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Speaker 1: Angela yee.

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Speaker 2: I'm Angela ye. And what an honor to have my

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Speaker 2: sister Shana Mede is here with me today. How are you?

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Speaker 1: I'm good.

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Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me and during Second

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Speaker 3: Chance Month and able to lift up this issue my story.

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Speaker 1: I'm excited.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the CEO of the Clean Slate Initiative, and like

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Speaker 2: you said, it is second Chance Month and there's so

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Speaker 2: many things that we need to talk about. I mean,

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Speaker 2: let's get started with your story though, Shana, and why

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Speaker 2: you are, why you have the Clean Slate Initiative, and

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Speaker 2: why it's necessary.

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Speaker 1: You know, my story is not unique.

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Speaker 3: There are over one hundred and fourteen million Americans and

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Speaker 3: they have and of restored conviction, and that's one in

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Speaker 3: three Americans.

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Speaker 1: And I'm one of those people.

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Speaker 3: So in two thousand and four, at that time, I

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Speaker 3: was living in Florida, single mom, trying to make ends

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Speaker 3: meet on government assistant.

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Speaker 1: And I tell.

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Speaker 3: People I was that type of broke where if you

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Speaker 3: got gas in the car, your car insurance is not

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Speaker 3: up to date, right, or either you got insurance but

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Speaker 3: you don't got no gas.

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Speaker 2: Make some choices.

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Speaker 3: You gotta make some choices. And I had to go

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Speaker 3: to the store at that time. Back in the day,

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Speaker 3: we used to write checks just before we had apple

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Speaker 3: pan and stuff, and we write a check over that

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Speaker 3: mount and so I went to get groceries for the

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Speaker 3: kids and enough money so I get some gas and

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Speaker 3: car and the check was eighty seven dollars and twenty

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Speaker 3: six cents.

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Speaker 1: That check had bounced.

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Speaker 3: You know, I was young, not really understanding financial literacy,

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Speaker 3: and also like really believe in God that the check

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Speaker 3: wouldn't get into their account right until you'd.

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Speaker 2: Be like, let me get this money in and then

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Speaker 2: it'll cover this. But I understand what you're saying, right,

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Speaker 2: And also you're not thinking that's a crime.

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Speaker 3: Right, or I'm just thinking I'm trying to like juggle,

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Speaker 3: Like if I buy the groceries today on Wednesday, my

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Speaker 3: direct deposit to be there hopefully before the check get there.

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Speaker 3: And the check got returned. It basically met the bank

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Speaker 3: with no money in it. And two months later, girl,

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Speaker 3: the cops is knocking at the door. The kids are like, Mommy,

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Speaker 3: the cops are at the door. And I've never been

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Speaker 3: in trouble, never had any engagement with the police. I'm like,

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Speaker 3: they must be at the wrong house or whatever. Answer

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Speaker 3: the door and then like she and we have a

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Speaker 3: warrant for your arrest for a worthless check for eighty

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Speaker 3: seven dollars and twenty six cents eighty seven dollars and

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Speaker 3: twenty six cents that I had wrote to the grocery store.

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Speaker 3: And that day, like I was shocked, And because that's wild,

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Speaker 3: because that's such a small, like in consideration of what

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Speaker 3: you would consider to be a reason to actually get

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Speaker 3: arrested and go to jail. That doesn't feel like an

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Speaker 3: amount like that feels like something that's like, look, you're

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Speaker 3: in trouble, you need to pay this. Like maybe that's

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Speaker 3: a notification, Maybe that's some type of like we send

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Speaker 3: you something. You gotta pay this or you're gonna have

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Speaker 3: to pay these additional penalties and fees. I believe if

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Speaker 3: if my name was not Sheena when that paper went

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Speaker 3: to the district's attorney's office, they would not have signed

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Speaker 3: it to say, go issue and a warrant. And this

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Speaker 3: is Florida. To be clear, this is in Florida. Okay,

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Speaker 3: well all things go to hell.

