The Eruption of Possible: To Burst from the Limits of Environment

By Dr. Kevin H. Abdur-Rahman

Dr. Kevin H. Abdur-Rahman's life journey took on an unusual evolutionary process from delinquency to adult court, long-term incarceration, rehabilitation, and progressive and productive life. From Pop Warner quarterback to one of the most recognized drug dealers in Philadelphia and one of the most influential people on the campus of one of America's most historic universities.

In his first book, Solving the Riddle, Dr. Abdur-Rahman presented an individual case study of at-risk youth, a convicted felon, and a reformed ex-felon that demonstrated the example that if given healthy information, an individual can transcend negative environmental influences and transform his life into positive and successful outcomes.

In this book, The Eruption of Possible, Dr. Abdur-Rahman transitions from the focus on an individual's transformation to the community of ex-offenders who have to remain hidden because once their past is discovered they are judged by what they did and not who they have become. He vividly suggests that not only is there a correlation between being a former practitioner of crime and the knowledge of how to end the cycle of criminal thought, but successfully transitioned ex-felons also have to become a major part of the equation when it comes to developing strategies and methodologies to reduce crime and gun violence. Dr. Abdur-Rahman indicates that society must let ex-felons write their own narratives and not keep them buried in the dungeons of their own past. "There comes a point when you have to let a butterfly be a butterfly and not keep reminding him that he was once a caterpillar."

Successfully transitioned ex-felons exist in our communities but remain mostly invisible, which makes their presence and their leadership a nonfactor in the war against crime and gun violence. The journeys of these people who have divorced themselves from the criminal justice system and remain free not only from crime but also from criminal thinking must be a part of the intervention narrative. Include them in our conferences and symposiums and let them share their ideas on crime and violence. Let's study the mental framework it took for them to break the cycle and return to their own humanity as well as what inspires them to continue on this path of self-reform.

The Eruption of Possible examines the successfully transitioned ex-felons who are leading exemplary lives after resurrecting themselves from a life of crime. The author puts forth the idea that ending or reducing the epidemic of crime and gun violence among our youth should be put into the hands of former practitioners of crime who have successfully transitioned into positive and productive lives. Creating a National Coalition of Former Inmates (COFI) as a think tank and problem-solving body can lead to a collection of answered questions and solved mysteries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887936086

Book preview

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The Eruption of Possible

To Burst from the Limits of Environment

Dr. Kevin H. Abdur-Rahman

Copyright © 2023 Dr. Kevin H. Abdur-Rahman

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88793-611-6 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88793-608-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 1

Look to Your Left, Look to Your Right, We Are There: Your Neighbor Could Be an Ex-Felon

In a study by FWD.us, a criminal justice and immigration reform advocacy group, and Cornell University, nearly one in two American adults has an immediate family member who is currently or has previously spent time behind bars, said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us (Half of Americans Have Family Members Who Have Been Incarcerated, December 2018).

According to a study by the Rand Corporation (The Prevalence of Criminal Records among Small Business Owners by Shawn D. Bushway, Dulani Woods, Denis Agniel, David Abramson), the national estimates (table 1) show that 3.8 percent of small business owners have a criminal record. More than 1.7 million employees are affiliated with these businesses. Within the group of business owners who have criminal histories, approximately 433,000 have a history of felonies.

Table 1. More than 1.1 million small business owners have a criminal record.

In an article for the New York Post on April 4, 2016, Statistical Proof That America Doesn’t Care about Ex-Cons, Nicholas Eberstadt writes,

The United States today is home to two huge but essentially invisible populations. The first of these invisible tribes—illegal immigrants—at least has attracted more than passing comment in politics. By contrast, America’s second invisible caste is almost never mentioned. Yet this group is far larger than the unauthorized immigrant population, and it is made up almost entirely of US citizens. I refer to our vast underground army of released felons—adult men and women convicted of serious criminal offenses for which they have been punished with prison time or probation, and who now form part of the general population.

The reality here is not that reformed felons who have paid their debt to society have a need to be embraced by an indifferent public it’s that this same public needs them. The society needs them to succeed: as fathers and mothers, as breadwinners, as citizens, as people who make the most of their second chance.

I submit that they are mostly needed to be a vital part of defining how we address the problems of crime and gun violence.

We can’t hope to become a healthy wholesome society with more than 20 million ex-felons and nearly half million-business owners with felony convictions to remain mostly invisible. The inclusion of reformed ex-felons is more important today than it has ever been and also the need for these reintegrated citizens to become societal problem solvers. (Eberstadt 2016)

Yes, ex-felons are not just in our communities; they are also contributing members of our communities who serve to enhance community life. Shon Robert Hopwood is an American convicted felon, appellate lawyer, and professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. Hopwood, who was featured on the TV show 60 Minutes, became well known as a jailhouse lawyer that served eleven years in prison for bank robbery. Another felon Stephen Richards, a professor of Criminal Justice, spent a total of nine years in prison for selling drugs before receiving a bachelor’s degree while in prison. He subsequently received a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, as well as a PhD from Iowa State University. He has authored several books on criminology. Larry Miller an ex-felon is Chair of the Jordan Brand for the Nike corporation and spent five years as the president of the Portland Trail Blazers; he recently told his story in his book Jump. This author Dr. Kevin Abdur-Rahman recently told his life story in his first book Solving the Riddle that detailed how he served ten years in Graterford Prison and went on to receive a Master of Human Services Degree from Lincoln University and a Doctor of Education Degree from Temple University all leading to a successful twenty-three-year career as an Athletic Director at the City College of New York (CCNY). The common thread between these four individuals is that their stories are told in isolation which means that there is no collective assessment of them and no delineation of their common thread to success and how their stories can be applied to a prevention methodology for others to learn from.

One such example of a collective sample is the ‘Convict Criminologist of which Mr. Stephen Richards is a member. Convict Criminologist is a self-described, small, and tightly knit group of ex-convict professors who have brought new light to the criminal justice field by challenging some of the academic establishment’s assumptions about prisons and inmates. With convictions ranging from selling heroin to armed robbery and even murder, they now have tenure-track positions at public universities, attend academic conferences, and act as mentors to current convicts who hope to someday join their ranks. While there have long been isolated ex-convicts keeping a low profile in Academia, these criminologists are the first group of ex-convict professors to organize into a scholarly movement (Warren St. John, Professors with a Past, NY Times, August 9, 2003).

We should all fear the potential and actual devastation of our communities as a result of crime and gun violence, and we all should be in pursuit of solutions. I’m not one to think it’s hopeless because I am a living example of the possibility of change and redemption. It is so astonishing to me to wake up every day and know that an entirely different human being