I was nervous the first time I met the men. Possibly even afraid.
They were behind bars. Locked up in a maximum-security facility. Separated from society because they had done bad things. And most of them were going to live that way for a long time. Some already had, their crimes unfathomable.
My trip to the facility was to present a Latin jazz band concert. A few of the incarcerated men were onstage, helping with set-up when I arrived. They were polite, but physically far away in the large, concrete auditorium. I had worn a navy turtleneck sweater, black pants, and no make-up, very aware that I was a young woman entering an all-male facility. I could feel the eyes of each man who noticed me, wondering what I was doing there—so obviously out of place. A flurry of emotions flew through my head as the auditorium slowly filled to capacity. Should I be afraid? What are they thinking about me? Should I have come at all?
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I’m honored to be writing over at the fabulous website Off the Page again this month! Won’t you join me there to read the rest?
grace in the darkness 
Thank you for sharing this story, that doesn’t get shared nearly enough. How humbling, how honest, how full of love, how revealing of our own hearts, how full of grace and hope. I loved the piece.
THANK YOU, friend. Your words of affirmation mean so much!
Hi Leah,
I’m a former DT member and friend of Megan Gregory, who turned me on to your blog. We’ve met in passing a few times! Anyhow, I wanted to let you know that I really love this post! I’m the former ED of open hands legal services, a HFNY affiliate that provides free legal services to low income New Yorkers. We do a lot of work with ex offenders. Our new ED is also a classical pianist. May I introduce you two via email? She would love to connect with someone who shares her passion for justice and music!
Best, C.J. Masimore.
Sent from my iPhone
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Hi CJ,
Thank you for reading my blog! I’m happy to connect with your friend; if you don’t have my email you can send me a message on Facebook or write me an email through the “contact me” on my blog site and I’ll get back to you.
🙂
On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 1:25 PM, grace in the darkness wrote:
> hollingsworthleah posted: “I was nervous the first time I met the men. > Possibly even afraid. They were behind bars. Locked up in a > maximum-security facility. Separated from society because they had done bad > things. And most of them were going to live that way for a long time. Some” >