Freed Prisoner Albert Woodfox on Transformation and Hope After Four Decades in Solitary Confinement
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- Опубликовано: 16 май 2024
- Our extended interview with Albert Woodfox, the longest-standing solitary confinement prisoner in the United States. He was held 43 years in isolation in a six-by-nine-foot cell-until he was released just over 2 years ago. Now he joins us in studio with his his new memoir: Solitary: Unbroken By Four Decades In Solitary Confinement, My Story Of Transformation And Hope.
Watch Part 1: • 43 Years: Meet the Man...
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This is the epitome of a black M A N.
Broke but not brokened.
I salute you my Brother.
God made you and broke the mold.
Why, because he was an armed robber and murderer?? I would suggest the epitome of a black man is someone like Obama, or Michael Jordan, Neil Degrasse Tyson someone who doesnt commit crimes like murder.
@@tubester4567
First of all, Test tube Baby, Obama did nothing for black people. The only "CHANGE" was the weather. SELL-OUT
No. 2) Michael Jordan willing to commit Black Genocide. SELL-OUT
No.3) Neil DeGrassi was investigated for sexual misconduct. Also..SELL-OUT
As for the murder charges of Albert Woodfox, he continued his innocence and was charged because of his ties with the black panter party & his political beliefs. He also stayed true to his race & beliefs dispite 43 yrs of solitary confinement.
Albert Woodfox was never a Sell-out.
Yes, he is the epitome of a black man.
This is for the record yet, I don't really care what you believe, (White Man) your opinion holds no weight here.
So, If you're not white, You act like you are.
Miss me with this bull-shit.
H McDaniels Your absolutely correct!!! Albert Woodfox IS the epitome of a black man and I for one AM very proud of him. Wtf did Obama did for black people A absolutely NOTHING!!!!
@@hmcdaniels1277 - you’re a racist
He was treated so inhumanly.
Some HBCU PLEASE award this man an Honorary Degree and Make him a member of your Facilty.
Each One Teach One !
Iconic Drives/ MidAtl Exactly and I went to Howard, maybe I should write them about him 🤔
Big Up to you my brother. Much success.
Meow
It's hard to imagine a person going through 43 years of solitary. You can see in the later interview, he seems more "alive" than in the short clip with his brother immediately after release. I hope Chelsea Manning is able to get to a place where she can survive solitary confinement -- she has been in there since the first week of March. #FreeChelsea P.S. Extraordinary interview. "The purpose of solitary is to destroy the human spirit." Incredible man. More power to him.
White supremacy have robbed many people of African descent of the life God gave them.
Thats a real hero right there. The moral fortitude and the mental strength Mr Woodfox developed over his predicament is nothing short than superhuman.
There are men, and then there is this "MAN"!! Powerful, powerful, powerful, powerful!!!!
Here is a truly great man. He has such a beautiful demeanor devoid of anger at the horrific injustice imposed on him.
You sound like a wonderful teacher, Mr. Woodfox. Enjoy your life!
My Uncle .....Love you Unc 💯
I am a 50yr old BLACK MAN from Baltimore and have spent over half of my life in prison and over 10yrs in solitary confinement. I'll say this. First I SALUTE the brother!!! This rotten ass unjust country don't have the right to treat and judge people in the manner in which they do.
I wonder how many of you are out there like this!!!!
a lot of american africans sound cursed.
you should travel africa to get some perspective.
We need to get rid of solitary confinement. Gone. It should be illegal.
@Jay Gg Did this guy deserve solitary confinement?
Nah, thats to dangerous. Just not so much time, bad for the brain.
If he never committed crime in the 1st place which he admitted to armed robbery. This whole unfortunate event would of never happened, remember that. At the end of the day If you live by the sword you die by it. Use this as a lesson, stay out of trouble, regardless of your situation.
A true American hero I’m going to buy the book today .i have tried to be a white face in a black cause , but failed. I can’t imagine solitary confinement for so long. I once was in an isolated hospital room due to pneumonia I literally flipped out on the 3 rd day and begged for them to crack the window or the door just an inch
Thank you.