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Speaker 1: Yes, in Florida. But it's hope there to be clear,

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Speaker 1: to get clear.

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Speaker 3: And yeah, so I you know, I did a TED

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Speaker 3: talk last year, and I before I used to tell

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Speaker 3: my story, I used to tell the story like you know,

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Speaker 3: it was under one hundred dollars. And before I did

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Speaker 3: the TED talk, they made you fact check everything. So

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Speaker 3: I had to go back and pull up the paperwork,

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Speaker 3: and when I saw them mount it just got me

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Speaker 3: angry again.

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Speaker 1: I got I got upset.

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Speaker 3: I got emotional because I'm thinking about what other women

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Speaker 3: or men like got locked up for something like this.

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Speaker 3: And I read that it said, in good faith, we're

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Speaker 3: issuing this warrant for eighty seven dollars and twenty six cents.

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Speaker 1: And then recently I went back to go pick up.

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Speaker 3: The arrest report online and it saw that I had

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Speaker 3: a five hundred dollar bond. Because you know, I try

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Speaker 3: to like put that out in my mind and didn't

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Speaker 3: realize it was a barrier.

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Speaker 1: Really.

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Speaker 3: Back then, I was like, let me pay these people

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Speaker 3: their money back, let me get done. Have the borrow

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Speaker 3: money to pay back the check and the fees for

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Speaker 3: getting locked up.

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Speaker 2: He's like, I already didn't have the eighty seven dollars

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Speaker 2: and twenty so.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, said, I got paid.

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Speaker 3: But since y'all think I'm read, let me go get

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Speaker 3: some more money to pay off these fees and get

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Speaker 3: bonded out, and I thought it was over. But it

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Speaker 3: wasn't until I started to try to enroll in college

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Speaker 3: to better myself. You know that I was met with

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Speaker 3: the application accent have you ever been arrested or convicted?

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Speaker 3: And then I remembered way I got this thing, And

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Speaker 3: then I had to go pull up the paperwork or

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Speaker 3: whether I'm trying to rent a house or home and

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Speaker 3: get rejected, which I have even within the last six years.

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Speaker 3: Got rejected with all the things that I've done for

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Speaker 3: the community or my husband have done, or even jobs.

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Speaker 3: And so the true sentence usually don't start for people

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Speaker 3: who have an arrested conviction until after they served their

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Speaker 3: time or paid their debt.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what makes it so difficult to even like, Look,

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Speaker 2: I got my real my real estate license. Recently one

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Speaker 2: of my friends got his too, and he has a record,

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Speaker 2: and so now you have to get permission and get

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Speaker 2: a letter from this person and that person, get like

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Speaker 2: and have these recommendations. It makes it a lot more

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Speaker 2: difficult to be able to even get licenses certified in

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Speaker 2: certain things too.

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Speaker 3: And we call that collecteral consequences, and there are over

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Speaker 3: forty four thousand of those for people who have barriers

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Speaker 3: to get what we call occupational licenses to be a relator,

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Speaker 3: to even do cosmetology, to barber. Now, we all know

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Speaker 3: some brothers on the block or sisters that been maybe incarcerated,

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Speaker 3: and they picked up their their trade while they was

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Speaker 3: locked up to do here barburing. They come home, try

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Speaker 3: to make better of themselves, get a business, and then

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Speaker 3: they's still locked out. And I think that's the narrative

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Speaker 3: that folks don't understand, Like we have family members and

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Speaker 3: low ones who get hit up by the system, and

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Speaker 3: we're like, we're telling them to come home, get you

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Speaker 3: a job, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, go to school.

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Speaker 2: But then they make it so hard to be able,

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Speaker 2: but it make it so hard for them to do it.

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Speaker 2: They when you ended up, when they came to your house,

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Speaker 2: it weren't for your arrest. Did they take you right then?

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Speaker 2: Or oh what happened because you had the kids in

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Speaker 2: the house.

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Speaker 1: Oh listen, I was so green. I was real. I

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Speaker 1: was you would have thought I called like a case case.

