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On Nov. 22, Joel Castón—dressed head to toe in a dapper bright blue suit—exited the D.C. Jail to take his first breath of freedom in 27 years. Surrounded by a large crowd of family, friends, and community leaders—all of whom had been waiting six plus hours for his release—it seemed like his cheeks and arms might fall off from so much smiling and hugging. And then, of course, there was pizza.
From inside the jail, Castón, 44, had founded a mentorship community for emerging adults. On Juneteenth of this year, he became the first incarcerated person to win public office in D.C. as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. He has spent the last few months taking back-to-back Zoom calls, emailing constituents, and pitching his financial literacy business to prospective partners. But even with a platform where he emphasizes “giving a voice to the voiceless,” his constraints remained quite visible.
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Thanksgiving, however, marks a new chapter. Below, Castón—who was charged with murder at the age of 18—reflects on his decades-long incarceration, shares his experiences as a Black man carving out mentorship opportunities for himself and his peers, and discusses his plans for the future. “My nickname is going to be viento, which is wind in Spanish,” he says. “Wherever the wind blows, that’s where I’ll be. And I’m going to be everywhere.”
Earlier this fall, I was released for twelve hours on furlough—I went to Denny’s. As I ate, I quickly noticed the fork was heavy in my hand. The metal hitting my teeth felt off. I realized I hadn’t used a real fork in over a quarter of a century. I’ve been incarcerated since 1994—I’m used to plastic.
I grew up in Ward 8 of Washington D.C. We grew up listening to Chuck Brown’s hit “We Need Some Money.” And money ruled everything.
Welfare checks came once a month, and people literally went from rags to riches in a couple of days. You started to see this influx of money…
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Source : time
