EP#99 Felonism: Hating in Plain Sight

From two different cultures, Andy Dixon and Linda Polk found each other during the fourth decade of their lives, and love has dominated their relationship ever since. 

Few observers would have predicted their union because Linda was raised by Conservative Christian parents who took her to church three times a week and seven days a week during annual revivals and Vacation Bible Schools. At just about the same time, Andy was participating in gang activities in the streets of Chicago under the loving watch of the men in his life who taught him the ways of organized crime. In the late 1970’s, their paths went into seemingly opposite directions as Andy entered prison and Linda entered college.  

They met for the first time in 1997 when Andy was less than a year away from his first scheduled meeting with a parole board, and Linda was assigned to work at the prison as a practicum student during her first semester of her Social Work Masters Degree program. 

In 2016 they released a book they wrote together: Felonism: Hating in Plain Sight is a collection of true stories from convicts, family members, parole officers and prison staff woven together to present the fabric of institutionalized systemic oppression against individuals suspected or convicted of a felony and their communities. 

Music and Lyrics by James Harrell and Ilyana Kadushin