Wallace was a Black Panther prison activist and member of the Angola Three. In 2003, Brooklyn-born visual artist Jackie Sumell – then an art student in California – asked Wallace, "What kind of house does a man who has lived in a 6 foot by 9 foot cell, for over 30 years, dream of?" Their exchange resulted in a collaboration that transformed both their lives. It also produced this internationally renowned exhibit, as well as a book and a documentary film.
Wallace, Albert Woodfox, and Robert King were framed, charged with murdering a prison guard. A brave judge reversed Wallace's sentence and ordered a new trial, but he died three days after his release. King got out in 2001, and though Woodfox's conviction was overturned this February, he is still being held.
Walk past the jail cell and there is a model of the house where Wallace wished to live, which he designed and executed with Sumell's help. It's lovely. Open. Views of the sky, exposed spaces; vegetable and flower gardens; green trees. And showcasing Wallace's sense of humor, it has a swimming pool with a black panther in tile at the bottom.
There are two phones attached to the cabinet displaying the model house. You can listen to Herman speaking from the prison. He explains the house, taking special pride in mentioning the guest room for his visiting friends and comrades. You will want to know how he survived in a cell so confining it was like being locked in the bathroom.
The balcony of the library has display cases containing some of his 12-year correspondence with Jackie Sumell. She wrote, visited, and worked with Wallace over the years to bring his ideas to realization.
Many of Wallace's books are on display at the library. What did he read? He was self-taught, a poor kid from New Orleans's Ninth Ward. He came to understand that socialism is humanity's attempt "to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development."
Also displayed is Wallace's hand-written list of the most important books he read, constituting a treasure that could enhance our understanding of the world...and how to change it. Unsurprisingly, we find the speeches of Malcolm X – but there is also a copy of "Woman's Evolution", the great work by pioneering feminist anthropologist Evelyn Reed. There is "Democracy and Revolution," by the late philosopher and historian George Novak. In it, Wallace learned of the impossibility of political democracy without economic democracy.
That the Brooklyn Public Library would put on this show destroys the notion that librarians are a timid lot. They took a risk in promoting a "convicted cop killer" and a Black Panther no less – like Mumia. In doing so they distinguished themselves by taking on the racists, the promoters, and the apologists for mass incarceration.
The show educates people, through accompanying library programs, about the 80,000 prisoners – including children – held in solitary confinement today in America's prisons. The confinement of 2.3 million people has put the U.S. in the lead throughout the world: although it comprises only 6% of the world's population, the nation has managed to lock up 25% of the world's prisoners.
So please – see this show. Herman's steadfastness and spirit is contagious. It will be good for your soul. And incidentally, while you're there, check out a book or two.
Michael Steven Smith is a New York City attorney and author. He is a co-host of the WBAI radio show "Law and Disorder" and the co-editor of "Imagine: Living in a Socialist USA."