Convicted in the Womb: One Man's Journey from Prisoner to Peacemaker

by Carl Upchurch

Book Overview

An unforgettable true story of gang warfare and a bold manifesto for addressing racial injustice, from a former gang member and renowned lecturer "An inspiring personal litany of human renewal and accomplishment. Upchurch gives us hope that we can change society."--Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, author of The Assassination of the Black Male Image Once Carl Upchurch was an elementary school dropout fighting for survival on the streets of South Philadelphia,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553375202
• ISBN13: 9780553375206
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Bantam Dell
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Convicted in the Womb

I bought this for my son. He feels that this this is a good book. It was very inspirational to him.

The Womb is Sacred

"Convicted in the Womb" is a deeply captivating too true autobiography that reads like the first half of the life of an untold number of African-American men in the last half century.The detailed descriptive analysis of the terms and concepts Niggerization, DeNiggerization, and AntiNiggerization is not only long overdue to the public, but gives voice and creedence to particularly those men who can identify with Carl Upchurch'sLIFE Experiences and Mission.For someone like myself to live and breath my passion in teaching incarcerated teen boys in a court-mandated program called ACE - Adolescent Counseling Education, copies of "Convicted In The Womb" have now been placed into the hands of all my students. Through this story they can see themselves, each other, and how they place in the history of this country. They also have read and expressed that it's truly the first book they have ever read, and wanted to read!!!! This is a story to be shared and read together and discussed, because IT MEANS BUSINESS. This is a story that must be understood. People must be understood! It teaches how when we look at our personal circumstances, and then have the opportunity to look outside our life,"hood",and prison life, particularly through books, and then we can find our FREEDOM, our HOPE, our POSSIBILITIES, our ANSWERS, our WISDOM, OUR TRUE POWER IN UNITY. My students know that I care about them and demonstrate it by my fierce committment to AntiNiggerization. May the Youth of America read this book! May the people who work with Youth read this book! May the Prison Staff read this book! May our Spiritual Leaders and Activists read this book! May the High Schools and Colleges put this in their adopted book lists for VIOLENCE PREVENTION coursework and THE RESOURCE MANUAL for all students on how to help our youth coming up with the Community Work they can do to CHANGE our World for the better!!! And so May the Politicians read this book! May the Parents [who understandably worry about their childrens' safety and future] read this book. My students all know now that there are people all over this country changing things for the better, people just like them, and they have our support!!! My students are learning that the Womb is Sacred, we all as Equals are Sacred.

Hope and Inspiration

Carl vividly describes his life beginning as a young child. The challenges he faced growing up in this society are dramatically expressed in the first paragraph of the book. This is clearly a story of hope and inspiration as it shows the struggles one endures in making positive changes in one's life. Carl shows how God worked in his life and how the impact of the Holy Spirit in one person's life can impact the world. Many inmates identify with Carl's life experiences and view him as a role model. Carl's story quickly invites the reader into his life and is difficult to put down until the last page is read.