In 1992, 19 year old Detroit-based Yusef Shakur was about to start a prison sentence of five to fifteen years. Out of fear he wrote a letter to his father, who was already incarcerated, blaming him for his current situation. His father’s response changed the course of Shakur’s life: “You must use this time to prepare yourself to leave better than what you came in as. Turn your cell into a university by rebuilding yourself from the inside out ... P.S. You misspelled knowledge, religion, envelope, address, message and religious. If you don't have a dictionary, you need to get one. Words are powerful because they convey who we are. Use your mind to free yourself or somebody will use your mind to keep you a slave."
19 years later, Shakur now runs a bookstore and community centre in the very area he used to terrorize as a teenager. In the second edition of this series of ‘The Listening Post’ we hear his story.
First broadcast 24th September 2011 BBC World Service Produced by Eleanor M...
