There was a time before cellphones, when you could pick up a landline, dial 0, and a well-informed woman would provide assistance with any call you needed to make. For Paterson, New Jersey native Derrick Hansford, it proved quite a personal experience. He says, “I used to be able to go and hit the 0, the operator button on the phone, on a payphone or anything, and just automatically get my grandmother.” His grandmother worked as a telephone operator for the Bell Atlantic telephone company.
Like most African American grandmothers, Hansford’s was an ebullient pool of wisdom in his youth, though, having known both juvenile and adult detention, he didn’t always take heed. Yet, she is no doubt still today somewhat of an omnipotent presence, in his ear today, as he earnestly seeks to answer the call of many incarcerated persons seeking assistance.
He works as a librarian at the Norfolk City Jail. When first meeting him in the Jail’s Programs Office, I instantly knew his was a deep, rich and compelling story worthy of sharing…