Interview: Eldra Jackson III
As part of a series sharing stories of men involved in the All Kings community, we spoke with Eldra Jackson III (a.k.a. Vegas). Featured in the documentary, The Work, Eldra is a lead guest facilitator for All Kings, and the Co-Executive Director of Inside Circle, the non-profit organization that based in California. He talks about his life, his incarceration, and his arrival at the work.
Tell us about yourself. How did you come into "the work"? Who are your people?
Inside Circle was founded in New Folsom prison, following a deadly racial rioting 1996. A convict named Pat Nolan had the dream of bringing people together across racial and gang lines to find a way to stop the senseless violence. From that, came about circles of healing, born of deep personal introspection. I was introduced to these circles while serving 24 years of a life sentence. This work saved my life and that of countless others. Since my release in 2014, I have continued to engage in this work in both the community and inside of prison.
I consider anyone who is seeking answers and awareness around their own emotional well being to be my people, as well as anyone who wants to evolve their personal situation to living from a place of purpose.
How did you come to be involved in All Kings?
I came into relationship with All Kings through my personal relationship with Gethin Aldous. He is one of the directors of the documentary "The Work", and has participated in those intensives doing his own work. And we continue to support one another in growth.
What inspires you about All Kings specifically? Why are you invested in this work?
What I believe makes All Kings unique is the men who comprise the organization. Not merely the staff and mentors, but the men who participate at the initiate level. Anytime people gather with a genuine intention, a unique opportunity exists, and All Kings works to foster that intention.
What do you hope to offer other men in doing this work?
In giving a Ted Talk, I spoke about my personal experience with the toxic aspects of my own thinking, and aspects that I’ve seen in others. What I see going on — not just today but habitually — is a societal expectation for men to be, feel, and act in a certain way. The expectation comes from other males and females. And I see people going into a defensive mode when the phrase "toxic masculinity" comes up.
Personally, I am not attacking men or manhood. For me, the discussion is about certain aspects of masculinity that have historically been accepted as normal, and that I think we need to questions whether they are necessary. There’s a big difference between being "male" and being “a man". Personally, while I was going through puberty, I was masculine, but not man.
What I hope to offer/achieve in this work is to learn more about myself, and how I can continue evolving into a healthy man who functions with compassion and integrity and who can love openly. And if that supports others to step into that space as well, that’s great.
What’s the edge of your own growth right now?
The edge of my own healing and power right now is knowing how to, and when to, remove my ego/personality out of the equation so that SPIRIT can flow freely. Something I continue to work on within myself is being completely open and comfortable with vulnerability inside of interpersonal relationships.