Joel Wateres-muddy it’s not about the color of your skin, but right from wrong. Keep standing up for what’s right!!
A white face in a black cause? Wtf is that supposed to mean? They need your help because you're white? What kind of statement is that. You shouldn't have even said anything at all dude.
I'm speechless
May God continue to bless you Brother Woodfox. You are an inspiration.
Thank you so much for surviving and sharing your strength and wisdom.
Your time in prison was not in vain. Your Spirit is uplifting for All to embrace.
Be Blessed my Brother.
Just bought the ebook on Kindle. Nothing but pride and utter respect for this man.
Such an incredible story... It's hard to put into words. My heart goes out to him as he continues on his journey.
Enjoy your life Mr Woodfox. Reading this book opened my eyes in so many ways.
What strength this Man displays!!!
Denzel is gonna kill it when he portrays this!
🤣🤣
Its very impressive this man did not go insane.
One strong gentleman.
Finding it hard to comprehend the strength and spirit of this amazing man. To endure what he has endured and to still have faith and hope in humanity is beyond nearly everyone's scope - how many human beings actually have his experience? Very few. #Humanism I wish only the best for Mr. Albert Woodfox. Great reporting on this, Amy!
Thank you for giving Uncle Albert his tiempo in peace
Make this man the Hero that he is.
This is very informative. It is good that Mr Woodfox has a mission, a purpose that came out of his terrible experience of being unjustly forced into isolation in the prison. Thank you for sharing you're interview, his story.💕🌄🕊️
Am reading Albert's memoir now - it's hard-hitting and inspirational. A must-read for anyone interested in this man's life. Also an indictment on America's penal system and continued plantation mentality against African Americans in a so-called modern democracy. An absolute disgrace. 'Solitary' is a testament to the strength of this man's spirit. RIP Albert Woodfox.
God bless you.
43 years in solitary confinement is worst than death 💀
When you die you go either in heaven or in hell so if you die and you go to hell its worst than solitary confinement
Rest in power brother woodcox
43 years this is a tragedy 😢 😔 This is so sad.. why does our world have to be so corrupt. I wasn't with my mother for her last breath either it's the worst feeling in the world you always wonder why.. very painful to leave these feelings behind. GOD Bless you may you rest in peace. Thank God you had a bible.. which is not always so easy to read. We're not in a free world.. speaking up gets you punished.. still today my work place is doing so much corruption against me.. so sad 😞 the people who did this should serve the same amount of time.. but forgiveness is so much more powerful it will set you free. This man is an example of how we need to get it right. 2022 imagine not having a sink 😳 or a door to walk out for 43 years.. our hands are so important sending healing and love to anyone who may be experiencing anything similar to this .. an innocent man.. 😢 I injured my hand I some what understand a small part of this.. nothing would ever make me feel what this man has gone through. 😪
"At the risk of sounding ridiculous let me state that a revolutionary is motivated by Love" Ernesto Che Guevara. Right on Brother Albert, long live your indomitable spirit
"The change in America was superficial"
Wow! 💚
Amazing!!
Buddha points out that very few can master the power of being alone. Woodfox has to be an intuitive genius. As for the human race, we have one hell of a lot of growing up to do.
Mother of god! What a strong man!
#FREELEONARDPELTIER TOO
The sheer level of false allegations and never-ending proxy punishment this man has gone through lowers my pride in this country several notches.
What a handful of officials in the state of Louisiana did to this man shows the levels of deprivation politicians can sink to (there's no way anyone can have their humanity stolen to this degree without high-ranking political endorsement).
It's humbling to hear what he survived, and it definitely adjusts my attitude about things I considered violations of my "rights."
I hope that something positive comes out of his journey. I think that is his main goal of sharing this nightmare as well. I get the impression that somehow he's gotten past most of the insanity and just wants to help prevent this from happening to anyone else.
Amazing individual.
Hair Of Wool, Skin Like Copper Bronze!!
43 years of his life literally taken away from his soul.
