Fareed is the author of "The Misconceptions that Mislead Us and the founder of a non-profit organization MN "Better ways and new ideas save lives."

Fareed Ray is a man that surely has been through his fair share of ups and downs, with the downs out numbering the ups by a lot. His mindset and several misconceptions he chose or grew up to believe caused a lot of his downfalls in life, one of which was a 21-year prison sentence. Then one day Fareed woke up with a very strong desire to right all his wrongs. He also had a strong desire to help others (especially the youth) change the wrong perceptions that 'we as black men and our youth tend to learn all too easily, whether through misguidance or lack of guidance, which starts us off on the road to many failures.

Fareed is also the founder of a non-profit organization MN ``Better ways and new ideas save lives.`` His non-profit organization started off raising money to pay for incarcerated men and women to take correspondence courses to help them make a new path for their future selves. Courses such as paralegal courses, circuit training, as well as college courses were offered. MN has since made plans to expand to also developing learning centers and after school programs for young at-risk adolescents like Fareed was, in hopes of curbing and redirecting their paths in life from wrong to right.

Once Fareed completed his paralegal course, the feeling of accomplishment sparked something in him. That started him out on his new journey in life. The rest is history! If this accomplishment could spark something in him who had already met much defeat and loss, then he knew it could save someone else. Hopefully, he thought, he could touch plenty of African American and other people once they were able to understand our truths and the source of our misguidance.

At the time Fareed Ray started writing this book, he was already incarcerated for more than seven years. He had been denied his first appeal but continued to fight. He wakes up each day doing his best to rectify his affairs and do things to make his mother, children, and wife proud of him.

Now, at the time of this printing, Fareed Ray's second appeal has been granted on the basis of his constitutional rights having been violated. He awaits a court judgement as to whether they will grant him the relief to which the laws say he's entitled. The fight continues. Not just his fight for personal justice, but also to help push his people - us - forward in the race so we don't have to keep coming in last Place!!!

``I guarantee that these words will spark something in the mind of the person that will add good change for us...`` Tupac Shakur `{`2Pac`}` (1994, Abbie Kearse Interview, MTV News)