Spirit and Soul

About the Book

The deputy superintendent’s remarks were degrading and insulting. He thought that my soul could be bought for being allowed the privilege to walk through the front door at Elmira Prison, a symbol of status in his mind, but not mine. The front door of the prison was only a symbol of influence in the minds of fools, not in the minds of free men with thoughts based on liberty and equality. As a matter of fact, the rear was where my ancestors were forced to enter, so there is a sense of pride to walk in the footsteps of one’s ancestors. “Mr. Superintendent, I personally don’t give a damn which door I come in. Apparently you didn’t hear anything I said. It’s not me I am concerned about. I am used to the back doors of America. It’s those black women and children standing out in the cold, waiting to be processed and being denied the decency of using the restroom that concerns me. It’s not about me. It’s about decency and what is right,” I assured him. He then told me that he could not change the policy and do anything about the situation at hand but that he could take care of me and make it more convenient and comfortable for me when I come back to Elmira. I thought of the times I heard the line “We can take care of you, but we can’t do anything about all those others.” As a police officer and head of the black police organization, I had heard this more times than I care to remember from police officials, elected officials, politicians, businessmen, and now a prison superintendent. But it wasn’t until that moment, standing in the gym at Elmira Prison, that I realized how much their use of “others” sounded so much like niggers.

About the Author

Theodore Kirkland is a black man, born and raised in the United States of America. His experience as an American black is extraordinary, provocative, and well-resonant with today’s society. Being forever grateful for God’s grace, he is currently retired and writes periodically about the political climate, the criminal justice system, and civil liberties. He has a master’s degree in social science and is a Korean War veteran. A former Buffalo police officer, television host and producer, and radio host and producer, adjunct college professor, and former New York State Parole Board Commissioner, Kirkland frequently appears as a guest host or commentator. His first book, Spirit and Soul: Odyssey of a Black Man in America, Volume One, was published in 2012. During his career as a police officer, Kirkland received numerous awards and citations from citizen groups, prisoners, and youth gangs. Although he was the most honored police officer in the history of the Buffalo Police Department, he never received awards from law enforcement agencies. But in 1972, he received a commendation from the president of the United States, Richard Nixon, and recognition from the House of Representatives. As a black man, Kirkland not only writes about his difficulties as a parole board member, but he takes the reader with him through this life, it becomes easy to understand the conflict that develops between him and others. Spirit and Soul: Odyssey of a Black Man in America, Volume Two gives the reader a unique opportunity to explore a black man’s life on the New York State parole board. Appointed to the parole board in 1978 by Governor Hugh Carey, Kirkland’s appointment was controversial from the onset as a result of his nearly sixteen years in the Buffalo Police Department where his reputation of being a people person exceeded that of accepting the “them against us” psychology.