The Sage of the 7th Ward @john_b_ill Twitter profile

Pinned Tweet

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

What if I told you that I've actually been enslaved?

79

2K

4K

Last Seen Profiles

@soumya_pillai

@Sidneystardance

@DuffmanLoL

@UWAdmissions

@GunnarMathis

@stw_pdg

@token

@hmsat1313

@puzzlequest3

@Nancy110907

@ACSChemNeurosci

@ukhndlwl

@jandakembangstw

@pengen_stw

@Carferreira86

@clepoliceD3

@Victoria710158

@rak_khalil

@pengen_stw

@JoanCompte25

@stw_pdg

@nerdoftherings1

@SWPL

@catsheridan1

@pengen_stw

@totemoart

@OliviaRodrigoAR

@marisdiand

@turkimefkure

@Besmiallah_111

@jandakembangstw

@Olgacosse

@Fondation_EDF

@lujang_0_0

@PNacionalJoven

@neh_pch

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

To sum it up, slavery is still practiced here in the USA today. Please take a closer look at the constitution. That shit wasn't written for me.

1

155

717

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

An "issue" that many Louisiana state prisons have is involuntary servitude. Yup. Slavery.

2

108

579

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Hollywood, right? Not in Louisiana. That's a thing. Go to almost any state prison and you'll see almost exactly what I just described. The one variation is what the plant is. It could be okra or corn rather than cotton.

2

78

509

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

And for a while I was one of those people in the field. Down here prisons are plantations.

1

79

501

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I believe that the average person doesn't understand what prison in Louisiana IS.

2

85

488

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Thanks everyone for your love and support.

29

8

500

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Servitude under the threat of harm, violence, or retribution. And it's disguised as criminal justice.

1

50

467

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I've been down row after row after row after row of okra. I've used baked beans cans as makeshift buckets to water row after row after row after row of tomato plants. I've been on my hands and knees to dig up potatoes. I've cut acre after endless acre of grass and hay.

2

55

467

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Do y'all understand what I'm trying to get across to you? I'll say it again. Slavery.

3

25

437

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I don't use the word slavery lightly. This is one hell of a moral accusation I'm making and I'm choosing my words wisely. But you be the judge.

3

35

440

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Allow me to present this image for you. It's familiar. You've seen it in every slavery movie ever. Even in video games. Forced labor. Labor under the threat of force. Involuntary servitude.

1

27

395

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

So, yeah, I settled in. I did the prison shit. Got my GED at 15, had a whole bunch of fights in juvie. My social worker @CindiAbbott was the only person I had to talk to. She hugged me and cried they day I got transferred to adult prison at 18.

2

13

399

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Actual physical slavery.

2

22

373

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

In my free time, I taught myself how to play guitar and bass. I also got an associate degree. I was force-fed Christianity, all the while wondering how a just god could allow people to suffer. Believe me when I tell you that cognitive dissonance is real.

1

23

389

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Adult prison was a different level. Severe punishment for any infraction. Bed don't have a 9 inch collar? Write up. Not walking fast enough? Write up? OH YOU TALKING BACK?! Dungeon. I spent a lot of time in the dungeon.

2

30

384

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Side note, when Obama was elected to his first term, they pepper sprayed the dungeon out of spite.

1

55

382

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I've been out in near freezing rain, on my hands and knees weeding mustard greens. Row after endless row of mustard greens. In a very Louisiana 35 degrees. I've got up and made my bed, suffering with the flu, to walk out into a wintry swamp and work against my will.

2

38

370

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I spent a lot of time in the dungeon. I spent a lot more time on extended lockdown. That's solitary confinement. I've been on extended 5 times, each time for at least 90 days. My longest ride was 9 months.

2

30

372

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

People think about prison in terms of a general enclosed area where a bunch of miscreants go for a time out, however long that time out might be. Maybe life.

1

18

349

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Slavery.