Very sad story.
What an amazing person.
This is like some medieval punishment. In Holland you get 20 to 25 for murder. On good behavior 15 - 20 years.
In Holland everybody is white. And you can use Holland , Europe, Canada and any other white nation sentences aren’t as harsh. See, it’s not because we’re Black I’m America that whites hate us. White Americans hate Blacks and others in the Western Hemisphere because the strongest children of God live amongst them , and a perceived depleted white race through race-mixing
The crime the state did to this man is increadible. Just can't imagine how he managed not getting insane, not killing he's selfe. It should be banned immediatly, keeping people in solitary confinment.
21:12 adapt and overcome, the sign of a strong mind
This is simply unimaginable NO ONE i repeat NO ONE deserves that kind of dehumanization. This is a true testament to capability of the human mind i am sure that whoever was responsible for this unjustly act truly truly thought he would not make it out. Let alone be able to go in front of people, multiple people with cameras with media questions and not fold and go blank and freak out this dude to Me. Is the coolest coldest dude to ever live period I dont care what he does his mind is intact and that inspires me to do great things with mine thank you for tour sacrifice Albert
I just finished his book, by far the saddest book I have ever read!!!
Wow
Crazy situation
What is wrong with the culture in the US??, this is nothing but cruel and unusual punishment🤔, there is something very wrong with a nation that allows this, the culture, this tolerance of, empowering, justification and belief in such small and nastiness....
You'd be walking into a whole different world.
Whitefolks…boy I’ll tell ya. No matter what y’all do, no matter how much hate y’all have in y’all hearts for me & my people, y’all can not break Us!!! ✊🏿
Big facts 💯
@@davidward8892 ✊🏿
LAND OF THE FREE AS LONG AS YOUR INCOME IS IN THE MILLIONS
You can't break a strong black mind. I couldn't do that time. JIST KILLLLLL ME
😞Same story as our "political prisoners" in solitary confinement life sentences in federal jails of US - for resisting Puerto Rico colonialism.
I hope you find God and PEACE
After 6.25 years in prison for trafficking weed, I left prison (Dec. 4th-1998) with 2 felony convictions, (Possession of Marijuana and Conspiracy to Traffic Marijuana). I turned 39 the month following my release from prison to parole. I had no marketable job skills and I was flat fucking broke. What is the job market like for 39 year old ex-cons with no marketable job skills? Part of me was horrified at the thought of my prospects or the lack of them. Two of the most terrifying days of my life were the day I went to prison and the day I left prison.
After getting home on parole I went to the Employment Office and found out I qualified to received $10,000.00 for tuition funding for vocational training. This felt like a miracle and I was in desperate need of a miracle. This money came from the government (WIA - Workforce Investment Act). It's my understanding this money/funding for vocational training funding is still available to certain ex-cons but the amount of money has been decreased since I came home from prison. It was $10,000.00 in 1999 but decreased after the year 2000 to $6,500.00.
After enrolling in the Vocational School I felt very much like the proverbial "old dog" wondering if I could learn a new trick. I chose to study Information Technology which seemed logical back in 1999 as the PC (personal computer) seemed to be taking off like a rocket in the workplace and in homes across the country. Specifically, I enrolled in a Computer Applications program and a Computer Networking Program. I was in class Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and I found a bartending job for Saturday and Sunday nights. The bartending job was the most physically demanding job I’d ever had but the money was excellent.
My first-year home on parole I worked seven days a week. Working this hard is something every ex-con can do and should do. Work. Work. Work. Working seven days a week is a gift every ex-con can give to themselves. When I enrolled in college I worked full-time during the days and went to college full-time at night. Working this schedule was a type of therapy for me. I worked very hard on creating a new life, creating a good life. Because of my schedule I had no time to sit around dwelling upon my past mistakes (Trafficking and prison). Eventually the thoughts of my past failures and unhealthy memories (Trafficking and prison) began to fade away and in their place were positive thoughts about the work I was doing and my future.
