 5 day stint in "the hole".
The 49-year-old former Chicago congressman had been advising other inmates in North Carolina about their rights in prison, according to an anonymous source, who said a guard took exception to Jackson's counseling, and decided to punish the longtime South Side politician.
A hearing was held, the source said, and Jackson was cleared of any wrongdoing and asked for a transfer to another prison.
The source said family members were concerned about Jackson’s welfare after the incident and went to visit him in prison.
It took about a month for the transfer to go through, the source said, and Jackson was moved to the prison camp at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.
A federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman said Saturday she could not comment on an inmate’s move. But the Bureau of Prisons’ website now lists Jackson as an inmate at the Montgomery facility, and family members including his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, brother Jonathan Jackson and sister Santita Jackson confirmed that Saturday.
Jackson is serving a 21/2 -year sentence after pleading guilty to illegally using campaign money. He entered prison last October and is due to be released on Dec. 31, 2015, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
The prison camp in Montgomery was where Jackson initially asked to be sent after his conviction.
“I want to make it a little inconvenient for everybody to get to me,” he said, through tears, at his sentencing last year.
If only every other inmate in America had the power to dictate the details of their incarceration.
PR
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