Prison Mentoring Program

Dropping the Flag photo

Image Available on Flickr

AFSC program participants during a lesson at the Eddie Conway Freedom School.

Photo: Bryan Vana

Wahid was a participant in AFSC’s Friend of a Friend at the Maryland Correctional Institution – Jessup. While in the conflict resolution mentoring program, he shared his story with author and Friend of a Friend mentor Craig Muhammad.

The following story is taken from the chapter, “Dropping the Flag,” in the soon-to-be published book, From Jericho to Jerusalem: Organizing Street Organizations. It is one of several “testimonies” from young men who are former members of gangs, or what many refer to as street organizations.

Friend of a Friend

Dominque and Bashi, AFSC staff, present a certificate to Thomas-Bey at his graduation ceremony.

On June 4, 2008, ten men graduated from the Friend of A Friend mentoring project at the Maryland Correctional Training Center (MCTC) in Hagerstown. The project is sponsored by the Middle Atlantic Region’s Maryland Peace with Justice Program. For six months, mentors train their mentees in conflict resolution and ways to avoid violence, crucial skills in their environment. Both mentors and mentees are prisoners at MCTC. The men meet in three-hour sessions on Wednesday nights while mentees also meet regularly with mentors individually.