I have been working with Kwame Teague to help establish a Humanist “Religious” group in the North Carolina Prison system, off and on for the past two years – without success.

The State’s approach has been to delay, ignore, deny and to wear us down. I will continue to assist Kwame in his efforts to establish Humanism as a religious option in the NC Prison system.

Since Kwame has been shuttled about between various NC prison locations, if you wish to correspond with him, I can forward messages to him.

Here is Kwame in his own words:

A PROPOSAL FOR HUMANISM IN PRISONS

What do we as Humanists say to a person that sneezes in our presence? Nothing? This may seem like a trivial issue, but in our society, many (if not most) people expect strangers to acknowledge and console their sneeze. To say nothing for us may be rational, but too many (if not most) people its rude and antisocial, similar to not holding open the door for a woman. To say nothing appears cold and callous, two words many associate with Humanism. We say that we believe in human potential, but how does that translate into action?

Do we volunteer at Homeless Shelters? Feed the poor? Visit the elderly? So what. Religious people do all of this, in fact, in the minds of many, they have a monopoly on such good deeds. For instance, how many of you have been told “God Bless You” while engaging in charitable acts? As I said, monopoly.

So how do we portray our belief in human potential? How do we engage? Whom do we engage? Outside of the well educated and/or the well heeled? How many people identify with the humanism? How many minorities, poor people, youth, depressed people or even people in prison?

I ask because I am a person in prison. I come to humanism “by chance”, after being raised a Muslim. I read about Humanism in the back of an Almanac, in the back of the prison library, in the back of society. Is this where Humanism belongs?

We need to engage people and prove that Human Potential is something to believe in and not just theorize about. With the rise of the “Nones”, people are leaving religion, but stagnating in religious culture, not knowing how to free themselves. With today’s technology, there’s no reason why we can’t provide some answers.

I have been extensively exploring information relative to the Ethical Humanist Society. The results of this exploratory process have definitively convinced me that nowhere can Humanism have a more pronounced salutary impact than within the prison system.

By prevailing societal standards, incarcerated people are deemed the most unethical and immoral, as well as an unprincipled and decadent, group of individuals within the social order. While these appellatives may be appropriately applied in some individual cases, their categorical application is altogether unfitting and improper. Unfortunately, the intransigency with which they are held by the body politic has a disturbingly preordaining consequence. The ideational basis constituting the presumed rationale for our “unethical and immoral behavior” is the “flawed” premise applied to – and tragically accepted by – those lodged within the criminal justice system, a premise perpetuated by society. The two principle etiological components of this “flawed” premise are: irrational reliance upon an “other” for judgment making, and acceptance of the concept of “original sin”.

When one irrationally relies on an “other” – be it the Supreme Court, a sovereign government, a presumed “expert”, etc. – the consequence is abdication of one’s intrinsic personal responsibility and a consequential negation of self. Irrational reliance is analogous to an individual ceasing to plant seeds and instead praying for fruit to fall from the sky, or when one ceases to be productive while still demanding a portion of the productive output. This type of reliance stagnates the individual’s growth. The presumed source of all good, of right, is the “other”, rendering the individual fundamentally irrelevant. He goes from active initiator to passive participant, idle as the criminal mind starts to ferment.

The second etiological component is the concept of “original sin”. The idea of a “dual self” is not exclusive to Christianity, but it is decidedly conductive to the emergence of the “criminal mind” – the mind susceptible to the attraction of criminal activity – through a process ranging from distortion or misapplication of religion to “cultural osmosis”. It is decidedly the more deleterious of he two components. When the idea prevails that evil is a part of what the individual is and not what he does, it bestows upon evil existential justification: “I am only human!”

This statement encapsulates a state in which I am not worthy of another’s admiration, but solely deserving of another’s pity. It conveys the thought that any good I do is in spite of being human, not as an inextricable consequence. Effort to conquer evil becomes a Sisyphus Rock, a tantalizingly punishing impossibility. To the mind being increasingly “criminalized” – consistent with the prediction of the “flawed” premise – the unachievable becomes transformed into a desire unearned, the undeserved. If immorality is inevitable, then it is consequently justifiable, and the goal becomes avoiding punishment, the corollary of abdicated responsibility.

The Ethical Humanist Society frontally addresses the flaw, because it conveys individuals back to the initiative, it celebrates the individual’s inherent value. It supports the individual’s statement that “I am human” as a proclamation of a station to achieve, and not a state of shame. It renders the individual a custodian of personal responsibility, the most essential ingredient to obviate the emergence of the “criminalized mind”.

I am requesting that you assist us in establishing the Ethical Humanist Society in North Carolina prisons, by providing the following categories of support:

• Advising: both from the outside the prison walls as well as through the resources of volunteers providing the following categories of support.

• Literature: books, brochures, tapes, videos, etc., relative to the Society and its activities.

• Monitoring: to assure that the Society’s ideas, programs, activities, etc., occurring within the prison are implemented with total fidelity to the Society’s ideology, principles, values, and standards.

Although the involvement of the Society is appropriate throughout the Corrections System, as a procedural actuality, we would seek to implement this Proposal initially at one Correctional Institution.

To this end, I have sought to establish Humanism (Ethical Culture) as a religion or “life stance” in the North Carolina Prison System. So far my application to do so has been repeatedly rejected by the Prison Administration. Your assistance in achieving this necessary prerequisite is also requested.

I also seek suggestions on how to establish a Humanist community in Prison as well as messages of encouragement and general support.

My name is Kwame Teague. I’m trying to engage prisoners, criminals, and the forgotten people. Please help me to do so.

Kwame Teague