By Deborah Harris

There is something deeply personal about poetry. If it’s good poetry, the connection to the work often occurs immediately. That was definitely my experience reading Justice Restored: A Series of Writings and Poems From Incarcerated Youth. The collection of poetry is written by incarcerated youth in the Camden, New Jersey area, and edited by CEO and Owner ADC Kid, Davon Clark.

Each poem is a revealing short story detailing the young writer’s experience and thoughts on their incarceration. There are many roads that can lead to a young person ending up behind bars. One bad decision can lead to a series of unfortunate consequences. In Justice Restored, the youth share feelings of shame, remorse, anger and in many cases determination to not allow their past to determine their future.

Each of the artfully written pieces spoke to me, as I found myself being drawn into the intimate stories of these young lives. I was also reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:vs 10, New International Version: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not, but the grace of God that was with me.”

There were so many heartfelt entries, but the following poem spoke volumes.

Me

I am Stubborn,

I didn’t like the way I was raised.

I thought I could burn,

I didn’t need to be praised.

I am rude

I am fazed

Many thought I was snude

I grew on struggle,

My life was a tuggle,

But now I see light

That makes me want to fight.

I am Me!

Many can not see

The way I can be,

but you think how you can be new.

I used to cry,

But now I pray.

I am D.L.H.

The person who used to be like YOU!

-D.L.H.

Justice Restored: A Series of Writings and Poems from Incarcerated Youth

By Adc Kid

How many of us made bad choices as a child but were able to recover from those mistakes without the heavy hand of the current U.S. legal system? But this is not about our failed justice system. It is about the brilliance of the youth that are incarnated. It came as no surprise to me that the writings in Justice Restored were so delicately and appropriately edited by Clark. His editorial touches are indicative of his role not only as the editor of the work but also his role as a Leader and Mentor for the youth in his community.

Again, one might ask, how can these young people have anything worth sharing to a society that has rightly or wrongly determined that they deserve to be locked away for their actions? After reading Justice Restored, I was not only reminded that locking away youth has a devastating negative impact on our society, but that when young people are encouraged, loved, and valued, they can create masterpieces.

Justice Restored: A Series of Writings and Poems from Incarcerated Youth.

2017. ADC Kid: 76 PAGES. PAPERBACK $ 11.00

A new author in the area of children’s literature, Deborah Delois Harris published Amaris Great Adventures: The Magical Playground in October of 2018. Focusing on increasing the number of books featuring African Americans as the main characters, Deborah plans to write books that are fun for children and their parents, and culturally representative of African Americans and their diverse backgrounds.