Set Free in the Prison Library

I began by reading the New York Times review of Avi Steinberg’s memoir, Running the Books:  The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian, and ended up learning the unbelievable story of the education and transformation of Malcolm X into one of the most influential African Americans in history.  
First of all, I didn’t know prisons had libraries, but apparently many do, there is even a Top 10 List of the most impressive prison library programs in the country.  Prisons often partner with public libraries, universities or non-profit groups to create libraries, set up bookmobiles or offer book-by-mail programs.   

Prison facilities are doing everything and anything to reduce recidivism by educating inmates in every aspect of their lives, and as all teachers and librarians know, literacy is a key determinate of life success.  “Short term” inmates have the opportunity to learn to read and write, get their GED, participate in internships, enroll in vocational training and even read Shakespeare (more on that later).  According to Steinberg, prisoners not only used the law books, for obvious reasons, but also requested James Patterson and James Fry - I certainly can’t imagine a life situation that would require the soothing balm of books more than incarceration.  Steinberg points to the education of Malcolm X as an example of the transformational effects of prison libraries.  Bingo, another opportunity for me to learn something new...they just keep coming.

Malcolm Little’s young life was a disaster.    At thirteen his father was dead and his mother was in a mental hospital.  He was shuffled from one foster home to another until, predictably, he landed in jail at the age of 26 with an 8th grade education, he was barely literate.  He became frustrated by his inability to convey his thoughts in letters and decided to do something about it.  He got a dictionary, a notebook and a pencil and began to teach himself to read and write.  Day after day he read, copied, re-read and studied each page of the dictionary.  Talk about serious determination.  No teacher, no classroom, no parents, no freedom, just a dictionary and and a goal.  It worked.  He eventually copied the entire dictionary and was rewarded by his ability to read and understand the books that previously swam before his eyes.  Side-note:  maybe we should reduce spending in public schools by sending students home with dictionaries and telling them to come back when they can read?  Now the whole world of ideas was available to him and Malcolm began reading like there was no tomorrow.  

By that time Malcolm was housed at the Norfolk Prison Colony in Norfolk, MA, a progressive prison with a well stocked library filled with books about history and religion.  All he did was read...at the library, in his bunk and even after lights-out by the dim light that shone into his cell from the corridor (he pretended to be asleep once every hour when the guard patrolled by his cell).  In his autobiography he remembers, “months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.”  When he wasn’t reading he was writing to Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, learning and thinking about black history.  

When Malcolm Little emerged from prison he had experienced a metamorphosis and emerged as Malcolm X, a member of the Nation of Islam and an outspoken advocate for African Americans.  He was admired by many and hated by others but he was undeniably a thoughtful, educated, empowered leader ready to take on the world, thanks to his indomitable spirit and access to a library.

“If I weren’t out here every day battling the white man, I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity — because you can hardly mention anything I’m not curious about.  Where else but in a prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day?”  From The Autobiography of Malcolm X