Well, my interpretation of redemption, it differs from the theological or the academical rendition. I believe that my redemption symbolizes the end of a bad beginning and a new start. It goes beyond, in a sense of being liberated from one's sins or atonement in itself. I feel that my redemption mostly or primarily encompasses the ability to reach out to others.
-Stanley Tookie Williams
Stanley Williams gained world-wide attention and praise for his work in prison, including the publication of children's books advocating non-violence and alternatives to gangs, an autobiography, and Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story a Hollywood movie honoring him, starring Jamie Foxx. In 1997, Williams wrote an apology, posted on his website, for his role in creating the Crips. In 2004, he helped broker a peace agreement (called the Tookie Protocol For Peace) for what had been one of the deadliest and infamous gang wars in the country, between the Bloods and the Crips, in both the state of California and the city of Newark, New Jersey. Williams received a letter from President George W. Bush commending him for his social activism.
Williams was reportedly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year from 2001 to 2005; nominations came from Mario Fehr, a member of the Swiss Parliament; four times by Notre Dame de Namur University Philosophy and Religion Professor Phil Gasper; William Keach, a Brown University Professor of English Literature, nominated Williams for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Wikipedia: Stanley Tookie Williams
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