All posts by Mark L Baynard, Author

Mark L Baynard is an author, Book Publisher, youth advocate, and a true success story. He overcame a past of crime, drugs, and prison by now making a difference in his community. Marks was raised in a Housing Project in Wilmington, Delaware, along with his siblings, by his single Mother. He also visited his dad and other siblings in Alabama each year. His mother was a very hard worker who worked two low-paying jobs to raise her five children. His mother raised him to be respectful to others. During his teenage years, Mark began searching for meaning in his life. Having low self-esteem, he started experimenting with marijuana, alcohol and other drugs. This was just the beginning of more problems to come. Mark eventually started selling drugs and living the lifestyle that goes along with it. Due to the choices that he made, Mark ended up going to prison for drugs. Mark was released from prison after serving a two-year sentence. He returned to selling drugs and making unwise choices. Within a year, Mark was back in prison for drugs. He ended up serving thirteen years before being released. While serving time, Mark started accepting responsibility for his actions and began addressing his personal issues. Once he was released in 2004, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama with family. He eventually met a young lady whom he married. They now share a ten-year-old daughter together. Mark also has a twenty-four-year-old daughter prior to his marriage. Mark decided to further his education by enrolling in Ashford University where he earned his Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education in 2012. He then went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama in 2014. In 2015, Mark released his first book titled “100 Years: A Journey to End a Vicious Cycle.” In his book, Mark shares the true story of how his family “collectively” wasted more than one hundred years in prison. He also shares some of the many challenges that he has overcome after being released from prison. Mark encourages others to join in the journey to end the cycle of crime and prison in the community. Later that year, Mark released his second book “These Are Your Flowers.” This book highlights the importance of letting our loved ones know how much they mean to us while they are alive. Mark went on to pursue a Master's Degree in Public Administration at Troy University. He has since transferred to Auburn University at Montgomery in 2015. In August of 2016, Mark released the book “100 Years II: Truth Be Told.” In his book, Mark addresses issues such as black-on-black crime, police brutality, as well as the identity crisis of African Americans. All of Mark’s books are available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00TLXK5L6 In 2017, Mark earned a Master’s Degree in Justice and Public Safety from Auburn University at Montgomery. Mark plans to use his education accompanied with his personal experiences to help others. Mark is a living example that anything is possible. Mark founded “U Can” (Universal Community Advocacy Network) Community Organization, where he works with at-risk youth and has plans to work with adults in the future. Mark’s purpose is to make a difference in the lives of the individuals he serves. His goal is to decrease the high recidivism rate among both juvenile and adult offenders. Mark may be contacted by email at ucan.community@yahoo.com
writing prompt

One of My Favorite Moments

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Daily writing prompt
Describe one of your favorite moments.
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One of my favorite moments are actually very simplistic. Before explaining one of my favorite moments, I want to share a few things to put this in context. After being released from prison after serving more than a decade, I was motivated to make several positive changes in my life. These changes included the way I saw and thought about life, controlling my emotions and the way I responded to situations, and expanding my horizon beyond my own ideas and thoughts. One of the things that I wanted to do was to pursue a college degree. When I first went to college I was excited anxious at the same time. I was excited because I knew that I was smart and could accomplish anything that I put my mind to do. Anxious because this was uncharted territory for me and I didn’t want to fail. While in High School, I did the bare minimum and couldn’t for the bell to ring. I did just enough to barely get by.

All of that brings me to this exciting moment. One of my favorite moments was getting an “A” on my first paper, while in college. This may not mean much to you, but it meant the world to me. Though I continued to get good grades and was successful in pursuing a college degree, this moment stood out for me. I was really excited about getting a good grade. I think that this “A” represented my new successful life after prison. This also represented the positive changes that I’ve made from the old guy who really didn’t pay attenton while in high school to the new intelligent individual. I thank everyone for taking the time to read this. Have a great day everyone.

American citizens

Tariffs Will Hurt Americans

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President Trump decided that he is going to place tariffs on goods coming from Canada, Mexico, and China. Trump stated that this will make America rich and help businesses. Though this sounds good and may even seem honorable hearing it. The reality is that these tariffs will hurt Americans.

During the election, one of the main concerns was the economy (eggs, grocery, and gas prices). I remember that President Trump promised Americans that on “day one” he would address the economy and the high prices of eggs. Well, even after signing a multitude of executive orders regarding his agenda, he hadn’t sign one order to help the American citizen.

When Trump tariffs goes into effect, there will be a tax on the goods coming into America. I will explain how the American citizen pays for these taxes and not the country. These taxes will cause the country to increase the prices of the goods to cover the taxes. So business who purchase the lumber, aluminum, car parts, etc. the business will increase the cost of these products. The cost will be passed onto consumers as businesses will increase the prices at the register.

The bottom line is that Canada, Mexico, and China doesn’t actually pay these tariffs, it will be the American citizen. As Americans complain about the current prices of eggs, groceries, and gas; get ready to see higher prices across the board. These tariffs aren’t good for Americans. President Trump said that this will only hurt for a short period. The truth is that he doesn’t care because Trump nor his family will feel any of this. Think about Americans who now live paycheck to paycheck. These tariffs may be the final straw that puts some American even further behind the eight-ball. What are your thoughts about Trump’s tariffs? Share in the comments.

Author, Book Update, Break the Cycle

10th Year Book Anniversary

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I can remember it like it was yesterday. I finally finished and self-published my first book “100 Years: A Journey to End a Vicious Cycle.” I didn’t actually choose to be an Author, being an Author chose me. I say this because I realized that I needed to make significant changes in my life after serving more than a decade in prison. While in the process of making these changes, I realized that I was in the midst of a family vicious cycle. I noticed that many of the males in my family ended up in prison. I wrote down the names of my cousins and myself who’ve been in prison and added the time spent. With about 5 or 6 individuals, we quickly past 100 years in prison. This is where the title “100 Years” comes from. I knew at that moment that I had to do all that I could to break this vicious cycle. In addition to making positive changes in my own life, I then wrote the book. I poured my heart out and took responsibility for the part that I played in this story. I had to be honest with myself in this process. Though it was painful, it had to be done. My goal is now to prevent others from following in my footsteps. Mark thanks anyone who purchased, read, or supported his book in any way.

I have several ways that I plan on celebrating my 10th year Anniversary. Most of those ways are still in the developmental stages. I will start by having a Book Reading on YouTube LiveStream on Sunday. Share in the comments, if you’re interested in attending this Book Reading. I will send you a link to the Live Reading. This will be on my YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/@mark100years. I encourage you to attend this celebration. The book is available on amazon I encourage you to attend this book reading livestream and celebrate help celebrate this 10 Year Anniversary.