Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services

WHYY.org    November 15, 2019

Will Little walked on stage wearing an orange jumpsuit, hands held behind his back, head faced down.

As he told his story of life in and out of prison, he unzipped, revealing another layer of clothes underneath the orange.

“I did 10 years in the penitentiary. Anger, frustration, hurt, pain, guilt, then I decided to dig a little deeper within myself because I knew I was better than the circumstances I grew up in.”

Will stepped out of the jumpsuit. He told of eventually becoming a successful barber, and most importantly, giving back to his Philadelphia community.

Last night, at WHYY, First Person Arts partnered with the Engaging Males of Color Initiative (EMOC) to host performances from men of color about their experiences returning from jail or prison.

Each performer, Ali Siddiq, Peedi Crakk, Vandeth Sek, Che Guerrero, and Will Little, used rap, comedy, or storytelling to guide the audience through stories of encouragement, perseverance, hope and a lot of laughter.

Read the entire article: “Coming Home: Telling reentry stories through hip-hop and comedy“