From the Gridiron to Life
07-01-2022
A series of conversations on healing and justice offered students at Cook County Jail ways to harness anger for their good.
Jason Burns has coined the term “mettle mind” to describe his philosophy of life. It’s a mindset, a way of thinking about life’s challenges, that the former Cincinnati Bengals running back needed to compete in the NFL and now uses to build a health and fitness business.
Burns was one of several speakers who shared life lessons as part of McCormick’s Seminary in Jail program. A pilot program of the Solidarity Building Initiative (SBI), it seeks to mitigate the material, social and political barriers experienced by people and communities impacted by the criminal legal system.
Ten students detained at Cook County Jail took part in SBI’s virtual Justice and Healing Conversation Series that used Love and Rage: The Path to Liberation Through Anger by Lama Rod Owens, to understand how anger can be harnessed and used as a force for liberation.
“I once heard the author and social activist bell hooks point out that too often the only places available for Black men to reflect on their lives are carceral spaces,” says Jia Johnson, SBI director. “That’s a tragic statement, but if that’s the case, we want to use our carceral classroom at the Cook County Jail to offer resources that can support incarcerated students in their healing work.”
SBI collaborated with the Harvard Radcliffe Institute to launch the pilot series as part of the organizations’ joint efforts to spur systemic and social change. Speakers shared films and personal stories with students and offered opportunities to reflect on their present circumstance and make plans for re-entering their communities. “The goal was to build community among the students through theological education and provide them with practical resources,” says Johnson.
Over seven weeks, speakers and students discussed topics such as anger and rage, mindfulness practices and self-awareness, community building and social transformation, managing anger and self-care — all to acknowledge the transformative power of anger for individual and social good.
During his session, Burns, owner of MettleFit, a CrossFit program on Chicago’s southside, defined mettle as the ability to face demanding situations in a resourceful way. He explained the mettle mind as the ability to use the pressure against you to move forward. As a community building exercise about managing anger, Burns and the students worked together to create a workout they could use while incarcerated.
“When you’re in a difficult situation, it can be hard to stay focused on the goal,” says Burns, “but that’s exactly when you push forward and do what you need to do to get better.”
It’s a pro tip he believes applies to the gridiron and to life.
Learn more about McCormick’s Solidarity Building Initiative here.
Jia Johnson,
Solidarity Building Initiative
Jason Burns, Mettlefit