After grad school I was hired by an IT Consulting firm in Washington DC and granted a security clearance which I needed for the work I did as an IT Consultant/Systems Engineer working on a project for the Department of Homeland Security (HSPD - Homeland Security Presidential Directive -12). I worked for the government full-time and taught Information Technology classes part-time at a local Junior College (Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL). Within ten years of leaving prison I got my education and was earning over $100,000.00 per year. The future looked bright. I was able to buy a home (5 bedroom home and I lived alone), I bought new 4x4 and I even bought a motorcycle (VTX-1800).
Life after prison has been very good to me but I busted my ass and created all the opportunity I was granted. From the beginning of my parole I focused on maximizing the value of each opportunity I was granted. This is what every ex-con needs to do. I worked seven days a week for the first year I was on parole, then worked full-time (days) while going to college full-time (nights). There is a great life out there for every ex-con but it is up to the ex-con to create his or her opportunities for a new life after prison. I proved it's possible to create a quality life after 6.25 years in prison. If you see the world as the land of opportunity then it becomes the land of opportunity :-)
What one man can do another can do!
Time for a new Black Panther group.
Joe Ann WORD!!!!
I’ve been praying that Denzel Washington’ plays the role of Alfred woodfox in a 🍿 movie! He would be perfect for this movie! If you listen to him Denzel Washington sounds just like him and they actually resemble in the face! As I’ve been doing my research on mr woodfox I’ve started a biography about him as I am very interested in mr woodfox because he never let anyone take his knowledge or 📚 books! That’s real powerful and I respect him so deeply. My questions are that if Mr woodfox, Herman Wallace and roger king did not kill Brent miller the prison guard then who did kill him? And are they still investigating the killing? And why were just these particular 3 men targeted out of the large population of the black panther party?? Why just these particular 3? I’m in understanding of that of their involvement in the black panther party and being activists for the bpp but why exactly were these 3 targeted? Questions need to answered and who really killed Brent miller? I’m in heart break that Mr woodfox went through this and it unbearable to think of but by the grace of god I am thankful he is alive to talk about what he went through. He has some true will power and is a very strong man. There is no amount of money or apologies that the justice system can give him or pats on the back. Over half of his life was taken for no reason and there is no excuses. He lost his mom and sister to cancer while in prison and wasn’t even allowed to attend the funeral and that was evil as you can get. But if mr woodfox reads this just now there is a promise land and one day we will all be at that promise land ... you will see your mother and sister I promise you that they are looking down on you. I will be purchasing your book as well and I pray for you I pray for your life and that you live abundantly and that you do all you ever wanted to do. I am sorry that this was done to you deeply from my heart. I’ve been spending the last week writing my own biography on you and I pray to get your information out here as I myself love knowledge and I am all about writing ✍️ you are a very special person and I will be sharing your story. You deserve a lot more and I was never informed of you until this last week as your story just popped up in my you tube feed and I started researching you immediately! I find it very interesting that the prison was a former cotton plantation and find it awkwardly that you were a prisoner in a cotton plantation. It almost seems as if it was a harbor for slavery. I worked at a place a couple years ago that was a former cotton plantation and most of the employees were blacks and I found that real awkward!!! And guess what it was a job spinning and winding cotton.... yes sir I’ve worked in two cotton mills is what they call them. I promise you the owners of all these companies are white and they find blacks and Mexicans to do the work. But anyway y’all follow me on Instagram Carolinassweettea cause im all about spilling some tea!!! Mr woodfox I’m on the job! You deserve everything! As a matter of fact they should build a school named after you! And some streets! How does this sound Woodfox university school of education and knowledge!! Denzel Washington gonna see this and we will get you a movie started !!! I’ve been emailing Denzel hopefully he got it !! Love y’all Carolinassweettea from the Carolinas
Hugo Pinell spent 46+ years in Solitary in Califonia
May a deity help us for our crimes against humanity. I don't who to ask; pick any flavor. It's still a plea for help.
Inhuman treatment. Where’s the rehabilitation?
Humanity has never been better and will never be. Evil rules.
