Reporter makes case that slavery still flourishes in nation’s prisons
“Our Class — Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison” by Chris Hedges (Simon and Schuster, 258 pages, $26.99)
In this reviewer’s opinion, the journalist Chris Hedges is the closest approxima- tion to a conscience that our country has these days. He’s fearless, never reluc- tant to speak out about what he believes is wrong within our culture, our society and our nation.
I think his book “War is a Force that Gives Us Mean- ing,” is the most powerful anti-war book that’s yet been written. Over 20 years as a foreign correspondent, Hedges reported from con- flict zones around the world. He understands wars, but wishes that he didn’t have to.
War c orres p ondents suffer high mortality, so often in harm’s way. Hedges knows what it feels like to be held as a prisoner. He was captured in war zones and has been incarcerated. His empathy for those being held behind bars seems deeply personal.
In his latest book “Our Class — Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison,” he recalls how his
reporting from El Salvador derailed his first attempt to be a minister. Eventually, Hedges did become an ordained Presbyterian minister, although he rarely dons his ministerial collar.
He’s also a teacher. He teaches in prisons, and his latest book takes readers inside the walls of a prison in New Jersey where Hedges taught a class about how to write a play. It took him a while to earn the trust of his students. When he ini- tially asked them about trying to create one, just a few of them expressed any inter- est in writing parts for it. Ultimately, as their enthusiasm for the project grew, all the men in the class wanted to
write their own parts.
We get to know some of his students. We learn their stories. Many of them grew up in poverty-stricken, ravaged communities. We find out about their incarceration factors: their shattered families, their lack of lawful opportunities to obtain jobs, the scourge of drugs, the violence and abuse that has constituted a figurative pipeline flowing straight into a prison system that’s gotten swollen with many more inmates over the last several decades.
We discoverhow difficult it is for those who manage to get out of prison to be able to remain free. The system seems set up for many of them to fail. The burgeoning incarceration industry has become a lucrative enterprise which depends upon a never-ending supply of inmates.
Prisoners get exploited. They work at jobs and are paid virtually nothing. Corporations reap profits from what is essentially slave labor. These are virtual sweatshops producing profits that the laborers never receive. And the situation is only getting worse.
Hedges cites these statistics: “Three decades ago, there were only 300,000 people in our prison system. Now there are 2.3 million.” Hedges makes the case that the Civil War didn’t actually end slavery. It just changed the form that slavery takes in our country. Our enslaved citizens now reside behind bars.
You can hear my latest interview with Chris Hedges at 10:30 a.m. today on WYSO (91.3FM).
Springs interviews authors every Saturday at 7 a.m. and on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO-FM (91.3). For more information, visit www. wyso.org/programs/booknook. Contact him atvick@ vickmickunas.com.