Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ray Boyd. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Ray , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
my work ethic came out of my willingness and desire of wanting to be a better version of myself then when i went into the penitentiary. i never held a job in society in my life until i was 49 years where i was hired by Lewis Real Estate Services as the Brokers Assistant. prior to that, i put in over sixteen years or so in the kitchens throughout the Connecticut Department of Correction working at the low point as a row man or the high point as the lead clerk. this in and of it self develops ones work ethic due to the fact that i was required to work 365 days a year with no days of other than being sick and you were questioned on whether or not you were even sick. however, having developed this work ethic actually put me at an advantage over the individuals that have been free/home for decades but have become complacent with the way by which they have been living their lives. since my release on November 15, 2021, i have worked as a Brokers Assistant, Patient Transportation at Yale New Haven Health, Consulted with Odyssey Impact on several campaigns, Cofounded my own 501 (c)(3) Next Level Empowerment Program as well as volunteer my time to speak with at risk youth in Miami Dade County, Chicago, Ill and H.D. Woodson High School in our Nations Capital (Washington, DC).
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
prior to my release from my term of incarceration, i put out my first book titled The Model Inmate (available at freeallmysuns.com and Amazon.com) and i have two more that are ready to be put by the end of the year. so, with that being said, i am an author, Public Speaker, Juvenile Advocate and Consultant amongst other things. just fifteen months home after serving 30 years, i found myself employed by Yale University and its Law School as the Program Manager of New Visions for Public Safety. however, the work that i have been doing with returning citizens is where my heart is at because i know first hand what it means to have a true level of support upon being released. With regards to my work with The Next Level Empowerment Program i am the first to always admit, i am nothing without the people that i bring a service to on a daily basis! Yes! i have a passion for what i do but i did what i do for the people, not myself. i know that with each individual that i assist, there exist the potential that i have just been able to keep a Father/Mother in the home, i just assisted in making a community a lot safer and i just put a dent in the state of Connecticut recidivism rate ultimately saving our tax payer dollars. we are starting what we call the Lighthouse Project which is actually a warm line taylored for returning citizens to call when they are going through whatever trial and tribulation upon their release. So, to the readers who would like to assist in making the lives of the returning citizen smoother, please reach out to me and let see how we can work together for one common cause. [email protected]
if you have an interest in the work that i am doing with the Yale Law & Racial Justice Center, again reach out ot me. [email protected] The Law & Racial Justice Center has some wonderful things we have been working on for this fall around Restorative Justice Practices and Qualified Immunity and we are striving to bring the New Haven Residents, Yale staff and Student Body together to address these issues. like how we need to look to the utilization of restorative justice practices over punitive practices and how the use of qualified immunity is being abuse by those that have been entrusted to uphold the law.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
in 1992, when i was sentenced to 50 years, i entered the system a seventh grade drop out reading on a 3rd or 4th grade level. through introspection and coming to the reality that fifty-years was my reality i knew that i wanted better for myself and not only did i owe it to myself but i owed it to those who had put their lives on hold to support me. the family, and friends that i was receiving support from were actually investing in me and they wanted a return on their investment. meaning they knew that i was worthy of becoming someone better than the the 17 yr. old who committed such a crime as murder or the 20 year old that would be handed a sentence of 50 years. so, the library became my best friend and i taught myself to read and then t taught myself how to write and as the saying goes…the rest is history!
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
what book played an important role in my growth and development? it happened to be a book by Tony Martin titled Message to the People and it was about Marcus Garvey. in this book Marcus Garvey spoke about reading and what we should be spending our time reading…”you should read one book a week and in a year you would have read 52 books and in five years you would have read 260 as a posed to the man who hasn’t read one in that time.” i would go one to take this advice for several years. say if a book was 350 pages i would divide 350 (pages) by 7 (days in a week) and i knew that i would have to read 50 pages a day to complete the book by weeks end. this led to me developing a passion for reading. it created structure into my life because i no longer had time for the BS because i had to get my reading in and on timed. so, no matter how big or small the book the same premise applied.
my wife Jacqueline James-Boyd has pushed me beyond the limits and in doing so has had to witness my 19 year old self resurface at times but through it all we remain each others rock and have agreed to allow our experiences to be teaching tools to others who are making the attempt to walk in our shoes. one other person who has been extremely helpful has been my little brother; Joseph Boyd, who has lended me his knowledge and experiences of the real world in efforts of assisting me navigate it.
My Mentor/ big brother William ‘Joey’ Brown; City Councilman for Coconut Grove/Miami Dade County who never care about how i felt when i was doing wrong because his only concern was that i was doing the right things at all times. there was no excuses with him because in his minds eye (serving 50 yrs.) i had all the time in the world to be anything i wanted to be in this life and the next! Joey gave me my first book by Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and it taught me how to transmute energy for the greater good of things and not for short term gratification. he inspired me to write just one page a day and in a years time i would have a 365 page book. this had an impact on my life to the point where i have written three books.
lastly, my Mother Annie L. Boyd, who reared nine children on her own and has stood by my side as best she could given the circumstances. my mother once told me that RESPECT will get you anything you want in this world…and i have hung onto those words for life and it has gotten me this far. thanks Mom!
Contact Info:
- Website: law.yale.edu/ray-boyd
- Instagram: inoblerasunallah
- Facebook: Ray Ra’Sun Allah Boyd
Image Credits
all photos are the property of Hon. Ray V. Boyd
