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The Hajj Womack Case

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF HAJJ WOMACK

By SAEED AHMED

For Hajj Womack, each day is a mundane cycle of bare subsistence.

A head count at 5 a.m. is followed by breakfast at 7 a.m., lunch at noon and dinner at 5 p.m.

Being a vegetarian, Womack usually trades his meals for fruits and vegetables, and sometimes goes hungry.

"He basically survives off Snickers bars," said sister Mandisa Womack, a Sophomore Early Childhood Education major at Clark Atlanta University.

In between meals, he either sleeps, reads, or watches television. There is not much scope for conversation because Womack has the cell to himself.

"He said that he used to play basketball, but it almost always leads to arguments," Womack's sister said. "So he's given that up, because he wants to stay away from trouble."

Womack is allowed 20-minute phone calls every day, and three visitors a week for 15 minutes each. The visitors usually include his sister, his girlfriend and Dr. Umoja, a History professor at Clark-Atlanta who was one of Womack's mentor.

"His main complaint is not enough reading material," Mantissa Womack said. "He's applied for a library membership, but the resources are very limited."

Mrs. Franchine Womack-Stuart, who talks to her son every week, said he was "very strong, very positive."

"This will change the course of his life," she said. "Hajj indicated to me that after he finishes his commitment to the University of Michigan, he is going into law."

"He said that if this can happen to him, anyone can be picked up from a college campus and put into prison," she added.

And when it does, he said he wants to be there, standing up and defending them."

Those wishing to send cards or letters or donate to the Defense Fund are asked to contact the Morehouse Department of History at (404) 215-2620.