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Speaker 1: I was crying. I was like, can y'all meet me?

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Speaker 3: Down the street and like and then put me in

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Speaker 3: a car. They was like no, Like the one cop

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Speaker 3: was trying to have compassion. The other cop was probably frustrated,

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Speaker 3: Like they probably was just frustrated, like why the hell

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Speaker 3: were we.

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Speaker 1: Even out here picking this woman up.

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Speaker 3: I didn't know all that then, and I always say

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Speaker 3: thank God for the nosy neighbor to always be like

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Speaker 3: looking out. It was this lady who was looking at

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Speaker 3: her back door, and you know, she had house full

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Speaker 3: of like kids, and she came over and got my

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Speaker 3: kids for me, because my.

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Speaker 2: Goodness, because what would have happened if the kids are

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Speaker 2: in the house they're taking you and they're young because

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Speaker 2: you were young too.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and all my kids. Again, I was a young mom.

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Speaker 3: You know, I was a teenage mom. And this is

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Speaker 3: in my like mid twenties. So I had four kids.

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Speaker 3: Now I was the kids were like twenty. I was

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Speaker 3: twenty something years old, had four children, all under the

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Speaker 3: age of like nine, right or eight? Yea, And yeah,

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Speaker 3: she came and got the kids and then had to

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Speaker 3: call my mom. And now, when I think back, five

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Speaker 3: hundred dollars is not a small amount, right, You're definitely not.

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Speaker 3: And you gotta call somebody at jail. And my mom

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Speaker 3: used to always tell me, if you ever get locked up,

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Speaker 3: don't call me. That's the thing, you know, we hear

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Speaker 3: family say. But this wasn't with it such. She came

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Speaker 3: and got me, you know, so I had to call

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Speaker 3: my family to come get me. But I think about

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Speaker 3: even now today, like how many women and men are

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Speaker 3: still behind bars because they don't have the money to

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Speaker 3: come somebody come get them out, or support or what

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Speaker 3: happened with their children.

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Speaker 2: So I was fortunate, you know, I'm glad you up

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Speaker 2: because Bill reform has been a huge topic and we

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Speaker 2: see it twisted from all different narratives, right because that

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Speaker 2: make it seem like these dangerous criminals are back on

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Speaker 2: the street. But then sometimes it's something that is first

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Speaker 2: of all, you know, people are sitting there they haven't

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Speaker 2: even gotten before a judge yet, and they don't have

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Speaker 2: the money to get out, and they sit there for

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Speaker 2: like long periods of time where anything could happen. You know,

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Speaker 2: we all saw the Khalif Broudest story and what happened

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Speaker 2: with him. But when you think about Bill reform and

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Speaker 2: how that does benefit some people, because it's not like

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Speaker 2: if you murdered somebody you're going to get out with

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Speaker 2: no bill. That's not what that's for. That's for something

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Speaker 2: like what happened with you.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, there are many other cases where you know, I'm thinking,

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Speaker 3: you know, can somebody call my employer to let them know,

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Speaker 3: you know, if I had to stay the night, Like,

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Speaker 3: who's making that call? There are so many people who

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Speaker 3: are losing jobs, opportunities to children, and the system is

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Speaker 3: just swallow them up.

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Speaker 1: And so these are the things that.

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Speaker 3: We're trying to lift up in Second Chance Month that

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Speaker 3: you know, we have to like unravel a lot of

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Speaker 3: these issues that came from mass incarceration.

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Speaker 2: All right, So then after that, tell me what happened. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: you know, I just want to hear like some of

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Speaker 2: the things that happened. I'm sure that's horrifying for the

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Speaker 2: kids to see too.

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Speaker 1: You know.