1

11

348

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I've never liked authority, so I was a problem for the warden, wherever I went. In the early days, age 14, I tried to escape. Twice. I had no idea what to do if I was successful, but I tried.

4

21

352

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Sorry about how long it's taking to unpack this, but I'm really reliving some shit. I'm also realizing that I have no emotional precedent for this conversation because I rarely talk about prison.

2

13

336

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

While that's true in the most general of senses, each individual prison has its own shape, culture, and personality. Each has its own issues that others don't have.

1

13

336

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

If you ask me, I was lost in the system. Y'all don't know how many times I wished I was dead.

1

9

346

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I've seen huge strapping men pass out from the Louisiana heat. I can remember lining up to march to the "cut", hoping the horses came to their senses, popped their tethers, and bolted back to the barn.

2

23

338

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Imagine a human being saving shit, piss, cum, and milk to mix together and throw on another human being. I saw that almost every day. I've witnessed people go insane from years of isolation.

3

18

347

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

After that, I settled in for the long haul. And it was a loooooong haul. Almost two decades. I felt that I had no choice but to get comfortable unless I could get the courts rolling. Huge help the courts were. By the time I even learned about post-conviction my time was up.

2

16

334

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

In the movies you see overseers. Sometimes they're on horseback. Sometimes on foot. Most of them are armed with rifles or shotguns. A couple may have pistols. A couple may be unarmed.

1

18

334

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

It was so hot sometimes that we would rush to soak our shirts in the showers, sinks, toilets, whatever in the last minute of "work call" so the moisture would last as long as possible. Also if you had a towel to spare, you done good.

1

23

330

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

In the movies there's always a shot of a greasy ass, tobacco spitting, ungroomed, and stank ass white boy eyeing that one particular enslaved person he doesn't like... Maybe he adjusts the position of the gun and creates a little tension.

1

14

324

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

We had funerals for inmates that passed on. It's heartbreaking to learn in this way that people are an infinite well of compassion when we're all equal. We used to secondline hard for brothers who went to the ancestors.

2

28

325

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Might as well have been lost in space.

1

7

320

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

In the movies there's always a weird, uncomfortable shot of the cotton field. You can see the enslaved people lined up in rows, moving together at a steady pace.

1

10

304

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Beef with the wrong C.O. will fuck around and get you killed. Think I'm joking?

5 jailers fired over inmate who died after vomiting into mask

Anthony Carl Smith, 55, was found unresponsive in his cell at B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn Correctional Center in Angie on March 10.

www.wwltv.com

1

65

326

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I say all the time that you aren't guaranteed to come home. 1 day, 1 year, ten years, don't matter. You 👏🏼are👏🏼 not👏🏼 guaranteed👏🏼 to👏🏼 make👏🏼it👏🏼out👏🏼

2

32

324

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Sometimes people would lose hope and fall ill. Sometimes they would skip the suffering of illness and die in their sleep. The living kept on dying or catching that cut. It's a plantation. You gotta work or suffer the consequences.

1

22

304

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Malnutrition is rampant. There's no health care. Heat stroke? Ibuprofen and an ice pack. Chest pain? Ibuprofen and and gas-x. Toothache? Gargle salt water. Oh you depressed? Thorazine, lithium, and ibuprofen.

1

27

299

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

So no one is paying attention, huh?

5

8

275

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

The Body Shop is the boiler room at Cellblock B. They drag you in, hands cuffed behind your back, shackled at the ankles, and utterly defenseless. And they beat the everloving fuck out of you.

1

32

300

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Eventually I got tired of that shit. They broke me. I took my ass into that field and got to work. My first day in the field was spent in the okra patch. Okra as far as the eye could see. I did almost 4 sacks and that okra tore my hands up. My fingers bled for days.

2

16

290

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

They call work call at 7:45 am every morning. Mon-Fri yo ass is gon work. Five days a week I lined up for the roll. The only thing that stopped work call on a normal day was pouring rain, lightning, and extremely low visibility fog. And snow. We liked snow.

