Shaka Senghor

created a deep enough human connection

with their own experience, where they can recognize we come with all type of experiences that differ, even when we're brought up in the same circumstances.

And so oftentimes when people are coming out and they're just being mean-spirited, which is most of the time that anything is published about me publicly, I just think about where am I presently in the world?

Because I can't get caught up in just other people's misery and discontent.

And there's a part of me that is also empathetic and compassionate toward understanding that there are people who have been victims of crime and that they are hurt and that, you know, when they see someone who's victimized other people, that it can trigger and bring something up.

And I'm compassionate and thoughtful about that as well.

And that's where, you know, standing up and being responsible and being accountable and

and not running from the decisions I made when I was a young man and accepting responsibility for that.

So that part has been also an integral part of my work, is really working with victims of violent crimes and helping them to reconcile whatever hurt they're holding on to.

And at times it can be heavy, but I've got to a place in my life where

I'm really focused on helping people achieve the life outcomes that they desire and help them unlock themselves from those oftentimes self-imposed prisons.

Yeah, I mean, it's the only way that we kind of bring things to a space where people can actually heal.

You know, when I was thinking about my brother, you know, part of the gun violence in our city is circular.

You know, it's retribution.

And it takes people to step in and disrupt that, you know.

And given that I had a lived experience, like I knew that I can speak to the young guys in my neighborhood who wanted to go and seek revenge and like understand their emotions, you know.

And I think them hearing it from me meant something different than them hearing it from somebody who didn't come from that environment.

But I think it's the way that we heal.

Yeah, that's so exciting.

So I launched the largest book club in prison history around one book.