"Convicted"

“Convicted” by Jameel McGee and Andrew Collins is now one of my favorite novels. It discusses a relationship between an African American man who was put in jail on false drug convictions and the officer who put him there. Throughout the story, Jameel McGee tells his perceptions of an unfortunate event that caused him years of his life. As I read the piece I couldn’t help but feel bad for Mr. McGee because he is constantly battling this false conviction even when he is released from prison. Mr. Collins, the officer, also writes his story on about putting McGee and others away with false evidence. He discusses the philosophy and events that led him to create the false cases. The book switches back and forth between the two, reading about McGee then about Collins in the next chapter, giving the story an interesting dynamic.

I chose this text because it was recommended by my girlfriend’s mom. Her mom sends me novels she reads in her book club because she knows I’m interested in reading the different material. If I was to teach this text in the classroom I would stick to high school students. Religious discussions within the book could cause some parent and community issues.

I would personally stay away from teaching this book to a whole class. I would definitely offer it to students for a silent reading option or just have it on my bookshelf for students to check out on their own. If I was to use it in a secondary classroom I would use it in a college-bound classroom. This text could be used in a discussion to talk about the important civil rights issues going on in America today. This text could be used in a government classroom to show how exercising your rights could avoid you a lot of trouble. Lastly, I envision this text being used in a book club. The English department could hold a book club for those students and parents who wanted to be a part of it.

I see the religious references being a huge obstacle when trying to incorporate it into the classroom curriculum.  Many times the speaker would bring up a religious bias in the text. Also, their place of employment at the end of the novel is actually a church organization. Religion runs deep for both McGee and Collins. An administrator who was reading this text might point out the religious foundation behind the two characters. This book is a great tool to use in the classroom if a teacher can overcome the religious obstacles in the text.  

This text is a powerful and humbling piece. It shows how two people can overcome anything as long as they are motivated to do so. Reading this piece also opened my eyes to the police corruption that still happens today. It also showed me how to be wary of my words when a lawyer is not present. Most importantly this text taught me the value of forgiveness. Watching these two men form their friendship is humbling and makes me regret past grudges. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this piece and I believe it should be available to all my students.