Atlantic City Weekly

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ATLANTIC CITY — Whenever I’ve heard Marte speak — and he’s all over the place speaking these days — I’ve heard him mention how he’s celebrating being back home for more than one year, because most young men who get out of prison end up back in there within one year.

I’ve also seen him numerous times humbling himself before the Atlantic City City Council and the CRDA as he practically begged for steady employment while continuing to develop his REPENT (Recidivism Prevention thru Entrepreneurial Training) program. I finally caught up with him at his modest home in Atlantic City to find out more about this curious situation. 

Marte, tell me about your childhood. 

Well, I was born and raised in Ohio, didn’t meet my father until I was grown, hard times forced me and my mom to move in with my aunt who lived in the Washington, D. C. area where I got jacked for my Spider Man wallet the first week I was there [he laughs, then saddens]! There was lots of poverty, living in projects, that sort of thing until Mom married this FBI dude, then we lived in the Maryland suburbs. When their marriage turned sour and was heading towards a divorce, Mom started using drugs and I started selling and using. I wanted things like the other kids, you know?

Yeah, I understand. There’s a lot of affluence in the suburbs outside of D.C. So, what about school? Did you finish?

Oh, I was real smart, you know, but I had some behavior problems. This one male teacher in the 6th grade took me under his wing. That was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I got skipped to the 8th grade, but eventually, I got kicked out of all Prince George’s County high schools for fighting or selling drugs. Mom had moved to Los Angeles, so I went out there on the run from the police, but I ended up joining a gang and hustling again. None of this was what I aspired to do so after a while, I got fed up with the whole L.A. gang culture, got out, checked into a drug rehab center and then, I started going to L. A. Community College.

Really? What did you major in? I mean, what were you thinking of becoming at that time?

I had no idea what to major in. And I sure didn’t know what I wanted to be. I just knew I was sick of that thug life and if things didn’t change, I just knew, I mean I really knew, I was going to die. See, cause my mom had me so young, I had the wrong ideas about being a man. As a teenage girl, my mom revered gangsters, you know, tough guys, like teen girls do. That’s what I thought was being a man so I gravitated towards that. Subconsciously, I think I thought that would make my mom happy, proud.  I see the same thing happening to a lot of these boys today.  They mistake fear for respect.  Intimidation seems like the only way they can get people to respect them.    

So, tell me how you ended up in New Jersey and then, Atlantic City.

Well, I was extradicted to Camden because of a robbery charge. That’s where I met my wife and started living a legitimate life, you know. I was taking entrepreneur classes and we had this little store.  My wife says I became depressed, because I didn’t know how to be an adult.

What did she mean by that?

It was like I had missed some stages of normal development, you know. I had never lived a legit life.  I didn’t know how to keep a bank account, a checkbook, pay regular bills, utilities, taxes and stuff.  My wife was pregnant and I started stressing over everything. I didn’t know how to be a grown man and this was really affecting my self-esteem so I turned to the old comfortable, immature habits, partying, women and drugs.

You felt like your manhood was threatened?

Kind of, more like I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to take care of my family, like at any moment, I’d lose everything, like I wouldn’t be able to be responsible.

But you were being responsible, right?

Yeah, but I was so afraid I would lose everything at any moment. I lost faith in God and put faith in money and that’s a shaky foundation, you know? When I started hanging out with different women and using drugs again, it was like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I ended up leading my family down the road to drugs and crime and I was the head of the household!  I was supposed to be responsible!  I really relapsed into those old behaviors when I started coming down here to A.C. to escape, to party.

That’s how this became your hometown?

Well, yeah, you could say that.  Really, when I was in prison, I met a lot of brothers from here and I knew there were a lot of young men here like me. When I got out, I wanted to help them not go down the same path.

Is that what you’re doing now? Part of why I wanted to interview you was because I bought and read one of your books, Fruition. I didn’t know what palliative care was until I started reading.