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- Fun fact: Solitary: A Biography was given a National Book Award Finalist; and Pulitzer Prize Finalist.
Summary:
Have you ever read a book that made you livid with every chapter but it ended up being rewarding? Well, I have, and every chapter of Solitary by Albert Woodfox felt claustrophobic—powerful, relentless, disheartening, poignant, and ultimately triumphant. In case you don’t know, the late Albert Woodfox (he passed away in 2022) was a former prisoner and a member of the Black Panther Party who spent over forty years (the longest period of solitary confinement in American history) in the unforgiving and tortuous conditions of solitary confinement in Louisiana’s Angola Penitentiary. According to fellow inmate Wilbert Rideau’s 2010 memoir, Angola Penitentiary was a place of depravity notably sexual slavery (prison rape) from 1961 through 2005. Moreover, sexual slavery in Angola was normalized to the point where it became a regular occurrence that almost every new inmate had to encounter. Approximately, a quarter of the prison population were victims of bondage throughout the 1960s and 1970s and these incidents happened during the years when Albert Woodfox and his fellow Black Panther members known as the Angola 3 were incarcerated. As Panther members they intervened and succeeded (not entirely) in preventing the rampant practice of sexual slavery. Since Albert alongside the other two members who comprised the Angola Three (Herman Cain and Robert King) were black panthers, they adhered to a stringent ideology of black empowerment. Consequently, they held a respected reputation among inmates who followed their teachings, namely political discussions, reading courses for illiterate inmates, and education towards becoming a social activist which all three men achieved. However, with all the good they had accomplished, their status as black panthers targeted them as a threat from the standpoint of guards and the warden of Angola Penitentiary.
Furthermore, the Angola Three consistently organized and galvanized inmates in activities such as hunger strikes and petitions that would improve the notoriously cruel and violent conditions they had to experience daily at Angola Penitentiary. Unfortunately, their valiant efforts were constantly thwarted by prison officials, and to make matters worse, they were framed for murdering a prison guard which resulted in the incarceration of the Angola three. Believe me when I tell you that the last sentence is not a spoiler because that incident delves deep into a grim labyrinth. Subsequently, the next forty years for Albert and his Panther comrades were precarious and excruciating, but they never lost sight of hope and all three members remained fortified by their brotherhood to remain resilient in the face of contempt, pain, and deceit. With that being said, I’m merely recapping the premise of this memoir and don’t want to prolong this summary because you would need to read it for yourself to fully comprehend this brutal, devastating, but ultimately inspiring story that can potentially encourage readers to become interested in advocating for prisoner rights and social activism.
Book review
First and foremost, this was a well-written memoir. There wasn’t one sentence, paragraph, or chapter that had any extraneous details. Those kinds of details usually slow the pace of a story. Additionally, I became instantly fascinated and engrossed by the way Albert Woodfox conveyed his story, and I knew that this memoir was special because the reader embarks on a journey as they accompany Albert Woodfox through all the suffering he had to endure, but also his determination to fight for freedom. I meticulously read this memoir and it took me a few months to finish it because, aside from reading other books, I had to decompress after every chapter and read something else because of how angry and overwhelmed I became after learning about the torture and injustices this man and his black panther members had to experience daily. Honestly, I can’t give this book anything less than a five-star rating because of how relevant his story is regarding the injustices that occur in the U.S. prison system and even globally.
Regarding that, the injustices prisoners experience are often ignored and exacerbated to the point where some inmates don’t make it out alive to tell their stories despite having a dedicated support team. Still, I’m glad Albert Woodfox was able to have that opportunity. Fortunately, Albert Woodfox with the help of his legal team, supporters, and family was able to win his freedom and become impactful in the sense of sharing his beacon of light for the ones experiencing adversity, and the ones who feel trapped by the constant darkness they think they cannot overcome. All in all, this memoir demonstrates a man who was steadfast to survive not only for himself but for his panther brothers and they weren’t afraid to confront the odds against them. Their story left a lasting legacy that liberation and redemption have a price and chances are it won’t be painless but the path towards attaining it will be all worth it.
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