By DaQuan Lawrence
Special to the AFRO
DLawrence@afro.com
Stigmas and stereotypes are rampant in society for many, so it’s no shock that beliefs about incarcerated Black men as “absent” and “neglectful” fathers remain abundant. In anticipation of Father’s Day, the AFRO sought out the experiences of incarcerated fathers who have worked tirelessly to remain in the lives of their children.
Fathers who have experienced incarceration shared insight on how they maintained relationships with their children, the invaluable role of women and community supporters, prison employment and self-development programs.
According to The Sentencing Project’s 2021 report, “Parents in Prison,” about 2.7 million children had a parent serving time in prison or jail on any given day, with over 5.2 million children having had an incarcerated parent at some point throughout their lives.
“We know that about half of the individuals that are incarcerated are parents. These numbers have increased to nearly 70 percent now, so most people serving sentences across the nation are parents, with a disproportionate amount of them being fathers,” said Dr. Bahiyyah M. Muhammad, author of “Social Revolution: Black Children of Incarcerated Parents Speak Truth to Power,”
Muhammad is a trailblazing professor and leading researcher at Howard University who works internationally to reduce the stigma and negative stereotyping of children with incarcerated parents. Her research focuses on showcasing the resilience and success of such children of the incarcerated – who typically become community leaders, earn advanced degrees and even hold public office.
Throughout her career and pivotal work, Muhammad has created and led classes where Howard University students participate in site visits to penitentiaries within the criminal justice system.
“Incarcerated fathers have access to mail, calls and visitation hours – which varies based on proximity to their families. The fathers are ultimately supported by the women in their lives,” Muhammad said. “Fathers in prison are supported by their significant other, wife, grandmothers and other strong women that figuratively hold the incarceration time on their shoulders.”
Many incarcerated inmates continue to meet the expectations of their children.
Although society often depicts such men as absent fathers, many incarcerated men are still expected to provide for their families during their imprisonment.
“That’s the burden of an incarcerated father. I know many incarcerated men who are under the burden to produce and provide even though they are being detained,” native Washingtonian and former Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) Commissioner, Joel Castón, told the AFRO.
In 2021, Castón became the first incarcerated person elected to public office in the District, after serving 27 years at 16 different facilities before receiving parole. Last year, Castón was nominated to serve on the D.C. Sentencing Commission, where he calls attention to the importance of addressing the root causes of incarceration, reforming the penal system and providing opportunities for rehabilitation.
“The check that you get inside are literally pennies on the dollar, so incarcerated guys are making less than 10 or 11 cents an hour, which becomes something like $18 dollars per check monthly,” Caston said.
The Federal Prison Industries (FPI) program currently operates under the trade name UNICOR and was established in 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. FPI and UNICOR is a U.S. government-owned corporation that operates without tax-payer dollars, due to the low cost of the labor force that is provided by inmates.
Caston explained that men with families who are incarcerated will do everything within the law to provide for their children, spouses and families.
Incarcerated men often work for the penitentiary system and use their earnings to provide for the needs of their children.
“My daughter asked me for a car while I was detained, and she did so even though her dad was incarcerated earning less than a dollar an hour,” Caston said. “I am her father—she needed a car and that was the request.”
“I utilized my skills from what I learned and provided services such as teaching courses and typing motions for inmates because everyone gets a side hustle on the inside. Other guys paid me and I used that for my daughter,” Caston said. “That’s the burden of an incarcerated father: he still has to provide.”
Meeting the needs of their children and families is important for men who spend time in the U.S. penitentiary. Although many men work for UNICOR while behind bars, they also seek to maintain their dignity. Some have criticized the penal system for its exploitative conditions and human rights violations.
“I always told myself that I would never work for the prison industry, and that UNICOR was sustaining the prison system because they save money by people taking those jobs,” Tony Lewis Sr. told the AFRO. “I know a lot of guys that thought differently and needed money for their kids.”
Lewis Sr. is a formerly incarcerated father who was sentenced to life without parole for his ties to the notorious 1980s Washington D.C. drug empire. His son, Tony Lewis Jr. is an activist, author and hometown hero who raised national awareness by mentoring youth with incarcerated parents, advocating for prisoner’s rights and by petitioning for Lewis Sr.’s release, which was granted in 2023.
