A Nation Divided on Both Sides of the Wall
Election Night at Sing Sing Correctional Facility
February 7, 2025
This is the latest installment of our regular series featuring incarcerated writers and artists. Thanks as always go to Empowerment Avenue, who continue to make this project possible.
Silence billowed through Sing Sing in the early hours of November 6, 2024. Donald Trump, we learned, had just won the election, beating out Kamala Harris and reclaiming the Presidency after spending the last four years collecting a slew of felonies and furthering the partisan divide in Washington. Some prisoners, myself included, were wide awake—over-caffeinated—listening to NPR and wondering if we’d heard correctly: “President-elect Trump now prepares to give a victory speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, joined by his family and—”
I turned off the radio. It was 1:50 a.m. Exhausted yet wired, I knew I wouldn’t sleep until morning count, or later, when the rest of the population slowly stirred to life—fear, anger, and uncertainty in the air. Indifference. I sat on the floor by my gate, staring down the dark abyss of the gallery as my neighbor, Levonte, broke the silence. (“Racist fucking devil…I can’t believe this shit!”) I didn’t need to see his face to know that he was pacing in his cell, hands on his head. Heartbroken.
Levonte, 43, is Black, a Mercy College student, and member of the Nation of Gods and Earths. He is the proud father of three girls. He has been locked up since 2000 and will be eligible for parole next year. Passionate yet well-informed, he often starts impromptu debates on the gallery. Tonight, however, he wasn’t interested in debating anyone, only in reconciling himself to a new, stark reality.
When he calmed down, I knocked on the thin, sheet-metal wall separating us and asked him if he wanted to talk. We discussed the outcome of the election and the campaign trail leading up to it. We agreed that Harris had focused too much on Trump’s character to court Republican moderates, and that she had alienated her base by neglecting policy and allowing celebrities to campaign for her, whereas Trump had capitalized on that mistake by rallying his followers, questioning Harris’s lack of experience and leadership skills, while slowly sowing doubt in the minds of her base and Democratic allies. It was a blowout.
“Kamala dropped the ball, for sure,” he said, “I ain’t denying that. But she was still better than Trump’s crazy ass. Meant well, at least. That con-artist cracker [Trump] doesn’t care about anybody except himself and his constituents. Trust me: inflation’s gonna get worse.” His voice broke. I let him decompress for a few moments until he felt like talking again.
“Don’t know what kind of world my kids are gonna grow up in,” he continued, “but it ain’t looking too good. Right now, my sister’s working a nine-to-five, a part-time job on the weekends, and, between those, a DoorDash gig to support them. It’s crazy, man.”
We spoke in depth about the economy and how for most families, it was the number one issue. People didn’t care about the so-called “future of democracy” while they were struggling to pay rent and feed themselves. Harris, we agreed, didn’t have a solution to the problem. Trump didn’t either. So the election became a choice between the lesser of two evils.
Many voters, desperate for change, blamed the Biden-Harris administration for inflation and decided to roll the dice with Trump. But it wasn’t the current administration that was at fault. We had inherited our economic problems, in large part, from the Trump administration’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Someone further down the gallery, D-Lo, interjected: “Ya’ll bugging out. Trump’s a G [gangster]. When he was in office, shit was good, homie, economy was up. Russia and China stayed in they lane. Love that n—— Trump. Exposing them rich, white bread politicians. Biden and Kamala. They full of shit. All them Democrat n——.”
He paused to ask his neighbor for a lighter. I hoped he would disappear in a cloud of weed smoke. No such luck. “Problem is, people want to hear nice words instead of the truth. Want shit for free. Republicans don’t do that, homie. They about that paper [money]. I respect that. Trump talks shit, everybody know he racist, but he gets the job done. That’s all I’m saying.”
D-Lo, 28, is biracial, a gang member who spends his days in the yard smoking weed and playing poker. He has been locked up since 2021 and is serving eight years for a gun charge. Strong-willed and street smart, he often dominates conversations through boisterous, repeated assertions. Tonight, true to form, he felt like offering his unsolicited opinion, sans facts, to invoke a few chuckles from his buddies in hearing distance.
