Sean Wilson’s family had a dream for him, but it was a “dream deferred” he said, quoting the famous Langston Hughes poem. After being incarcerated for 17 years, Wilson recently was hired as ACLU of Wisconsin’s Smart Justice statewide organizer, an advocate for criminal justice reform. Wilson’s family predicted that he was going to do great things, and Wilson is finally on his way to fulfilling that prediction. “I’m proud that I’m able to make that promise, their vision, come to fruition,” he said. With his family’s faith in him at the forefront of his mind, Wilson, 35, said he worked hard to better himself while in prison. “Even while I was in prison, I was planning and preparing as if I was already out,” Wilson said.
As a self-proclaimed autodidact — a self-taught person, Wilson finished his high school education. While attending a Bible study class, he met his mentor and best friend, Rudy Bankston, who introduced him to a side of African-American history he was not taught in public school. In large part due to Bankston, Wilson said he read voraciously about black civil rights and power. Invigorated “You have to first come into the knowledge of yourself,” he said. “And when you come into the knowledge of yourself, you come into the knowledge of your responsibilities to your family, your community, your state, your country and your world as a whole.” Wilson also reflected on his childhood in 53206. He said he did not realize it at the time, but he experienced trauma while growing up and witnessing drug dealing, gun violence and prostitution.>>> by his studies, Wilson said he realized his calling as an activist.
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