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Speaker 3: I it's funny because I didn't really start really talking

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Speaker 3: about the story until recently, until I started leading Clean Slate,

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Speaker 3: and then when I did my Ted talk, I really

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Speaker 3: started leading with that story. I think that I didn't

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Speaker 3: really understand how my record was holding me back. For

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Speaker 3: a minute, I was just thought this just was the

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Speaker 3: way things was because I was young black woman, I'm

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Speaker 3: a mom. I'm just like, okay, the cars ain't decked

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Speaker 3: up for me. But it wasn't ntil late in life

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Speaker 3: that I realized, wait a minute, it is my record

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Speaker 3: that is holding me back, especially when I start putt application.

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Speaker 3: So after that, you know, moving on fast forward. Now

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Speaker 3: I'm trying to roll in college. I got married to

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Speaker 3: my love of my life, Desmond Mead, in twenty twelve,

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Speaker 3: and when I met him, Desmond shared his story that

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Speaker 3: he was formally incarcerated and he was looking to restore

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Speaker 3: voting rights and he had this big dream that you know,

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Speaker 3: he'll be able to vote one day and be able

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Speaker 3: to like get one point four other million people in

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Speaker 3: Florida to write to vote. And that's when I really

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Speaker 3: start understanding like what this issue was, like the barriers

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Speaker 3: that people had, because we would go out there to

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Speaker 3: try to get folks who were forming in cars, rated,

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Speaker 3: excited about voting, and the it was like, I can't

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Speaker 3: get a job. Like I hear that that's cool, but

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Speaker 3: I can't if I can't feed my family. If I

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Speaker 3: can't if I have nowhere to live, how's well, I'm

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Speaker 3: gonna help me. So we had to do a lot

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Speaker 3: of education, and matter of fact, I think even cover

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Speaker 3: that story in Florida during election times, you know, Florida,

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Speaker 3: because that was definitely on you know, when people were voting,

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Speaker 3: that was on the ballot, yes, to make sure that

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Speaker 3: they would restore voting rights.

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Speaker 2: And that was a bipartisan effort. If I'm not mistaken,

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Speaker 2: it was.

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Speaker 1: Yes. So I took a place.

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Speaker 3: I took a piece out a dozen playbook, okay, and

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Speaker 3: took the piece of being like people over politics, like bipartisanship,

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Speaker 3: like it's about people, it's not about it's not about politics.

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Speaker 3: It's not about Democrats, Republicans. And when you got one

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Speaker 3: to three people, like over one hundred and fourteen million people,

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Speaker 3: that's hitting close to home. And I don't care what

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Speaker 3: your political status is. And so yeah, so took a

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Speaker 3: piece out of his book. But during that time, you know,

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Speaker 3: just a little bit more about my story. When so

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Speaker 3: Desmond's like running his campaign twenty sixteen, I decided to

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Speaker 3: run for office.

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Speaker 1: You know, ran for office. It wasn't successful.

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Speaker 3: I realized now that guy had a bigger a something

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Speaker 3: bigger for me and just.

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Speaker 2: For people listening. A lot of times when people run

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Speaker 2: for office and they're in position now they didn't win

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Speaker 2: initially and whatever offices they were running for, because that

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Speaker 2: does happen all the time, and you learn a lot

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Speaker 2: from that because you know, you end up doing other

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Speaker 2: things or getting into another office of running again and

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Speaker 2: winning just like our president did too, by the way, Okay,

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Speaker 2: but go ahead, yeah.

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Speaker 3: And I mean I encourage specially women to run for office,

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Speaker 3: like you know that. Yeah, So like go run, like

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Speaker 3: be that spoke person. And the reason why I ran

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Speaker 3: is like I'm tired of begging people to do the

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Speaker 3: things they need to do.

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Speaker 2: And at a local level, like I don't want to vote,

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Speaker 2: I don't want to be involved. I don't like politics. Well,

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Speaker 2: if there's things that you feel like need to be changed,

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Speaker 2: then maybe you need to run for office, yes, and

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Speaker 2: so that you really care and that you really it

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Speaker 2: instead of just tweeting about it.

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Speaker 1: Right, And I tell people it's not about politics.