1

13

283

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Near the end of my sentence I reached something I guess was roughly akin to OG status. All of a sudden I wasn't a field nigga. I got a job in the library. But that came with the price of alienating me from many of my peers. Ever heard of Willie Lynch syndrome? Look it up.

1

16

280

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Anything happens to you out there, it's far enough from NOLA or BR that no one will be the wiser. If you don't have family coming to visit, you become a target. They feel like they can do you anything and get away with it. Unfortunately, sometimes it's true.

1

23

283

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I'll be using terms some of y'all don't know. You can ask.

1

4

264

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

In the cut, you went to work. Sometimes you'd have a cut partner and you were responsible for each other's work. That caused a lot of beef. If someone was slacking or just was physically unable to keep up, both cut partners rode out to the dungeon. This was a game for C.O.s.

1

22

278

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I spent most of my time at Rayburn Correctional Center, and their method was a little different. Remember how the cops did Freddie Gray with the police van? At RCC, when you ride out, they cuff and shackle you, throw you in the back of a pickup and go off-road.

1

19

264

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Before you start your cut, the line has to be counted and the gunline has to be set. The gunline is an imaginary and sometimes arbitrary line that inmates can't walk across. Cross that line and you may or may not get a warning shot. I've had several warning shots.

3

20

267

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

These prisons don't have walls. They're surrounded by chain link fences topped with razor wire. There are strategically placed towers around the perimeter. The tower jockeys have assault rifles. They hit the gun range, too.

1

15

258

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

When a warning shot is fired, you'd better hit the ground, face down. Those guys on those horses are at the gun range every Tuesday and Thursday. If you get caught standing, that next bullet is yours.

1

20

259

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Other than that, you got in that long as line, 2x2, and marched to the cut. Sometimes we cut trails through the woods to make a shortcut to a faraway cut. Most often we marched about 5 mi a day.

1

10

245

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

As I said, every prison is different. So what happens when you refuse to work depends on where you're housed. At DCI the first time I refused to work, I was introduced to the Body Shop.

1

17

243

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Rayburn is located in Angie, LA, Washington Parish. Pretty much the heart of klan country. It was originally called WCI (Washington Correctional Institute). During my time there it was renamed to honor B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn.

2

18

234

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

@RogueSNRadvisor

2

1

232

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Going to the dungeon is always risky. You don't always know who's working back there. But at least you can get a couple days of sleep.

1

7

236

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I went in at 14. Came home at 31. Didn't kill anyone. There's many of "me", mostly Black.

5

47

247

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

And the smell...

1

4

218

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

2 years

@superwoman135 @DavidBeckler1 @murray_nyc @UkraineLive2022 Nah everyone who read that knows exactly wtf you meant

2

1

232

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

This gentleman is a legend. Give him his flowers.

6

31

175

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

2 years

I went back like this. 10 months of my life in prison essentially because I didn't have a valid address and there were no noncarceral housing programs for parolees.

Alec Karakatsanis

@equalityAlec

2 years

THREAD. Did you know that 25% of all human beings sent to prison in the U.S. are not sent there for a new crime? They are sent there for a technical rule violation of their probation or parole, usually a missed appointment or a dirty urine.

24

588

2K

3

61

208

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

2 years

Both very valid answers

0

26

179

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

@AntifaVictim @SteveOnIt @John61695303 @dannydeurbina @kyrstensinema And encouraged

1

0

164

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

No labor is unskilled

Jamie Gnuman197...

@JGnuman197

3 years

I saw this ending much differently.

2K

5K

45K

2

12

174

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

@lamadabadoo @kivonshe @TheeHenryAdjah @ineedja_kadeeja Art imitates life

1

2

136

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

@whoiszhu

2

5

138

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

Shout-out to everyone who ain't scared of a Black man in a hoodie.

7

102

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

I mean...

8

13

126

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

@hail2thev_ It's bigger than prison. Slavery is still legal.

1

9

113

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

@CopWithAttitude Black police showing out for the white cop...

