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- [00:05]
A
This is Concrete Mama, the podcast. I'm your host, showrunner and producer, Vic Chopra.
- [00:10]
B
And I'm Rachel Check, showrunner and producer.
- [00:14]
A
All right, Concrete Mama listeners, we have something special for you as we're currently in pre production on season two. In the meantime, we wanted to drop some bonus content to keep you entertained, engaged and excited for more stories from the Washington State Penitentiary. But first, here's a message from Rachel.
- [00:32]
B
Hey, Concrete Mama fam. If you haven't been following us on our social media, definitely check out our Facebook and Instagram. At unincarcerated Productions, we've been promoting our huge Concrete Mama community celebration in Walla walla, Washington, happening September 20th at Foundry Vineyards. It will be an amazing night to celebrate all of the success with season one. It's going to be filled with good people, food, live music, and an art auction. And the art's been created both inside the penitentiary and by some justice impacted f on the outside. We will also be premiering a clip of the upcoming documentary about the making of the media lab at the Washington State Penitentiary. And we'll have a panel discussion with our hosts, plus a very special guest, the one and only Earlonne woods, host of the original prison podcast, Ear Hustle. There are still a few tickets left and we'd love to have you join us. You can sign up on our website@unincarcerated.com or through the link in our bio on Instagram. And if you can't come in person, that's totally okay. We understand. We'll be gonna be opening up the art auction online two weeks prior to the event, so keep an eye on our social media. You can still participate that way.
- [01:48]
A
Thanks, Rachel. And we're going to be dropping weekly bonus content leading up to the event as well, so make sure you're subscribing to Concrete Mama wherever you get your podcasts. On today's episode, we catch up with our host, Anthony Covert, as he reflect on one year of freedom. If y' all remember, Anthony was released on clemency in June of 2024 after serving 17 years of a 36 year sentence. I just want to take a moment to say how proud of Anthony I am. He is truly a man who exemplifies integrity, drive and love. Contrary to what you might think, freedom isn't easy. Yes, it's a beautiful, joyous, life changing moment that you dream about every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every month of every year you're incarcerated. And for those of us who are lucky enough to Receive our freedom. As I said earlier in the season, it comes with its own set of challenges. I've been free for over seven years now, and I still take moments to just thank the universe for blessing me with an amazing life. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Anthony learned this during his first year as a free man. And as he'll tell you, it's a big world out there.
- [03:08]
C
I don't know how many times I dreamed what it would be like to get out. The first day really stands out because that's the significant point of the start of my new life. And so no matter what I've done over this last year, nothing is going to be more valuable or more precious to me. Then June 10th of 2024 is the day I gotta walk out of prison. Where I was at physically, we all know, but mentally, I was all over the place. I was literally seeing my life happen before me. So waking up that day, I remember I was talking with Damar, and we was kind of just like, you know, today's the day. And he's just like, show them who you are. You know, he reminded me of that, going out into this world, you know? And so I felt like I was going out with a responsibility. I wasn't just going out to my freedom. I was going out to be a trailblazer for the next people to come behind me. Because there ain't nothing more frustrating than those of us that would sit inside and we see all these other people get these opportunities to go home, and then they come back to prison for one thing or another. No judgment there whatsoever. But for one reason or another, they come back. And I studied the reasons why people have came back. And so going out into the world, I could see how feasible it is for people to revert back to what they know. You know, I've had my struggles, but on that day, I made a promise to myself that no matter how hard it gets, I'm going to keep pushing through. People don't know who I am. People don't know what to expect from me. I had a lot of emotions that day. I remember sitting in the game room, the guys were leaving to work, and I'm watching them. They're like, all right, bro, keep your head up. Stay up. Stay safe, bro. And then I remember some of the guys was like, just stayed back. They didn't even go to work. They're like, bro, we're gonna get some last magic games, Games of magic in the kid. We're gonna. Until we don't see You. Because it's. The reality is that who knows the next time they're gonna actually get to see me, right? And so that was a lot, you know, saying goodbye to people that I really consider my brothers, my friends, you know. But then there's people that were in close custody, there's people that were in imu, there are other facilities that I'm not going to get to see, you know, who knows when. And so that was weighing on me. A lot of that stuff was rushing through my mind, but nothing was rushing through my mind than knowing that I haven't given a second chance to go out and live my life. I'm going to be honest, the thing that grounded me most that day was I got to talk with a cus. The thing he told me that really, like, put things into perspective. It may not seem like a lot to a lot of people, but he said, hey, be ready. It's a big world. And it really didn't hit me. I'm like, I know that. We know that. You know what I'm saying? It didn't hit me until I got out. There's a whole new wave of experiences and senses and everything that's going to be happening all at once that we don't get inside. So that resonated with me. He said, be ready. It's a big world. In that phrase, in that sentence tells me that there's going to be so many things that I'm not prepared for. Because no matter how much you prepare in prison for your life outside of prison, there's going to be things that trip you up, things that don't go as planned, things that change at a drop of a dime. You know, like I had this whole plan coming out and it went to shit in a handbasket. You know, excuse my language, but it went there fast because, like, I thought I had it all figured out. But it's a big world out here, right? And it is. There's a lot to experience, there's a lot to do, and there's a lot of things that can get you in trouble that you gotta stay away from. And that's what been my key thing is staying away from those things