‘I’m still not the man that I want to be, but I’m growing’

When Eugene Thomas moved from prison to the Columbus Transitional Center on Schatulga Road, his only possessions were a few items of clothing, books, towels and washcloths. He had $13 in an account at Telfair State Prison, which he received two weeks later in the mail.

Thomas went to prison as a youth, serving 21 years for voluntary manslaughter. So when he returned to Columbus in February of 2013, it felt like foreign territory. He longed for his two older brothers — while he was in prison, one of them had died from a massive heart attack, the other from complications related to the Gulf War.

“They never really got a chance to spend time with me as a grown man,” he said. “And so, I knew I really didn’t have anybody out here that was gonna show me what was going on, what to do, and what not to do.”

While at the transitional center, Thomas began to slowly venture out into the community, trying to put his life together piece by piece. His first priority was to find a decent paying job outside the realm of illegal activity.

Trenton Chester, the owner of Chester’s Barbecue, grew up with Thomas in the Northstar drive neighborhood. When he learned that Thomas had been released from prison, he sent word to the Columbus Transitional Center that he wanted to hire him.

“I guess knowing him and knowing his family, I knew the mistakes that he made, and I just didn’t hold that against him,” Chester said. “... I knew he wouldn’t do it again.”

Today, Thomas is a manager at the restaurant, and Chester considers him a great employee.

“He works up front and people gravitate to him,” Chester said. “He has great customer service skills, and it’s just what we needed. I’m glad to have him come on board.”

Before leaving the transitional center, Thomas saved up $2,100. He used some of the money to pay down on an apartment and purchase furniture. His girlfriend at the time showed him how to pay bills and shop for what he needed. It was all new to him, even driving.

“I had never had a car on my own,” he said. “I didn’t have a license or anything, but I would practice and I just taught myself how to drive.”

Staying Focused

Early in the morning, Thomas wind-sprints up a hill near the intersection of North Oakley and Hawaii Way in Columbus. He wears a weighted vest, military boots and wrist weights. That’s how he keeps his body in shape for boxing, which has become one of his favorite activities.

“In boxing, you have to be prepared for everything, because you might get in a ring with a guy, and he might just attack you,” he said. “You may find yourself in the fight of your life for those first three minutes. So sprinting up that hill, it prepares me for that. ... You have to come up with things that you can use as assets in preparing your mind and body for the task at hand.”

Jason Gilbert Jones, a 37-year-old paraplegic, is the owner of Game Bred Boxing Club, where Thomas spars with younger boxers. Jones said he started the gym after spending six years in prison for a cocaine trafficking charge in Lee County, Fla. He moved to Columbus to be with a brother who served in the Army.

Jones said Thomas showed up after learning about the gym at the mosque where he worships, and they became good friends.

“Him being a convict and me being a convict, we had a lot to talk about and hit it off immediately,” Jones said. “He’s got a great spirit, and usually has great energy with him. He’s 43 and spent a lot of time locked up. But if you know how to do time, it can preserve you. He’s very young at heart. ... He gives me 100 percent, so I give it right back to him.”

Jones said boxing is a great sport for young men who looking for need something constructive to do.

“I wouldn’t be a fraction of the man I am if it wasn’t for this sport,” he said. “It teaches you how to think under pressure — the rule of confidence. Confidence will take you so far, until skills are required. It shows you what you can do, and what can be done to you. It shows you your limits, and you push beyond those limits. You find out a lot about yourself.

“It’s a great channel to express that aggressive energy in a positive way,” he said. “And it’s just a positive feeling that when you’re done. ... You ain’t gonna get it out of no drugs, out of no money, out of nothing else.”

Becoming a Father

Still, as Thomas tries to adapt to life outside of prison, he faces many challenges. He recently had to stay at a homeless shelter until he could save up enough money to get back into an apartment. He also has experienced some drama in his relationships with women.

He’s now the father of a 7-month-old daughter, and he and the baby’s mother continue to fight over visitation, financial support and other issues.

The baby’s mother refused to speak on the record to the Ledger-Enquirer or be identified. She described Thomas as a good person who just has a lot of growing up to do when it comes to managing his life and handling relationships.

Thomas admits to some mistakes and says he hopes to become the father his daughter deserves.

“I love my daughter with all my heart, mind, body and soul,” he said. “I just wish at this particular time I could communicate it to her, and that she could understand.”

Reconnecting with Family

Since leaving prison, Thomas has tried to rekindle family relationships. His mother’s brother, Isham “Ike” Alexander Jr., is a retired special education teacher who worked in the Muscogee County School District for 35 years.

Alexander said Thomas has accompanied him and his wife to football games and continues to work on rebuilding his life.

“Once we reunited, I saw a young man who was mature — I would consider mild-mannered, intelligent, very understanding,” Alexander said. “He had to play catch-up because he didn’t have the time that a lot of his friends had maturing, because in prison your growth is stunted as far as socialization. He’s just doing what he wished he had done at 21 or 22 at the age of 42, 43.”

Alexander is also a percussionist who produced a YouTube video discouraging sagging pants among young men in the community. He said he and Thomas have discussed such issues from the perspective of two different generations.

“He and I, we both have an avid interest in improving the life skills and the lives of African-American men,” he said. “I just feel optimistic about him. ... Some people may feel differently, but when you’ve gone to prison for as long as he went to prison, and you come out and you seem adjusted, I feel like you have an optimistic future.”

Imparting Knowledge

As he has since his youth, Thomas continues to seek knowledge and a better understanding of what it really means to be a black man in this society. He’s also evolving as a leader and mentor among some young black men in the community.

Ryza Alkebulam, 26, is co-founder of a local organization called The People’s Party for Independence. He met Thomas when he began seeking information about history, the criminal justice system, class issues, and the political and educational systems. At the time, Alkebulam and some friends were trying to launch the organization, and Thomas was instrumental in helping them get started.

“He came in like our teacher, an elder, if you want to call it (that),” Alkebulam said. “We were going in a direction, and instead of saying, ‘Y’all going in the wrong direction, don’t do that,’ he gives it in a way like, ‘If you go down this direction, this is what’s going to happen. Is that the result that you want?’ He makes you think.”

Alkebulam said the group is currently trying to organize black neighborhoods to address socioeconomic issues such as violence in the community, “I think a lot of us over-complicate these situations,” he said. “And our organization, the People Party for Independence, we try to simplify it by simply using the members of the community to fix our own problems.”and that Thomas helps to keep the group inspired and moving forward.

Thomas squandered his youth as a gang member and drug dealer on the streets of Columbus. He killed a man and served 21 years for the crime.

Thomas says he’s trying to make up for the time he lost while squandering his youth and then being locked up for more than two decades.

“I did the best that I could in prison, and I think I’m doing the best that I could now,” he said. “I’m still not the man that I want to be, but I’m growing.”

For more on Thomas’ story, go to http://bit.ly/2dPBQq2

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 7:42 PM with the headline "‘I’m still not the man that I want to be, but I’m growing’."