[The Final Call is honored to present the last article written by Brother Naba’a Muhammad he submitted June 5, the day before his passing.]
He is a man. Not a myth, not a menace. A man.
His name is Brother Larry Hoover. And for over five decades, he has lived in a caged America— unseen, unheard, and too often, unloved. But he is still a man. A husband. A father. A grandfather. A human soul. And he has suffered.
Brother Larry is approaching 75 years old, an elder now. His beard is graying. His body has weathered the storms of age, isolation, and injustice. But his mind is sharp, and his spirit remains strong. Despite being buried in solitary confinement for over 30 years, he is not broken. He has grown. He has repented. He has evolved.
We often say redemption is possible. But when a Black man seeks it—especially a man with a past—this society tries to deny it. The same America that profits from our pain resists the very idea that we can change. But Brother Larry did change. He changed decades ago. And the record shows it.
Yet through it all, Brother Larry was kept in a dungeon. Through it all, his family suffered.
His wife, his children, his grandchildren and extended family—all have endured the pain of separation, the dehumanization of watching a loved one locked away with no end in sight. No holiday dinners. No family celebrations. No embrace outside of razor wire and concrete.
But still, he remained committed to peace. To growth. To community. To faith.
And yet, Brother Larry remains behind bars.
The federal government has done its part—commuting his sentence. But the state of Illinois has not. The same state that talks about equity and inclusion can open the door to mercy. Governor JB Pritzker with the support of Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, a Black woman, has the power to act.
They have the power to end this prolonged punishment. They have the power to free him through commuting his state sentence of a couple hundred years in prison or granting a pardon.
This is not about politics. This is about principle. About humanity. About justice.
Brother Larry has served time. He has served 52 years. He has paid a price no man should have to pay—not just for his own actions, but for the projections and fears of a nation that refuses to forgive Black men who try to heal.
Brother Larry is not a perfect man. But he is a man. He is a man who has sought to rebuild what was broken, to uplift what was torn down, to mentor those who were lost. He has done what we ask of the incarcerated—to reform, to reflect, to restore.
Not just because the law says so. Not just because the sentence has outlived the crime. But because he is human. Because his family needs him. Because he has already been redeemed.
And because he is still a man.
Naba’a Muhammad, editor-in-chief of The Final Call newspaper. Find him on Facebook. Follow @RMfinalcall on X and Instagram.