Levonte and I pushed back against his line of thinking, pointing out various inconsistencies in the “misunderstood but well-intentioned” argument. I reminded him of Trump’s transgressions against Black and brown people, arguing that his inflammatory rhetoric had inspired many white supremacists to commit violent acts against peaceful protestors and prison abolitionists, many of whom had been defending the civil rights of the underprivileged and incarcerated. The Biden-Harris administration was far from perfect but had never, in four years, encouraged Americans to attack one another.
Regardless of his paranoia and inattention, I found his view interesting because it reflected that of many Americans during this election cycle—the disenfranchised 95 percent. Levonte’s pain, D-Lo’s ignorance, and Sammy’s resignation speak to the general hopelessness of the people. The gap between the haves and have-nots is growing.
Those victims had families, I added. How would he feel knowing that the National Guard had shot his (unarmed) family members with rubber bullets, pepper-sprayed and beaten them with batons, for protesting on the property of an historical church near the White House, then justified it on the grounds of “national security”?
D-Lo conceded that we had made a few good points, mostly concerning civil rights. He admitted that Trump had abused his executive powers, to staunch opposition, and had done backdoor deals with other countries, enriching himself at the expense of national security, much like the “rich, white bread politicians” that he claimed to loathe. But he refused to accept that the Biden-Harris administration, in spite of a wealth of evidence, wasn’t guilty of the same—or worse.
As our conversation fizzled out, a prisoner on the gallery above us, Sammy, joined in, ranting that it was “pointless to vote,” that the election was rigged and its future implications didn’t affect us, especially as prisoners. He added, half-jokingly, that American citizens are powerless because the government was secretly controlled by extraterrestrials and the Illuminati, an elite society of world leaders.
Sammy, 35, is white, a self-proclaimed Wiccan priest, and recreational aid. He passes his time organizing sporting events, performing magic rituals, and reading conspiracy guides. He has been locked up since 2013 and is serving fifty to life. If the federal courts reject his recent appeal, he will most likely die in prison. Outgoing and inquisitive, he enjoys talking about “esoteric” subjects. Tonight, it was clear that he was seeking attention, anything to distract him from his (probably) bleak future.
“I’m telling you,” he said, “I’ve been studying this stuff for years, bro. Trump is going to be the last President. The pope, too. Both of them. Last ones. Nostradamus predicted it. The People don’t have any power. We’re just sheep waiting to be slaughtered. Hamsters on a wheel. Pawns. The media wants us to think we have a say in elections, but it’s bullshit. Our votes don’t matter. And for us [prisoners] it really doesn’t matter who’s in office because—”
Someone shouted for him to shut up. I took this opportunity to shift the conversation in a more logical direction to spare the gallery a headache. I asked him to consider the possibility that the People have power to influence elections (from the local level and up), but that many politicians, like Trump, prey upon citizens’ lack of civic engagement to manipulate the outcome of elections and the direction of the country.
I then listed many things that would affect all Americans, including but not limited to: immigration, private prisons, abortion, taxes, tariffs and trade, education, DEI and LGBTQ and civil rights, social security, the Affordable Care Act, health care, climate and energy, workers’ rights, national defense, presidential power, and our role on the world stage. I asked Sammy if he was aware of these policy issues, and how they affect everyone, prisoners included, but his attention had diverted to a conversation elsewhere. (I neglected to address the “deep state” conspiracy.)
Regardless of his paranoia and inattention, I found his view interesting because it reflected that of many Americans during this election cycle—the disenfranchised 95 percent. Levonte’s pain, D-Lo’s ignorance, and Sammy’s resignation speak to the general hopelessness of the people. The gap between the haves and have-nots is growing.
Under the Trump regime—which currently controls the presidency, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and (possibly) the House of Representatives—we are slowly becoming an authoritarian state, one that eerily resembles the prison industrial complex (modern day slavery). Unchecked power, obeisance, retribution: these are America’s new tenets. As prisoners, we are reminded of this fact daily.
All of this should serve as a reminder to Americans, to prisoners and citizens, Democrats and Republicans alike, that we should focus on our common interests instead of our differences. The freedoms we take for granted can be taken from us—like a strip search—if we do not continually fight for them. And fight against tyranny. Together. That, I believe, is true democracy.