Part 1

My name is “Marvin Maurice Parker” but I am known to my culture as, “Nation.” I was born in Richmond, Virginia. I would like to say I was raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia but this would be far from the truth because truth is I was raised in the penitentiary.
My first bid I did I was fifteen years old. I did two years at a juvenile correctional facility called “Bon Air.” Which was nothing but a training camp for kids that got them ready for the penitentiary.
“Bon Air” really didn’t have a lot of programs to offer us juveniles, during my stay. The whole two years I did was nothing but a waste of time. We fought almost everyday over the smallest issues. It got to the point where we wasn’t even fighting out of anger any more, it just became something to do to past time.
Learning to be a man off of mistakes is dangerous because their are some mistakes that you can’t come back from, and there are some mistakes that take a whole life time trying to correct.
Being that I spent my entire two years learning nothing when I got out I was still mentally the same age that I was when I went in; “a fifteen year old child” with a dimmer light in my eyes. I only lasted a couple of months out of the system.
At the age of 17 I was convicted of second degree murder and was sentenced to forty years with ten years suspended leaving me with an active sentence of thirty years. The conditions of my ten years suspended was life on supervised probation.
When I hit the penitentiary I was not afraid, nor was I scared. My mind was too focused on trying to figure out, “what did all that time mean?” I was only a child. I could barely read and the last grade I made it to was the ninth grade. So, before I could even truly start to move forward I had to solve that question, and the only way I would be able to do that was to reeducate myself.
I ran across a Moore brother by the name of Nelson Bay, that I could go to and get pointed in the right direction. Whether it was history of who we were as a people, education, or just how to cope with prison which he did so well, because he had once did a thirty plus years bid when he was my age in a Baltimore facility. To him I was nothing but a reflection and a slight echo of what he had already been through. He was so familiar to what I was facing that he had made a lot of prediction to what I would go through throughout my bid from: life lesson that would be turning points, to belief changes. He made predictions that I would contest to, but as time past his predictions would manifest themselves. Like I said he saw me as an echo of a life he had already lived.
Due to constant change of the system I would eventually split up from Nelson Bay, but I would run into two more brothers that would play a key part in my growth and development. One by the name of “Corey” aka “C-Murder” and the other one was name “Jay” he went by “Ruger” but when I met back up with him he would take on the attribute of “Godkeyz.” he would also become my enlightener.
These two individuals will always be my brothers from a different mother. They both defined the definition of family. Til this day I can still go to them and get the best advise known to man.
Corey, he is a businessman through and through. Bro could get water from a rock and I liked and respected that from him. He stayed fresh and never was caught anything less. I still remember our first encounter. I was more of a rugged, “it is what it is” young blood in the system. Feeling I had no one to impress was my mind state.
Bruh pulled up on me and told me, “to tighten up and get my stuff together.”
I told him, “nigga I ain’t got nobody to impress. I’m doing me.” And his exact words was, “you don’t do it for other people you do it for self. Impress yourself. I can see and tell you was a fly nigga on the streets be that same person. Don’t give up on yourself.”
It was those words that would stick with me, “don’t give up on yourself.” From that day forward we would build on life on a consistent basis and I saluted him for that. He would one day tell me, “he took me under his wing because when he hit the system around my age brothers did the same to him and he was just paying it forward and one day I would do the same to another individual which would be the truth.”
Through C-Murder I met Godkeyz because they were from the same area which was Danville, Virginia. Don’t get me wrong Godkeyz was about getting to the bag but he was also big on education. He introduce me to so many black brothers and sisters whom fought for our freedom that I did not know existed to name a few: Angela Davis, Asata Shakur and George Jackson. He also gave me books on these individuals and made sure that I read them. Him being in my life was as if I had my own college professor. It was only right that he would be my educator.
I met more individuals that would be very influential that I will name in the future this right here is just introduction to who I am today, “Nation.”
I am now 32 years old born June 12, 1988. and have more stories to tell about where I been and what I have been through. The view from my vantage point might not be beautiful but it is a view none the less. I tell my story to hopefully prevent young brothers from following in the foot steps of Nelson Bay, Corey, Jay, myself and a handful of others.
As a child you are meant to search to find yourself. No one should have to do that just to realise, their life is no longer thiers. Write your own path. It ain’t about being scared to go to prison. No one saying you scared, just don’t chose to be a slave and don’t throw away what our ancestors fought so hard for us to get, “FREEDOM.”

TO BE CONTINUE….

Peace.

Marvin Parker #1195029
NCC
P.O. Box 488
Burkerville, Va. 23922
or
Email through,
Jpay. With my contact info Marvin Parker 1195029

Attached: A short story I wrote for a college class