Arts & Culture
Prisoner and Accomplished Writer Jermon Clark Shares His Story
An Oakland man is seeking healing through writing. […]
prison
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Looking at Lam & What Needs to Be Done
By Debora Gordon Lam was, and perhaps still is, a young man with a lot of potential. He could have gone on to lead a life of commonplace trials and triumphs; having a family, a job […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
A Call to Lam’s Mother
By Debora Gordon Many, perhaps most, parts of this story have been hard to tell. I often imagine someone who might be personally affected by a particular part of the story looking over my shoulder. […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Going to Prison, Part III: Lam Tells His Story
By Debora Gordon On Sunday, December 9th, I headed back to prison. When I arrived, I learned the previous day’s lock down had been lifted. Many of the same visitors were there again. The woman […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Going to Prison, Part I
By Debora Gordon I drove down to visit Lam in the Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) the weekend of December 7ththrough December 10th. I checked in by phone and email with the Public Information Officer, […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Snail Mail Part III: Is Forgiveness for the Victim or the Forgiven?
“On the topic of forgiveness. I have always felt we all deserve a second chance.Would I be able to forgive the person who rape and killed my daughter? I can’t say for sure because I would know. But I’ve forgiven the people or person who shot me. If you think about it, I put myself in that situation and that was part of the gang banging life style. So why should I keep that hatred for them when I am moving on in life.” […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Snail Mail Part II: A Mellow or a Violent Guy?
“Being locked (up) is not a good thing but for some like me, we need a scary situation to set us straight. If only there were a machine who can tell if a person has truly learn and have change for the better. I would be release real soon. Being in here has stop a lot of my plans and goals but I look at is this is time to build a better me for the future. It is what it is.” […]