by Ra Heter (Editor), David Martin (Editor)
In light of the current struggle for social justice, I Am From: Voices From a Prison in the South is a collection of poems by men who are incarcerated in a southern prison. In this collection of poems, men of all races and ethnicities speak of their origins from the "love," "desires," "hopes," and "dreams" of their mothers and fathers and from "the Mother Goddess and the Father, God." They speak of being descendants of peoples from great civilizations; the ancient Mayans, Aztecs, Native Americans, and enslaved African Americans (who are the descendants of great African civilizations) and the Gullah Geechee who are also the descendants of African peoples (the Asante, Adjo, Bantu, Fulani, Fon, Hausa, Mandinka, Yoruba, etc.). These are just a few things that the contributors to this collection express about their beginnings.
The voices from the men in I AM FROM, can be used to empower and inspire others in general, and those in similar circumstances about who they really are and where they are from.