Late 2020, I reconnected with Chris and Tee from the now defunct Whitepost prison complex. We all left in the mid to late nineties, looking back at our experience as a time for self-reflection and growth. I hadn’t seen Tee in a minute, but Chris and I see each other quite frequently and used to live in the same apartment complex in Maryland for a year or so.
Below is my going away gathering photo with some of the soldiers I’d leave behind. We could only fit but so many. We had the typical last meal: a potluck of ramen noodles and whatever one could reasonably mix with it. It felt surreal that the very next day, I’d wake up and exit that building.
I’d see most of these folks later on down the line, in the land of the free. I think the majority have found a way to survive and at peace in the world outside of that confined space, with a renewed respect for freedom. A few of them are doing great things, including the man to my right, Chauncey Blair (CJ). He’s doing big things in ministry, going places where few others dare and doing his best to chase and challenge the lives on young folks in the DMV.