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Speaker 3: I was sitting with a sister who was doing my hair,

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Speaker 3: and she was like, you know, I did vote before,

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Speaker 3: but I don't know what was happening. And the way

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Speaker 3: I break it down to people when I was running

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Speaker 3: for office, I was going to the young moms. I

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Speaker 3: was like, you like that, wigcheck. I was like that

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Speaker 3: wigcheck helping you write. I was like, do you know

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Speaker 3: that the federal government puts this in a budget and

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Speaker 3: then the state has a say in that. Like so

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Speaker 3: we have to educate people around issues and not politicians.

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Speaker 3: And I think that's where people get voted apathy around

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Speaker 3: because it's like it's always caught up about the candidate,

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Speaker 3: but it's the issue. And we saw that with Amendment four.

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Speaker 3: We had over five million people come out to vote

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Speaker 3: yes on four because they believed in second chances, they

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Speaker 3: believed in redemption.

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Speaker 1: It was an issue that they could relate with.

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Speaker 2: I remember when that was on the ballot too in Florida,

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Speaker 2: because you know, we look at Florida like, man, they

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Speaker 2: rolling back. You know, a lot of rights there. You

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Speaker 2: can't read certain books in the school. They're banning this,

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Speaker 2: they're bannon that. So that was an issue that I

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Speaker 2: was like, is this really going to pass? Because I

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Speaker 2: was watching that to see and it was amazing. I

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Speaker 2: remember how exciting it was for people when this act

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Speaker 2: passed across the country.

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Speaker 3: Everybody felt like they was a part of it because

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Speaker 3: people from all across the country was watching it and

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Speaker 3: because of the work that Floyda Rice Restoration Doesn't Meet

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Speaker 3: has done that I was a part of. They got

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Speaker 3: nominated for Nobel Peace Prize last year and so it's

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Speaker 3: been beautiful that now that people have the right to vote,

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Speaker 3: but now we are seeing folks who are forming incarcerated,

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Speaker 3: who are directly impacted, really stepping up understanding the power

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Speaker 3: that they have because they're a big voting block. They're

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Speaker 3: a big block in our community. And so yeah, so

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Speaker 3: I started to do the work there with Desmond. He

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Speaker 3: asked me to put on a women's retreat for forming

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Speaker 3: incarcerated women to get them active in the community. And

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Speaker 3: at that time, I was like, you can't ask people

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Speaker 3: to transform the community when they got to go through

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Speaker 3: personal transformation.

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Speaker 1: And so we did like this women's retreat.

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Speaker 3: And I got to learn a lot about what other

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Speaker 3: directly impacted women went through, like that process, or what

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Speaker 3: they were going through before they became incarcerated, which a

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Speaker 3: lot of them were also victims of crime and stuff

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Speaker 3: like that, and that really put the bug in me.

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Speaker 3: Since then and working on that campaign, and then in

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Speaker 3: twenty twenty year, I was approach around clean slate after

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Speaker 3: we passed them and four and I knew that Desmond

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Speaker 3: had a blueprint around working across political hours and really

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Speaker 3: leading with your story, and it really helped me. Like

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Speaker 3: it was tough talking about my story because you asked

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Speaker 3: about where my kids were at with that. I never

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Speaker 3: had a conversation with my kids right about that. And

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Speaker 3: I think just even in black culture and families, we

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Speaker 3: don't talk about poking and raiway, when they get locked up,

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Speaker 3: we just like they went away.

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Speaker 1: We don't visit, we don't send the letters.

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Speaker 2: And it also impacts how you feel about the cops

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Speaker 2: because imagine they're watching this happen their mom, and they're young,

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Speaker 2: like you said, under nine years old, and they see

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Speaker 2: this happen. Now, what do I think about police when

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Speaker 2: I see it?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, because that was their first interaction with the police,

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Speaker 3: that they're taking my mom away. And so my kids

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Speaker 3: are older now, so we really never talked about that moment.

