Step into the captivating world of storytelling as we get to know Charles Ray Smith, an author whose words in Breaking the Chains of Bondage have engaged readers around the globe. In this exclusive feature, we delve into the inspirations, passions, and creative processes that breathe life into their unforgettable books and projects. Whether you're a long-time fan or discovering their work for the first time, this is your chance to uncover the magic behind the pen and get a glimpse into the mind of one of Austin Macauley's compelling authors.

Your memoir, Breaking the Chains of Bondage, captures 32 years of your life in prison. At what point did you decide you wanted to share your story and write this book?

My decision to write my memoir was when the Board of Pardons and Paroles decided not to reverse my appeal of two life sentences. I sensed that I was “buried alive in hell!”  So I decided to tell my story of growing up Black in the South, that strips bare the economic injustices inherent in our society, while continuing to be a powerful literary testimony to my own strength and capacity to overcome. *Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter very much to continue fighting for justice, freedom and equality.

This book is dynamic and reads like a full picture of your life in prison. Character references, love letters, and your religion are just a few of the things that make up your story. What did your writing process look like in terms of how you shaped this narrative? 

In telling my story, my objective was to keep the light shining on every aspect of Mass Incarceration and the effect it has on our culture as I struggled to maintain my faith, dignity and my humanity for justice….under the searing heat of hatred, anger and death!

Has your time spent in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison changed your view on justice?

YES!  Being illegally convicted, damned, beaten, bludgeoned, tortured and condemned to a living death in confinement for 32+ years, yes! In that confinement, I received and saw the true face of American terrorism-up close.  For 32 years, I experienced the searing heat of White hatred.

If your book had the power to make one change in the Texas prison system today, what would you want that to be?

After serving 32 years on two life sentences, wrongfully convicted, fighting against the worst kind of brutalities and humiliations, I think it is past time for prisons to become obsolete.

What would you like people to walk away with after they’ve read your book?

Thank you for that question.  I think that injustice for African Americans is equally an injustice for so many other people, because they have been taught to accept and embrace a way that is so unholy until it does injustice to them.  So I hope, after reading my memoir, people will develop a much broader perspective.  So when people ask if I  I believe that African Americans will ever receive justice in America…I think justice is an ongoing process.  I think justice is evolving, not stagnant.  I hope that after reading Breaking the Chains of Bondage, people will understand that Black people in America have a history of being discriminated against based on skin color, because a construct was constructed based on skin color.  I think, in the end, the ability to achieve justice eludes them more than others who are the victims of injustice.  I believe we all are victims of politics.  When I say politics, I think this is especially true for Amerikka.  The politics of Amerikka says Amerikka is a Democracy.  Democracy for who??  It’s a democracy for those who are rich….Trump!  Corporate democracy.  There is no true democracy.  Even the middle class, who may have tasted a little democracy, has been eroded.  Democracy gives the people power (it comes from the Greek word for power), but people don’t have power.  When people don’t have power, they don’t have justice either. They have a legal right to vote for politicians.  Will they achieve justice under the Trump Administration?  Racism and discrimination are learned behaviours.  I’m a believer in cause and effect and anything that is learned can be unlearned.

Now that you have been released and are enjoying life with your wife, Esther, do you think you’ll write another memoir as a follow up to this one that shows how you’ve adjusted to life after prison?

I am writing at the present time my sequel, “A Taste of Freedom, Love and Success After Bondage”.  My dreams awaken me every night to get up and write! Seriously!  I believe writing and speaking can cause a shift in the dynamics of our culture in America as demonstrated by Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech.  He, too, had a dream that one day we all will receive justice, equality and freedom in America.

Who is Charles Ray Smith?

I am a man who is a progressive advocate for civil rights as well as human rights, like Bernie Sanders.  Hopefully equality, freedom and justice for all will ring during these times of the Trump Administration.