“I Was Preordained to Be a Gang Member” — Paroled on His First Try After 28 Years – Curtis Jackson Interview [Video]

Watch the replay of our conversation with Curtis J. Jackson, who spent 28 years in California prisons after going in at 19. Curtis tells David Fowler why, growing up in South Central Los Angeles, he felt “preordained to be a gang member,” the day he walked away from his gang while still inside, and why his first parole hearing felt like “just a conversation.”

Four months home, Curtis is a full-time college student starting an electrician apprenticeship, and he is already mentoring the young men coming home behind him.

About Our Guest: Curtis J. Jackson

In Curtis’s words:

My name is Curtis J. Jackson, and my life is a story of transformation, redemption, and purpose. After spending 28 years incarcerated in California, I made a commitment to use my experiences not as a definition of who I was, but as a foundation for who I could become. During that journey, I earned my GED, participated in extensive rehabilitation programming, developed skilled-trade experience, and learned the value of accountability, responsibility, and service.

Today, I am a full-time college student, and I’m starting my apprenticeship as an electrician. I prioritize helping others, especially young people and individuals returning home from incarceration, recognize that their circumstances and past mistakes do not have to determine their future.

My greatest purpose is rooted in my family and in the belief that redemption is demonstrated through action. I want my children and community to see that real change is possible when we take responsibility, develop our abilities, and use our experiences to help others. Through youth mentorship, rehabilitation, workforce development, and entrepreneurship, I am working to create pathways toward opportunity and positive change. I don’t hide from my past; I use it as a source of inspiration and motivation.

My goal is to turn the lessons of my life into something that strengthens my family, empowers young people, and gives others the hope and tools to build a different future.

In This Interview:

• 🏠 Growing up in South Central LA — foster care at five, a father he describes as one of the founders of LA’s gangs, and why the life felt chosen for him.
• ⚖️ Owning the harm — the drug deal that cost a man his life, and Curtis’s accountability for it.
• 🔒 Prison culture — why every slight becomes a test of manhood, and a five-month prison war over a $2 sausage.
• 🔄 The day he changed, cold turkey — breaking down after a resentencing hearing, then telling about 32 members of his own gang in his building that he was just Curtis now.
• 🤝 Building something good inside — mentoring, banquets, walkathons, and winning over skeptical staff.
• 📞 A former rival’s phone call — the man he once fought, newly granted parole, called Curtis before he called his own mother.
• 🗝️ Granted parole at his first hearing — “When you really do your transformation, everything is just a conversation.”
• 🛠️ Four months home — his wife, transitional housing, starting with no credit history, and a goal of a contractor’s license by 2030.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 2:18 Growing up in South Central LA
• 4:28 “Preordained to be a gang member”
• 5:35 Selling drugs, and the harm he caused
• 8:03 Prison at 19 and its culture of violence
• 13:48 The day he changed, cold turkey
• 16:21 Giving up the gang’s protection
• 21:13 What changed behavior looks like
• 23:43 Building a positive community inside
• 27:59 A call from a former rival who made parole
• 31:25 Granted parole at his first hearing
• 34:09 Coming home to his wife and family
• 37:31 Four months home
• 40:53 Finding purpose in mentoring young men
• 43:09 Audience Q&A
• 51:05 How Troy’s change inspired his own
• 56:28 Looking ahead: a contractor’s license by 2030
• 58:30 The wife who stood by him
• 1:06:09 Closing and how to get involved

Help Curtis get his work truck. Curtis is about $7,500 short of the down payment on the truck he needs for his electrical and window-installation work. If you would like to help, contact us.

Want to do more? Volunteer with Embraced:Fully as a letter writer, in-person support, or by bringing your church or group.

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🌍 Our Mission

In partnership with others, Embraced:Fully supports incarcerated and returning citizens in their moral and spiritual journey toward successful reentry. Through Angel Team members, we help connect individuals with community, faith, housing, employment, transportation, friendship, and mentorship—building bridges of hope and belonging.