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Speaker 3: I think there's been a lot of great things that

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Speaker 3: we've been able to do to kind of suppress some

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Speaker 3: of that, or maybe it was they did understand, but.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, now I want to talk about legislation and how

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Speaker 2: people can actually make a difference because sometimes we can

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Speaker 2: talk about what's happening, but also knowing that you can

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Speaker 2: actually do something about it. Because people feel helpless. You

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Speaker 2: might feel like, all right, I just can't get any work.

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Speaker 2: I can't get this to happen, I can't get housing,

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Speaker 2: I can't get anything. What can I do? You know,

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Speaker 2: and so I want to talk about what you've been

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Speaker 2: doing and how you've been able to actually make change

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Speaker 2: when it comes to legislation.

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Speaker 1: Well, what I will tell anyone.

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Speaker 3: Is that we all have a voice, and your issue matters,

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Speaker 3: and if you want to see change, you got to

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Speaker 3: be the change, right and the first step is being active,

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Speaker 3: typically engaged, making sure that you're voting and making sure

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Speaker 3: that your voice is heard. I like to say I

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00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,080
Speaker 3: turn my pain into purpose. So, whether it was the

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Speaker 3: issue of me having to depend on government assistance so

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Speaker 3: I could feed my children, those wig checks, my children

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Speaker 3: being able to have access to early education with his start,

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Speaker 3: those are issues that I advocated for because I know

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Speaker 3: how to impact it my life and my children's life.

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Speaker 1: Whether it was for housing I.

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Speaker 3: Was, I had Section eight and I know what that

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Speaker 3: was able to do for me, to give me a

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Speaker 3: step up. So I navigate for that. On the federal level,

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Speaker 3: I think the first thing is us to make sure

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Speaker 3: that we're educating people around how they can utilize their

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Speaker 3: voice at a local level. And I say all politics

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Speaker 3: start locals. So you have your school board who's making

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Speaker 3: decisions around who take books out of schools or not,

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Speaker 3: or your state legislature. But the work that we've been

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Speaker 3: doing at clean Slate has been a beautiful testament of

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Speaker 3: how people could come around folks around redemption and second chances.

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Speaker 3: And we've been able to pass legislation or have legislation

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Speaker 3: adopted in over twelve states across the country clean slate

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Speaker 3: laws meaning that once you have served your time, remain

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Speaker 3: crime free. If the station is that you're eligible for

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Speaker 3: your offense to get cleared off your record.

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Speaker 1: What we're doing is automating that process.

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Speaker 3: Almost think about your credit We always for that seven

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Speaker 3: years to that thing to drop off.

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Speaker 2: Our credit I know has dropped off.

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Speaker 1: Right, feel real good this week.

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Speaker 2: I looked at my scar, I.

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Speaker 3: Said, okay, yeah, checking at credit card was like that,

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Speaker 3: you know that in seven years it should come off.

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Speaker 3: So the legislation basically says that after a certain amount

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Speaker 3: of time that that will be removed, that the burden

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Speaker 3: is no longer on you. What is the process of

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Speaker 3: doing that, because I know I've read in these notes

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Speaker 3: that more than thirty million people eligible are eligible to

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Speaker 3: get the.

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Speaker 2: Record clearance, but like ten percent of people.

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Speaker 3: Do it, because I mean, every state is different, so

403
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Speaker 3: just about every state has a mechanism to get your

404
00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:34,560
Speaker 3: record cleared. And so for myself, like in Florida, I'm

405
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Speaker 3: not eligible at this time. It's so bureaucratic, you know,

406
00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:39,840
Speaker 3: so much red tape to get your record clear. But

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Speaker 3: in some states, you know, you basically have to petition,

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Speaker 3: You have to go go find your paperwork, go back

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Speaker 3: to the county where the offense was made, have to

410
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Speaker 3: probably go get a DA to sign off or judge

411
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Speaker 3: to sign off. In Louisiana, you have to pay up

412
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,520
Speaker 3: the five hundred dollars per offence just to get cleared,

413
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Speaker 3: and you may be only eligible to get one thing

414
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Speaker 3: off your record. Doing is removing the red tape that

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Speaker 3: once the like if the person is eligible.

