This Ain't What You Want

by Willie Spears and Kim Adams Graham   According to Ivory A. Toldson, a professor of counseling psychology at Howard University, there are more black men in college than in prison. From my twenty years in education as a teacher, coach, and administrator I can attest to his research.Several of my former students regardless of race attended college after graduating from high school. However, the five students I have serving life in prison seem to resonate more in my mind than the thousands that have attended college.My father is the greatest man I know and he spent six years in prison before I was born. My mother spent time in and out of jail before she had me at age twenty. My cousin is currently serving a hundred and twenty-five-year sentence and he told me to tell people "This ain't what you want."This book is a collection of articles from people who are incarcerated and those who were incarcerated. The purpose of this resource is the inform people, especially young people about the