Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter’s life was far from what one would consider being perfect. Having a schizophrenic mother, Mary was forced to grow up way too fast. Following a stunt that involved stealing – and wrecking – a car at the age of eleven, Mary chose to become a ward of the state over going back home due to the instability of her mother’s mental health. Having been shuffled between institutions for most of her youth, she describes the orphanage as her introduction into the carceral system. “Prison to Prison Pipeline” follows Mary/s story from living in an orphanage to actual prison where she gave birth to her son, and her development after her prison release which included the birth of her rapper persona, Isis Tha Savior.

Voluntarily choosing to put herself into the state system, Mary thought she would feel a sense of safety living away from her mother’s schizophrenia. However, when she arrived at the Southern Home for Destitute Children, she was in for a shock. Sadly, her experience is not singular, as man young kids are forced to leave their unsafe living situations only to be placed in institutions that hinder their growth as individuals. Mary discusses the lack of opportunities for kids in the system and her continuous fight to make something of herself despite all the obstacles that she was faced with. Inevitably losing her fight to the system that failed her, Mary turned to a life of illegal activities and ultimately landed herself in prison.

It was wild reading about the conditions that Mary had to give birth under. She talks about being arrested on the day that she is officially nine months pregnant and the lack of accommodations made for her in the prison system. I think that we as a society have been conditioned to serve cis white men for the longest time and it is extremely apparent when hearing Mary’s story. It truly feels like a man’s world. When she went into labor, Mary was handcuffed to the bed and forced into having an emergency C-section due to the high levels of stress.

After her release from prison, Mary decided it was time to clean up her act to provide a better life for her son – different from the one she lived. She had a profound love for music – rapping in particular – and decided to try her chances as being a rapper. Living as a black individual is a challenge in and of itself, but even more so to be a black female – especially being a black female trying to permeate the male-dominated hip-hop industry. Not only did she have to prove that she had talent that measured up to the males in the industry, but she had to fight harder to prove that her struggles and life stories were worth listening to. Mary’s music is a reflection of her life and she is a prime example of a survivor of a system that is rigged to fail women of color.