MOTHER'S LOSS, SON'S PAIN
[col. writ. 9/29/01] Copyright 2001 Mumia Abu-Jamal

"Heaven lies at the feet of mothers" -- Saying attributed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

There are hundreds of thousands of mothers who weep at the incarceration of their children in the fowl bowels of the spiraling prison industrial complex.

This is but the story of one-such mother, who is in many ways very similar to those many others, but in at least one way is quite different: this mother has co-written a book with her son about their joint sojourn into the harrowing prison systems of Florida.

Sitamon Mubaraka Youssef is a college instructor, and author. More importantly, she is the mother of a young man, Adam, who, despite her protestations, found himself in the unrelenting grip of prison.

Like far too many of his contemporaries, Adam, although sent, by his mother's sacrifice, to some of the best schools, succumbed to the pressure of some of his more reckless peers, and embarked on an unthinking armed robbery. Even though he was a juvenile, from a good, loving Muslim family, and his mother was a respected, professional woman, Adam soon learned that the system didn't care. Adam, although unarmed, was one of two juveniles arrested for the offense, and the adult accomplice escaped. The two juveniles were certified to be tried as adults.

The book, MAIL FROM JAIL: A GLIMPSE INTO A MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE (Tallahassee, Florida: Tillman Sims Communications, 2000) is a self-published record of a mother's pain, and a son's anguish, once they are caught in the maelstrom of the system.

A logical, conservative, religious woman, Sitamon Youssef is stymied by both her son's actions and the acts of the state. Adam faces the terrible challenge of trying to come to maturity in a modern-day slave pit, such as the North Florida Reception Center, in Lake Butler:

One time, I was going to lunch and an officer asked me where I was from. I told him Tallahasee, and he said Tallahassee is full of gays and dykes. I couldn't say anything to him but, "Yes, sir." Later that day, the officers made us stand on our knees. They then told us, "Now you know how your ancestors felt." There was nothing we could do about it... (p. 10)

As his mother explained, on why Mail from Jail was done:

For two reasons: first, to cope, to heal, and move forward with my goals; and second, to share this experience in the hope of sparing other mothers the nightmare of seeing their sons incarcerated. If one mother will purchase this book and share it with her son, and if that son resists the temptation to participate in criminal activity, my pain will not have been in vain. (p. 2)

If you wish to acquire Mail from Jail, call 1-800-BOOKLOG, or #850-656-4388.

It is a labor of love and pain.