By Tracey D.
SyphaxIt’s been 20 years since I left Rahway State Prison. For my last conviction, I received a 4-year sentence. Prior to entering Rahway I had already found myself in Mercy County Youth Detention Center at 17, where two detectives delivered my High School diploma and gave me strict instructions to never enter Trenton Central High School again. From 1980-83, I served time in Yardville Youth Reception & Correctional Center for possession with intent. Once released, I used my street smarts to start my first business on paper, Capitol City Roofing. It was a front to run drugs up and down The New Jersey turnpike hassle free. I was 23. Within 3-years time I was headed back to Yardville. An altercation during my bid landed me in lockdown 23 & 1 for 365 days in ad seg (administrative segregation) at Rahway State Prison. That’s when my official pursuit for the American dream came to life.
Unless you’ve been under a rock the past 10 years then you should be well aware that the prison industry is the second largest employer in state government. Prison stocks are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The industry consists of over 10,000 employees and continues to grow as approximately 60% of inmates are arrested within 3 years after their release. I was one. I remember an older guy telling me during my 80-83 bid that I would be back. I figured out how the old guy knew I’d be back once I spent one year on 23 hour lockdown living the lyrics to Beanie Siegal’s 1999 album release “What Your Life Like.”
“What you know about 23 & 1,
locked down underground all day
never seeing the sun…”
Standing in my cell, those 16 words were poignant to me. Those 365 days in ad seg allowed me the opportunity to grow mentally, evolve as a man and recognize my weaknesses. I decided to seek out something different for my life. I became involved in a group that taught on African American studies. I read about powerful black leaders - like Madam C. J. Walker and A.G. Gaston - who had strong entrepreneurial spirits and gained great inspiration from the words of W.E.B Du Bois. Du Bois was dedicated to the higher education of his race. Entrepreneurship and education would be my focus upon re-entry into the community.
Government officials and politicians have tossed the idea of recidivism around but no one seems to fully grasp the concept of helping ex-felons become law abiding citizens after release.
At a cost of $48,000 to $52,000 annually, an inmate can be fed, clothed, sheltered and given medical care in any of New Jersey’s penal institutions. On the contrary, the same inmate can receive a college education from Rutgers University for $34,000 to $42,000 a year, certification from DeVry Institute for roughly $37,000 a year or a barber’s or cosmetology license for $6500 to $10,000 in total. If you’ve done the math then you can see the problem. The government has spent more money housing inmates than educating and training them. With 39% of the inmates being 30 years of age or younger, it is far cheaper to help them transition back into society.
While it is my belief that everyone deserves a second chance, this concept should be targeted towards non-violent offenders. They need to know that they do not have to accept the label of “throwaways and incorrigibles.” They need to be taught how to dress for success and speak a language other than street slang. They need to be encouraged to become educated. They must begin to realize that they can become business and homeowners, active parents and employees, taxpayers and voters and more importantly, law abiding citizens.
Entrepreneurship changed my life. I learned that a consistent quality among successful entrepreneurs was the ability to take risk. I spent my entire young adult life taking risk every day standing on that corner. In 1995, I took a risk and started my company Capitol City Contracting with my brother-law, also an ex-offender, as my first employee. Once the company began to grow, I started hiring others who shared my background. I needed to be the agent of change and give them an opportunity when no one would. Networking also helped me transition into becoming a new man. In order for ex-offenders to grown as confident leaders and business owners, they must align themselves with appropriate people and map out a team that would be beneficial to the growth and direction of their businesses. Taking risks and networking had been instrumental in my success. I am an award-winning business man who seeks to make a difference in my community. Transformation has taken me from-the-block-to-the-boardroom and any ex-offender who wants a shot at the same needs to know—it’s available.
As a society, we, too, have to create a movement; a movement that will encourage, motivate and support ex-felons as they transition from a state number to a taxpayer. If they are educated and trained in the institution, receive refresher courses upon re-entry making their skills marketable and then placed in a position where they can compete with the average citizen, they will be well on their way to feeling as if society has a place for them.
I used to be identified as inmate #226926. Now my community calls me a leader and an activist. I am a living testament as to what can be accomplished through determination, hard work, and perseverance.
Tracey Syphax is the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce ‘2011 Entrepreneur of the Year.’ He is the first African American do receive this award. His memoir From the Block to the Boardroom was released in spring 2012.
Source: Uptown Magazine
