Donnamy Steele

I am currently sitting in my office at a law firm in Birmingham, AL, three hours away from the city I called home for so many years. I am a 23-year-old with plans for the future that are nowhere near being fulfilled, typing my thoughts onto my MacBook in hopes that someone will read them, and wishing that DoorDash fees were cheaper.

Today is kind of a rough day for me, mentally. Everything is physically going fine. I woke up early, I stopped by a cute coffee parlor that I had been wanting to try out, I dressed nice today, I didn’t make the alarm go off at work when I put the code in for the first time ever (score), and I am not overloaded at work so far (but then again, it’s only 11:13am). I spoke with my mom and my grandmother on the phone, I cleared out my work email, and I am making plans to see friends over the weekend.

George Denning stood before a jury of white men when he was sentenced to seven years of prison for manslaughter. What happened after that moment became a long and surprising tale, especially for a former slave in the south in the 1800s. His story began as a misunderstanding, which quickly turned into a fight or flight response, and prompted Denning to make a decision that would greatly impact his life and others like him.