Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson, interviewed by Katy Kirk

October 2020

ChrisWilson.biz

Katy: So my first question is how do you use your writing to provoke activism in your community?

Chris: Oh, all the time. I mean I prefer it, I prefer that my writing and my art does that and I guess my most recent example would be I wrote an article for USA Today that was published last November about predatory prison corporations. And so that’s an example but I have done that, many times actually, before that as well.

Katy: Has writing always been your preferred creative outlook? Or do you prefer other art forms?

Chris: Well, (laughter), so I mean obviously, you know, I wrote a book, I’ve been journaling since I was ten. Writing actually drives me crazy, but it’s one of those things where it’s just very important, and I see it as a very strong tool to use especially for advocacy work. Just writing papers, making arguments, citing research, and following your points. It’s something that it’s just a very important skill set to have. So I do it, but I don’t love it.

Katy: Is there any art form that you do love?

Chris: Painting, making art, yes. So painting has been something that I absolutely love, I paint every day. I’ve been working as a visual artist for about 4 years now. That’s not work for me, I love doing that. I do it for the same purposes, social activism, advocating, educating.

Katy: What would you want people to know most about you?

Chris: That I am super passionate about being a voice for people who don’t have one. So examples would be, I advocate a lot for folks who are impacted by the criminal justice system. It’s a broken system. Depending on who you ask, some people think it’s working just fine. So, I want people to know that I care about other people, and their well being. I will always speak up for things like this as long as they exist.

Katy: What do you want changed most in your community or society?

Chris: I actually was just thinking about this, if I had some magic ticket or superpower I would just end racism. If I could end something, to make it go away, it would be that. When you look at racism at its core, it’s stupid. You sit down with someone who looks different than you, but you both want the same things out of life. That’s what I want, I want to see that end, or us having these real conversations about how stupid this is. It’s just painful.

Katy: I read online that your goal is to create jobs for those returning to Baltimore, can you expand on your work with that?

Chris: Yeah, so I talk about this often. At the root of a lot of challenges that we face in Baltimore is the fact that a lot of people don’t have economic opportunities. And so as a result, I can’t get a job, so maybe I sell drugs, I get locked up, can’t take care of my kid, have backed up child support, I get out, I’m on parole and probation, and it’s so difficult for me to get a job because I have to check in with my parole officer twice a week, pay for my drug tests, I don’t have money. How do I pay for it? Got to figure out how to get there on time, transportation systems are unreliable, and so people just say, man, it’s so hard to do the right thing. Because the system is set up for you to fail. It’s an endless cycle that I see happening especially in Baltimore. People get overwhelmed, they drink, smoke, do drugs, so the pain goes away. It shouldn’t be that way.

Katy: If you feel comfortable, can you touch on the inequities you found in the judicial system?

Chris: Yes, absolutely. You can look at sentencing for people of color and white people, and it’s an insane difference between someone who is white and has the same charge vs someone who is Black or brown. You’ve got a drug problem, you get caught with drugs, you can get 20 years, but if you’re white, you get put into a drug program, It’s just ridiculous.

Katy: Did you feel like you had those inequities placed upon you while you were in the system?

Chris: Hell yeah. I was a juvenile, and I got sentenced to life in prison, it was my first charge. Of course, it happened to me, I have been discriminated against many times, living in my neighborhood, getting pulled over 26 times in two years. Even now, people will see me at 11:00 and be like what are you doing home at 11, and I’m like, what are you doing home at 11? I own my company, I’m the boss.