6

1

101

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

1 year

@502DumpTruck @FilmThePoliceLA Doesn't matter. They dropped him in rival gang territory. That's murder.

0

1

123

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

All entertainers. Including @rosemcgowan , who was involved in a thread where @globelamp was being threatened.

Stephenie Rae

@Teperz

8 years

People in the music industry need to speak out about sexism & violence against women. I give full support to @globelamp #istandwithlefey ✌

0

2

4

1

60

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

@ricanjq The shelf I mistakenly picked it up from.

2

7

102

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

5 years

@sailmom @AyannaPressley @dccc We don't have to "understand" any policy that is undemocratic and, quite frankly, oppressive.

1

5

95

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

I thought you stood up for victims of abuse... This lady, a human being, reached out to you for help, and this was your response.

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

@rosemcgowan was also asked for help via DM by @globelamp and specifically said she would not.

0

1

5

15

52

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

I'm making music again. Can I get a W?

22

4

87

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

2 years

I like being nice. Don't confuse that with me being obligated or weak.

2

14

90

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

Tourist: are you smoking weed Me: no ma'am I am minding my fucking business

2

8

78

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

2 years

@Joe_Dangerously @rahsh33m It's been on sight for 55 years running

2

1

86

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

5 years

@OurAbsoluteBern These questions from Harvard students should now be our #1 argument against legacy admissions. I'm convinced that River Parishes Community College grads (myself included) are better educated for the money.

1

7

74

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

This made me happy

3

12

67

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

I'm sick of y'all 🤣😂😂🤣🤣

3

10

63

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

@okiefashbash This photo could be from anywhere down here, from Abita Springs to Zylks. People don't deserve this.

2

68

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

There is no scenario in which slavery is justified. Slavery is slavery. Slavery is harmful.

2

9

59

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

White supremacists may very well not be your enemy, Joe. But you ain't finna sit here and tell me they ain't mine.

Joe Biden

@JoeBiden

4 years

To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not enemies.

24K

44K

538K

3

10

60

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Person: Rush Limbaugh is on his last legs. Me:

13

3

48

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

2 years

I've been home from prison since New Years Day 2016. Every 3 months I have to go see the white folks so they can know my whereabouts. This is the legacy of slavery in America.

6

17

64

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

We're gonna love having this guy in office. I said that.

robert jon anderson

@R_JonAnderson

4 years

@Eileenleftnotri Don’t even get me started on direct-to-consumer advertising - it’s one of the biggest reasons that Pharma companies charge so much - they spend more on advertising than research.

1

2

20

0

14

59

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

Unequivocally, yes.

Mohamad Safa

@mhdksafa

4 years

Would you support teachers if they go on a safety strike to keep themselves and children safe?

3K

2K

20K

0

12

55

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

As the Supreme Arbiter of Takes, I hereby declare that all who read the following tweet must laugh out loud and/or like/retweet said tweet, as it is hilarious and must needs be spread across the full breadth of the Twitterverse. So declared this 6th Day of November, 2020.

2

11

57

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

I got my own place.

22

0

59

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

@lenoxmontrose @RamalWoods @JuiceBasedGod @HaQ_mAn @ms_fishscale I, too, would like to acquire this powerful niggatry.

0

1

58

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

4 years ago today. After 4 days in the NICU, this was my first time holding Jones. I asked the Ancestors to deliver my child from danger, and they did.

10

0

50

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

@anthony_phillip @therealelp @icp

0

55

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

@Vanessa_ABee This doesn't just randomly happen to people who don't deserve it, idk?

1

0

53

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

4 years

@EndFamilyFire How about no guns at all?

16

2

59

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

This old Hispanic dude, who I don't know, just walked past me and said "Happy New Year, mijo." I'll probably never see him again in life, but I love him.

4

2

49

The Sage of the 7th Ward

@john_b_ill

3 years

During my time at DCI (Dixon Correctional Institute) there was a chicken plant. I didn't last a week.