All prisoners should be in solitary
Larry Hoover renounced GD sooo fast. He wanted to get OUT!
Farewell Alfred
Wow..this story gets me extremely angry..I couldn't watch til the end..what's amazing is that he's so calm..I did 3 straight years after about 17 months (approx) and went crazy in that time.paronoid delusions..the works..he did 3...plus 40..he shouldn't have to want for anything.. every time he wants something you should give it to him...a blank vheck
Likely he was used for behavioral research. This country is a human grocery store. This country is disturbing. Obviously only certain lives matter and the rest of us don't. We were given social security numbers so it's easier to keep up with the massive amount of information on us. The public is under constant scrutiny because the people interested in details of our lives have the worst skeletons in their closets.
Bernie Sanders has pledged to end solitary confinement if he becomes president, that is enough to win a vote
14:08 I can’t be the only one that heard that 🥴🤣
What I didn't get it
Albert Woodfox is one of the true heroes.
The haters...😂🤣
Time for the so called justice system to be overhauled. INHUMANE !!!
Ironic that the focus has become "unjust confinement". The real issue is this is a person who spent his entire life in and out of prison based upon his own action and choices. What about the victims? He has a "right?" to visit his family's funeral??? When you commit crimes and become imprisoned, you forfeit those "rights."
The prison warehouse is a for profit system, it's kept that way do to the billions of dollars in profit made yearly, it's actually in the stock market as a commodity, also on that market are the items being sold which are made by the hands of prisoners... the private prison system is also very lucrative and it's always bought into by people who are already rich prior to the investment!!! The same way they fund politicians who keep their agenda going, that's the way they pay to keep their interests going in the warehousing of humanity!!! people wake up!!! I personally have spent over 30 years of my life behind bars for non violent crimes,,,yet not once in all that time did i make direct amends to the people that I stoled from!!! If the prison system was designed for justice why was i not once made to make amend directly to my victims???
I wonder if he makes that spitting motion when he finishes speaking as a symptom of long term isolation.
He was not radicalized, why do you say that word,under his circumstances Amy. Could you explain that
This is why #ADOS will have REPARATIONS!
Flynn?
Probably jailed for life for weed possession...
armed robbery
@@pohakumana4288 i mean what he was really charged for... 43 years ago in Louisiana cops charged black people with fake crimes all the time
@@cptmiller132 guess what white people too, 83' I got bum beefed in NOLA. They grap who they can to make money. Cash register used to be in the back of the court room. Pay the fime or go to jail on the spot.
God was preparing him for his plan.
holy shit are you daft?
Me i will be bitter to be locked up for nothing, it seems like when blacks are freed from prison for a crime they did not commit they are grateful to the white man whom incarcerated for no reason. I would like to ask the white jury why they did this dispeakable thing
Cut your hair your free man geshhh
Leave hat king a lone fool.
CHILDREN USED 6789..LEANGES..
If you can't do the time don't do the crime cry baby
ok but he was convicted of ARMED ROBBERY right? He got 50 years! His "solitary confinment" had bars and 15 other prisoners around him, that doesn't sound so solitary. The SHU @ Pelican Bay is Solitary Confinement.
Four walls and a slot, no talking to the prisoner down the tier. Only out to excercise once or twice a week for excerxise or shower. No contact with other prisoners is solitary confinement.
Oh that last part is unture, 24:40 if he could do over he wouldn't choose to do 40 years. Bet.
Man, he made mistakes and paid the price. Imagine spending 43 years of your life in a cage.
@@joaomiguelxs I don't have to imagine, you do I'm sure, been there done that. Did bitch or cry about it when I got out. Can't do the time don't do the crime. He got 7 years off his 50 year sentence. I did everyday of my time. I didn't pull any armed robbey either. Let's ask the person he robbed, if they're still alive.
In 1965, when he turned 18, he was arrested for auto theft. He opted for his first stretch in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Paroled, he stumbled into an armed robbery fiasco at a joint called Tony’s Green Room, for which he was sentenced to 50 years.