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Speaker 1: That this is not for all offenses.

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Speaker 3: These are offenses that the state has already usually said that.

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Speaker 1: Are eligible or he's to be eligible, have to.

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Speaker 3: Be eligible, and that it will come off your record

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Speaker 3: in a certain amount.

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Speaker 2: Of time, so you're still not eligible.

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Speaker 1: I'm still like in Florida right now, you can want

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Speaker 1: to get so done?

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Speaker 3: I know.

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Speaker 2: Wild to me, So wait, this was how long ago?

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Speaker 1: Did this happened? Twenty years?

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Speaker 2: It'd be twenty years next month A bounce check for

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Speaker 2: eighty seven dollars and twenty six cents, and you still

429
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Speaker 2: have this on my record as a conviction on your record,

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Speaker 2: and you're still not eligible.

431
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Speaker 3: I still don't have a clean slate. But I realize

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Speaker 3: that that again, that's wild to me. It is very wild,

433
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Speaker 3: but it also reminds me like again, I take the

434
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Speaker 3: spiritual journey on. It's like that eighty seven dolls and

435
00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,200
Speaker 3: twenty six cents. I was able last year to get

436
00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,200
Speaker 3: seventy five million dollars for our organization to help there's

437
00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,080
Speaker 3: a purpose, write a purpose to help millions of people

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Speaker 3: to get their record clear. And just a few months

439
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:01,480
Speaker 3: ago we saw that the New York signed clean Slate

440
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Speaker 3: into law, were over two and a half million people.

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Speaker 3: When that law goes into effect, two and a half

442
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,440
Speaker 3: million people would have a second chance for real, for real.

443
00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,600
Speaker 3: And so it's a beautiful thing. So I'm still working

444
00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,240
Speaker 3: and not stopping until we get all fifty states on

445
00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,320
Speaker 3: a pathway for record clearance, and that's including Florida.

446
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:19,399
Speaker 2: I mean, I think that's amazing though, that this happened

447
00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:21,639
Speaker 2: to you and you found a purpose for what it

448
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:23,360
Speaker 2: is that you wanted to do out of this and

449
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,240
Speaker 2: maybe and I know it sucks because at the time

450
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:27,960
Speaker 2: it was feeling it prevented a lot of things, but

451
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,160
Speaker 2: at the same time it brought a lot of blessings

452
00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:30,800
Speaker 2: for other people.

453
00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:33,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I you know, again, at that time when

454
00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,320
Speaker 3: I was going through it, I didn't really realize at

455
00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:37,040
Speaker 3: the time really what I was going through, But it

456
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,800
Speaker 3: was through the journey of meeting other directly impacted people

457
00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:42,399
Speaker 3: who's also doing the work across the country, you know,

458
00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:47,000
Speaker 3: passing reforms where there's like Jay Jordan who worked really

459
00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,200
Speaker 3: hard on getting this law passed in California. California passed

460
00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,080
Speaker 3: it as well clean Slate daral Agason, Like, there's so

461
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,800
Speaker 3: many people that's doing this work across the country trying

462
00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,720
Speaker 3: to help reforms who are formally incarcerated, people who have

463
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,439
Speaker 3: a lived experience. Meeting these type of folks on this

464
00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,399
Speaker 3: journey has really helped me really have ownership around this

465
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,800
Speaker 3: issue in my story and how can help others?

466
00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:11,679
Speaker 2: And when it comes to we have elections coming up,

467
00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:14,560
Speaker 2: as we y'all know, and so where do because this

468
00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,560
Speaker 2: is you know something that you're well versed in. So

469
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,639
Speaker 2: where do some of our people who are going to

470
00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:22,639
Speaker 2: be running for office stand on this? Like if we

471
00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,359
Speaker 2: look at Joe Biden and we look at Donald Trump,

472
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,879
Speaker 2: we know that obviously Joe Biden has proclaimed April as

473
00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,520
Speaker 2: second Chance Month. Again, where does Donald Trump stand on

474
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,520
Speaker 2: this issue? I just want to make sure because sometimes

475
00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,440
Speaker 2: you hear different things, but we want to know as

476
00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,000
Speaker 2: we're thinking about when it's time to vote, right, where

477
00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:40,560
Speaker 2: do our candidates stand on these issues?

