A reporter and producer from BBC Radio, headquartered in Washington, D.C. joined Dr. John Perkins on a visit to the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond on May 2. The two had an opportunity to sit in on the monthly Bible Study class and talk to juvenile offenders about the state, it's past and future. They also talked about Dr. Perkins and the impact he has made on their lives. BBC will do a feature on the state and the changes it's made since the Civil Rights era.

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Young, Gifted, Black and Behind Bars

by Charlotte Graham

    I didn’t quite know what to expect a few days ago when Dr. John Perkins invited me, a new staff member, to accompany him on a visit to the Hinds County Detention Center. As his staff writer and the person designated to maintain the website, he wants to familiarize me with every aspect of the ministry. I've traveled with him to various speaking engagements and have attended several Intimate Leadership Retreats. I have worked with daughter, Elizabeth, and daughter-in-law, Eva, in the Good News Club and G.I.R.L.S. Club. This would  be different. These were young offenders who were behind bars and couldn't attend the fun-filled events held at the Spencer Perkins Center.

    I was emotionally touched the moment I saw the reaction of these teens as Dr, Perkins entered their classroom at the detention center. They hugged and greeted him as 'Grandpa Perkins.' I sat among the 20 or so teens Dr. Perkins ministers to as a part of  his Inside Out Prison Ministry.

      Once a month he meets with these young men , teaches from the Bible and offers them some fatherly advice. Most of all he offers them love and understanding.  Never condemning, but always loving and caring, Dr. Perkins seems to have developed personal relationships with these young people he calls his ‘boys.’

     I listened as Dr. Perkins asked the guys about their day, their families and even their education. What was surprising to me was their honest response. Most of them admitted they grew up in unstable environments and almost all of them had dropped out of school or were suspended because of some kind of trouble they had gotten into. Sad to say, most of them were at the detention center because of a negative response or reaction to a teacher or administrator. They simply couldn’t control their mouths and tempers. As expected, there were some there because of  crime involvement As we all have heard, " if you do the crime, you do the time."

     As I listened to Dr. Perkins interacting with these young offenders, I discovered that because they were suspended from school or dropped out, they now find themselves reading and comprehending below grade level. They also are performing poorly in math and other subjects. It’s not because they are slow learners or can’t learn. It’s simply because they found education boring and unnecessary. They never really took the time to learn.

    That became evident when their teacher and confidant Cynthia Cockern shared that one of them had improved their reading seven levels in just one month. They're smart and intelligent young men, but somehow, somewhere and someway, they believed otherwise.

     Perhaps no family members were there to provide the motivation and encouragement they need and deserve. That’s not the case, however,  at the detention center.  In addition to Dr. Perkins, these young men have their friend and instructor, Mrs. Cockern, as a source of motivation and encouragement. She applauds their achievements and consoles those who fail in their trying, always motivating them to do better the next time.

     Dr. Perkins told the teens he needs them to become the productive young men God wants them to be. “I would like to see all prisons eliminated,” he told them. "But I know that can’t happen until we get rid of some of your outside behavior, until you stop doing what you were doing to get you here in the first place.”

     Surprisingly enough, these juvenile offenders listened to Dr. Perkins and accepted what he said without changing words. Some of them even asked about the Perkins Center and said once their sentences were served, they would visit and perhaps help Dr. Perkins with his work in the West Jackson Community.

    "I'm saying this to you guys," Perkins said. "Keep your head up. Keep hope alive!

     "You've made this mistake in your life, a mistake that landed you behind bars. But you can still do something with your lives.

     "Get your GED while you are here and then go on to college. Return to the community and make a difference. That's what it's all about - making a positive change in your lives and in your community."

      As I left the detention center that day I felt assured  Dr. Perkins made an impact on the lives of these young men. They're behind bars now, but don't be surprised to hear that some of them went on to become community leaders. I won't be!