that could possibly lead me back into prison. And so the trajectory that I'm on doesn't even make space for those things to occur in my life right now. You know what's funny? The most challenging thing was that initial step past the gates where visiting's at. I never looked at that gate. We just knew we weren't allowed to go that Way, you don't even step close to that door, right? You step close to that door, someone's going to ring up something and be like, hey, what are you doing? Get away from there, right? And so for me to keep walking past where I entered, to get stripped out for my visits, to get stripped out for events, to get stripped out for whatever is occurring in the visiting room that I'm a part of, I get to walk past that. That was a huge, groundbreaking moment for me, because I'm not walking to a place up here to get stripped out again. I'm not walking to a place up here to be patted down again. I'm not walking to a place where I got to go through the routine of spread them, lift them, open your mouth, all these things, all these dehumanizing things, right? I get to walk past that to a gate I was told I was not going to be allowed to go through. And I stopped at that gate, and the officer's like, what's up? I'm like, man, I just need a minute. Like, I really get a walk through here. This isn't a trick. And they're like, cover, man. We can go back. And I snatched my stuff up so fast, and I was like, no. And I walked through it. But the emotions that were running through my head were so surreal because it was like, I thought about it, I dreamt about it. I always kept the aspiration, like, I'm gonna make it out of here. But there's that small voice in your mind. It's like you're hanging onto a false hope, you know? And for it to become reality for me, I think about everybody else that stepped through this gate. What were their emotions like, you know? And so there were so many things happening in my head that it was just like, as soon as he said, we can go back, I had to block it out to move forward because it was becoming an emotional, overwhelming experience for me. And it might sound weird to some, but for those people that's actually got to leave prison after some substantial amount of time, they know what I'm talking about, right? You know what I regret not doing? I wanted to sit down and write everyone that I cared about a letter in there in the years to come, I don't know what. What's in store for them or where their journey is going to take them, but I wanted to let them know that I'm carrying them with me out here. You know, I talk about my brother Damar, all the time. I let him know, like, bro, I'm carrying You out here with me, you know what I'm saying? You're on my back, bro. Literally, I have a shirt that has his podcast on my back. So I carry him out here, around here with me, you know, and it's. It's just one of those things where I wish I would have just done one more thing to show them guys how much I appreciated their friendship over the years, you know, and that's really the only thing differently I would do. But yeah, man, if I would have been able to sit down, just write all them guys a letter to some type of encouragement, something that I know for me, like when I look back on letters when I was inside, like they were encouraging or from people that really loved and cared about me, me, it was a motivator to keep doing the right thing. And I feel like if I would have left that maybe it could have been someone else's motivator. So if you got. When you guys hear this, if you guys hear this, just know that I'm out here and you guys are on my mind. You guys know who you are. And I think about you guys all the time. I brag about you guys all the time. And just stay pushing forward because that's how life is, man. We gotta push forward to get to where we're going. And now I'm in my own place, I got my own spot, man. That's huge, you know what I'm saying? And so that was powerful for me. I got a car, got a job, like, I'm doing all the things that I wanted to do that day one with the support around me. I remember Kazi told me at one event, I went to the Taste of Africa and I was sitting in the back and he came up to me and he was like, brother, can you even see the stage? And I was like, not really. He's like, let's go up front. And I was like, you know Kazi, like, he's like, well, take your time. If you want to sit back here, I'll sit back here with you. But I want you to know you are no longer in prison. And I was like, you're right. So I went up front, man, it was nerve wracking, you know, because, like, people moving behind you, you want to look behind you and all this, like, ain't nobody doing nothing in here. But it's just a weird thing that's just still there, you know, But I feel it slowly, slowly melting away. But what I'm careful of is that I don't want the memory of my experience there to go away. Because I don't want to forget what I went through, through to be here. Because once you start forgetting what you've been through to get somewhere, you start becoming more complacent. You start becoming more loose. And then you start thinking like, oh, well, then I can just do whatever. And then you find yourself back. So I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna shed the stuff that needs to be shed, but I'm gonna keep the things that need to remind me to know that this is where you came from, this is what you worked hard for, for keep pushing forward. I always revert back to what Dave told me, man, it's a big world out there, you know, And I'm starting to really see that.
- [12:52]
B
As someone who's never been incarcerated myself, I always deeply admire the grit and determination that it takes to make it out of prison and stay out. It's not easy, folks. Reintegration into the free world has countless challenges and roadblocks. The current system just isn't designed to support returning citizens. So we hope that by listening to Anthony's story, Vic's story, and other stories that we told on the podcast, your views and perspectives have started to shift on the justice impacted community. So if you get an opportunity to give someone who's coming home employment, housing, or a support in one of the many ways that it's desperately needed, I hope you'll give people a chance.
- [13:30]
A
We are so excited for what the future holds for our Anthony. And don't worry, we will continue to follow his journey throughout the next season of Concrete Mama. Also, we want to give a big shout out to our production assistant, Alicia Navares, who recorded and edited this bonus episode. Congratulations, Alicia, and job well done.
- [13:50]
B
We will have more bonus content for you next week. Until then, I'm Rachel Cech.
- [13:55]
A
And I'm Vic Chopra. Thank you for listening.
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C
Sam.