Antwaun Johnson believes racist prison guards are not an abstract concept — they are a daily reality for Black inmates in Virginia. He has spent much of his adult life inside the state’s correctional facilities, and in this firsthand account he describes what it’s like to face officers from all-white rural communities who are handed enormous power over Black inmates with zero experience around Black people. What he shares is not theory. It’s what he lives every day.
Most people on the outside don’t understand the infrastructure and politics of the penitentiary. There is far more Black-on-Black violence than anything else, b me never everecause the majority of offenders in Virginia Department of Corrections facilities are Black. Black-against-white violence really isn’t the primary issue. But from time to time, conflicts do surface, and violence is used to resolve them.
On TV, I see white people marching at rallies alongside every other race, religion, and creed. That is definitely a positive thing, because we are all one race — the human race. That includes the moral, respectful, and decent-hearted individuals who should speak up and stand for equality, because it’s the humane thing to do.
I feel deep sorrow for my great-great-grandparents, who suffered and experienced racism at its most intense. They say history repeats itself, and as much as racism still exists today, I believe that’s true. What it is — it’s just a part of life. Sometimes we have to accept the ugliness that comes with it. We are who we are, and we were raised the way we were raised. A specific upbringing produces a specific kind of person.
I hate to say some of what I’m about to say, but I’ve seen it firsthand. Some of these prisons in Virginia are built in extremely rural areas — less populated, and 90% of the surrounding population is white. Country communities where everybody shops at the same Walmart, if there even is one. No clubs, no malls. Everyone went to the same high school. And honestly, there aren’t many Black people at all.
If you break down this infrastructure, you start to understand the problem. These people — from heavily white, rural communities — have rarely been around large groups of Black men: laughing loudly, hanging out, wearing their pants low, listening to rap music. They’re not used to hearing the word “nigga” used casually and openly. And these same men and women — with no correctional experience — are being given jobs in high-security prisons, handed authority and power that makes the situation dangerous.
No one on the outside understands what we see in these places. We face racism every single day we wake up. We deal with these correctional officers and try to show them respect, even knowing deep down that some of them don’t like Black people — have never even been around many Black people before us. Some express it through small, subtle things. Others are flat-out in your face about it. And yet the state allows these individuals to work among us.
Then when something happens — when an officer beats an inmate, when abuse leaks out, when an inmate assaults an officer — the general public stereotypes based on what they read. But no one knows the pain we suffer every day. Yes, I am paying my debt to society for my crime. But while doing so, I shouldn’t be subjected to racism. So don’t blame Black people when we plainly see a white officer beating or abusing a Black person, or breaking the law. It enrages all people of color.
I’ll close with this: My name is Antwaun Johnson. I was born and raised in Virginia, and I’ve been in and out of prison for the majority of my adult life. I’ve seen my share of racism — and I’ve never allowed those experiences to alter the principles I was raised with. The crazy thing is, I believe one of the most beautiful things in the world is when two people from opposite sides of a racial divide come together and create a life. How can two races that carry so much hatred between them join together and produce someone like Amber Rose, Alicia Keys, Paula Patton, Ashley Graham, or Halle Berry?
God bless you all. Try to be a better human — I try every day.
