Book Club 2nd Quarter

After failing the first grade, Darrell believed he could not learn. This belief plagued and fueled his decision to drop out of highschool. He had no formal education or training and after hitting financial hardship Darrell turned to a life of crime selling crack cocaine. In 1991, federal agents in Bluefield, West Virginia arrested Darrell after being caught distributing 1 gram of crack cocaine. Darrell was an unfortunate victim of disparities in sentencing laws and facing the possibility of life in prison. Despite being convicted and sentenced to a mandatory minimum sentence of 37.5 years, Darrell never gave up on bettering himself and those around him. Darrel became a jailhouse lawyer assisting other offenders in their cases and after studying years of law he was able to earn his freedom. Had it not been for Darrel's determination and perseverance to fight an unjust system and sentencing he would still be looking at a release date sometime in 2031.

To date, Darrell has earned his master's degree in Criminal Justice Administration. He is a narrator for the Obama Oral History Presidential Museum that will open in Chicago. And he is the author of a Number One New Release Memoir—IF I WERE WHITE: Crime, Punishment, and Injustice. Where Darrell uses his voice and lived expertise to spotlight the harsh, unfair, and often racially motivated legislation and its disproportionate effect on our minority communities.