Tijuana Jackson: Purpose Over Prison

Middle finger to the judges because I ain't on trial.

Props Caitlyn Jenner because there's a lot

of bitch niggas that's still in denial.

Yeah, dope on that. Uh-hmm.

Put a sponge on that.

They call me boomerang dick because I come on back.

They going out for the mom like...

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

I'm going in like two fingers on prom night.

I get my inspiration from my folks and ancestors.

Me and my family stick together

like thighs on pressure.

Bar.

My name is Rachel Cho.

But my friends call me Rache.

Pretty soon, I'll be graduating from one

of the top universities in the country.

I have so much to look forward to.

I'm moving back in with my parents

and I'll probably start waiting tables

to help pay off my student loans.

Surprisingly, this is the same plan shared

by much of my graduating class.

We're having to come to terms with the fact

that college debt does not miraculously blossom

into a promising career.

In fact, college debt and promising careers

have no relation, whatsoever.

I've maintained a 3.4 GPA

and done everything I was told to do,

but I don't think it's working.

You know what's even more depressing?

Reading the blog of a felon who's more optimistic

about his future than I am of mine.

I'm talking about a man who spent...

- Careful. ...more years

in confinement than I've been alive.

This is nuts.

And he has a clear vision

for his future than anyone I know.

More, more, more, more.

Including my professors.

Stop.

I have to meet this man face to face.

Got it.

My final film assignment

is a 10-minute short

which explores the contrast between my bleak...

Hello?

...uncertainty as a soon-to-be college grad

and the adrenalizing confidence of a convict

soon to be paroled from here.

The Miami-Daye Correctional Facility.

The optimism in your blog is...

Hotter than Sriracha.

That works too.

It's actually what inspired me to interview you.

If that shit inspired you,

I got this seminar called, "What You See Is What You Saw."

That shit go hard in the paint.

Can you perform some of it?

Maybe I can put it in my short.

I can a little bit.

I can make you a little... hot little 10-minute set.

Okay. Here go a little piece I just...

I just finished off.

But it's a little story of hope.

I once knew this kid, 10-year-old boy,

and his parents named him Monica.

They thought naming him Monica would help build character.

And they spelled the shit M-Y-N-I-G-G-A, Monica.

All right, TJ. Sit the fuck down.

Oh, I asked him to perform a little bit of his seminar.

Yes, ma'am. And I'm telling him to do it

with his ass in the seat.

Make me say it again, there's not gonna be an interview.

Actually, come tomorrow and collect that Gate Money,

- so you know. What's "Gate Money?"

You give like a hundred dollars in a bus ticket.

You know what I'm saying? When you get out of prison,

this is the way if you want, you know.

We can do this interview in the fresh air

while I smoke my Newport.

- What did I say, TJ? - I'm sitting down.

All right. I'm sitting down.

Come on. I was sitting down.

Roll over. That's what I was doing.

Nigga, hold up. Look, wait, wait, hold up.

Are you serious? Excuse me.

Turn over, TJ. Turn over.

You're getting this shit on camera?

You're getting this shit on camera?

- You see how they do? Why are you trying

to fuck this up, TJ? You're fucking it up.

Okay. What is your problem?

We have a permit to film this.

Do you have a permit to film me?

I do not think so. Shut that thing off.

Serious?

- See how they do? You got him.

Enjoy.

Hey. - Prime time TV.

I appreciate you sticking up for a nigga, you know, but...

this is what they do.

You know, they'll come tomorrow, TJ on their skip duty. Heard me?

Shouldn't Officer Layne be reported for kicking you?

What about the next inmate?

What about him?

Let's say I file a complaint, it make it all the way up

to the Inspector General's office.

Still it's my word against white folks.

First time in my life, I can see the light

at the end of the fucking tunnel.

It ain't just some nigga burning a cigarette in the dark.

You heard me?

So, I got to decide.

Do I want justice or do I want freedom?

Why not both? - Both?

You're a vegan or something, huh?

Well, she wild as shit.

People always seem amazed with the fact

that I could be so, you know,

I could be such a visionary from behind these walls.

Anything is possible, understand? You can do it.

It's just like... it's like prison pussy,

you know, you just got to use your imagination.

You need to get good to you.

Niggas just think you just walk up

out the prison like you do in a movie.

And I got a lot to prove, man.

A lot to prove.

You know, because there's a lot of folks out there,

they think I ain't shit but a runaway hamster, you know,

because the nigga keep getting put back in that cage.

When I get up out this bitch, I'ma be like stripper glitter.

Nigga, I'm rubbing off on everybody.

Heard me?

Two minutes.

I heard you put you on your bathtub

I got to do a last minute review on my pre-release plan

to make sure a nigga capitalizing on all the options

available to me when I'm on the outside.

- This way... -

Uh, no. Cameras are not allowed in here.

But, Ms. Judy, it's the documentary starring me.

So, obviously, the cameras got to go where I go.

Last I checked, you're the subject

of a 10-minute student film not The Green Mile.

Okay. Can they just... - Uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, no.

Can they... can they film a nigga from the hallway?

Come here.

Don't ever use that word in front of me again.

- Yes, Ms. Judy. - Okay. Back up.

You wanna get him down?

- Thank you. Wait, wait.

Y'all just got to lay in the cut, okay?

Get one camera here

then you get another camera here like this, right?

And be phantom because it's like

that "catch the predator shit." Heard me?

Hmm. You dye your hair?

No. No.

Mr. Jackson, you haven't filed for any housing aid.

You don't qualify for any child tax credits

or disability related benefits.

What are your plans for employment?

Oh, I'ma just... I'm really just gonna start my company,

follow my calling being a life coach,

motivational speaker, well-renowned.

Uh, okay.

Have you contacted your family,

arranged for room and board

or would you like us to help you with that?

Y'all kidding, right?

My family probably waiting for me outside right now.

Okay. When it comes to the Jackson family,

I'm Michael, okay?

They're probably gonna throw a big old block party for me.

Supposed to be a secret, but you know how it is,

- hood niggas talk. - Language.

Copy that. I'ma get me

a cool little spot in The Wood.

Give me a sec.

Uh, Hollywood, Florida.

Yeah, you know, caught me a whip.

And that's? - Vehicle.

Yeah. - Uh-huh.

I am a CLS for the department.

Uh, Communications and Linguistics Specialist.

One of the things we discovered

was a major disconnect

between inmates and COs, uh, Corrections Officers,

primarily due to the street vernacular

that is used by inmates in prison.

So, I was a natural fit to step in and to translate.

It's gonna be like they throw a Scar Mitzvah for me.

You know, it's gonna be like that.

Uh, it's the party you throw

when you sue the state for police brutality and win.

Yeah. Right. So, then... - Hang on.