“They use prisoners as [cheap] labor to save money by making prisons self-sustainable,” Lewis Sr. said. “I believed working for UNICOR would help the penal system sustain my incarceration, so sometimes I worked informally as an orderly, cleaning the TV room in the unit twice a week for about $5 a month.”
Still, a number of federal inmates are willing to work in what they allege are dehumanizing conditions. Given that the 13th Amendment only abolished slavery and involuntary servitude unless it is being used as punishment for a crime after conviction, UNICOR workers produce many goods and services, for literal pennies per hour.
UNICOR currently has inmates located at over 20 available locations and more than 40 active locations throughout the nation, including multiple sites in Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.
“It’s supposed to be the highest paying employer in prison, but it’s really slave labor because while some people earn $150 per month, kitchen workers might earn $7 in a month. Just imagine having to provide after earning $7 for working 30 days,” Lewis Sr. said.
Though the wages are low, the men do whatever they can to provide and communicate with their children and loved ones while doing time behind bars. Historically, inmates with children have often corresponded with them through letters and collect calls.
“I wrote letters to my daughter a lot,” Caston said, never letting the lack of response deter him.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBP), studies show that by maintaining relationships with friends and family, inmates greatly reduce their risk of recidivism. With this in mind, advocates are taking action.
“I helped create a campaign in New York state to reduce prison telephone charges because incarcerated inmates can use phone time to call out and receive collect calls that are paid by the caller,” said Walter Fields, Jr., a Ph.D. student at Morgan State University who researches Black fatherhood and Black men’s roles in sustaining healthy families.
Although the FBP offers phone time to prisoners and call recipients can pay for calls made from prison, Prison Phone Justice, a project maintained by the Human Right Defense Center, states that the prison phone contracts commission model inflates the costs of prison and jail phone calls for inmates’ families.
“People desperately wanted to ensure that they maintained their parental rights and parental connection, but something as simple as a phone call interrupted that process,” Fields said.
Fields is the founder of Black Parents Workshop, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in South Orange-Maplewood, N.J., that advocates on behalf of parents. He also serves as Community and Family Engagement and Public Policy Liaison for the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities at Morgan State University.
“It became evident that the parental factor for incarcerated people was big, and the fact that they were incarcerated did not deter their desire to be a parent,” said Fields.
“Disconnecting from their child because the family could no longer afford to cover the cost of telephone calls was a severe hardship on folks,” Fields said.
“If you don’t have money, nobody feels sorry for you. And if your family can’t afford to sustain, you communicate through the email, but everything is limited. If you don’t have money, the next best thing is writing a letter,” Lewis, Sr. said.
With recent developments in telecommunications technologies, incarcerated fathers can use email systems such as CorrLinks or TRULINCS to stay in touch with their children, despite federal charges and longer wait times.
“It’s been maybe six to eight years that I’ve known about fathers using CorrLinks, but it takes at least two hours for messages to be sent and received because they are vetted and sometimes, they also charge you for it,” Lewis Sr. explained.
While locked up, men that want to be active in the lives of their children find unique ways to prepare themselves and to support their children. In some instances, incarcerated men with children relied on each other for psychological and emotional support and encouragement.
“When I couldn’t communicate with my mother or child, it was difficult for me. Several guys who had daughters, and children in general, formed our own support group where we gave each other advice and encouragement,” Caston said.
“I also took parenting classes on the inside because there were several courses administered on fatherhood. I took classes because my daughter was inside her mother’s womb when I began my incarceration, so I never spent a single day with her,” Caston said. He was inspired to become a present father despite being physically prevented from spending time with his daughter and an uncertain relationship with his daughter’s mother.
Caston is proof that when incarcerated fathers have access to parenting programs and innovative and creative ways of building their mind, their consciousness and their consciousness— they do take advantage of it.
Considering previous and ongoing research studies that can highlight the role of incarcerated fathers, and remove the stigma around children of imprisoned parents, Muhammad believes there is still much that can be done, but representation is key.
“We don’t have enough individuals leading these research endeavors that are directly impacted— meaning, they have lived experience behind the wall or a family member that was incarcerated.”