478
00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:43,119
Speaker 3: Yeah? Well, I will say for anyone to always research

479
00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,240
Speaker 3: the candidates, right, don't don't take don't take my say,

480
00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:48,879
Speaker 3: your say, anybody say. Research your candidates for yourself or

481
00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,199
Speaker 3: where they stand at. And that's why it's important for

482
00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,240
Speaker 3: people to be engaged. Listen to debates, listen to conversations,

483
00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,680
Speaker 3: see what laws they have passed. Just as Joe Biden

484
00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,040
Speaker 3: did a pri proclamation to be honest, Donald Trump did

485
00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:06,520
Speaker 3: a proclamation for a second Chance Month as well. Obama

486
00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:10,000
Speaker 3: did a proclamation for second chances as well. And so

487
00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,480
Speaker 3: I think right now that just shows that this is

488
00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,520
Speaker 3: bigger than politics, that is people over politics, that people

489
00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,080
Speaker 3: are realizing that this issue of criminal justice have touched

490
00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,520
Speaker 3: so many people they can't ignore it. And so when

491
00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:24,360
Speaker 3: it comes to this issue, we should make sure that

492
00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:26,720
Speaker 3: no matter what candidate is up there, that we hold

493
00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,560
Speaker 3: them accountable. Whoever you voted for for the last time,

494
00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,000
Speaker 3: make sure that there's still on the same side you know,

495
00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:35,040
Speaker 3: of your issues, whether it's criminal justice, well it's healthcare,

496
00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:39,000
Speaker 3: whether it's reproductive rights, whether it's marriage equality, like wherever

497
00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,040
Speaker 3: you at and the things that you care about, hold

498
00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,879
Speaker 3: your electis eligible. But you know, I would say, when

499
00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,159
Speaker 3: it comes to the two forefront candidates, I'm going to

500
00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:50,200
Speaker 3: always ask them where they're at around people getting the

501
00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:52,600
Speaker 3: record clear. You know, on the federal level, right now,

502
00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,720
Speaker 3: it's hard for people to even get their record clearers.

503
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,679
Speaker 3: We have a bill called the Clean Slate Act that

504
00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:02,560
Speaker 3: has been gaining bipartisan support, meaning Republicans and Democrats has

505
00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,960
Speaker 3: been signing on. But the administration has a duty to

506
00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,720
Speaker 3: make sure that people don't have to have high paid

507
00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,359
Speaker 3: attorneys or high pockets to get a pardon or know

508
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,720
Speaker 3: somebody in the White House. You know, we got second

509
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,960
Speaker 3: chance a month coming up. Angela and Desmond. You talk

510
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,600
Speaker 3: about Desmond, you you you know both for Montserrat folks.

511
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,440
Speaker 2: You know, got got out to Mansrat. Everybody listening because

512
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,320
Speaker 2: by the way, people from Montererrat love when they get

513
00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:26,359
Speaker 2: a shout out. Yes, it doesn't happen too often, so

514
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,560
Speaker 2: shout out to Monsterirat. Desmond Mead is also got roots

515
00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:33,080
Speaker 2: in Monterrat. Yeah, my husband got rus Monceirat. But Desmond Mead,

516
00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:36,280
Speaker 2: who led Amendment four to work. You just talked about

517
00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,879
Speaker 2: time one hundred Nobel Peace Prize still does not have

518
00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:42,359
Speaker 2: his have a second chance, He does not have a pardon.

519
00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:47,000
Speaker 3: He got all these accolades. You know, we we went

520
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,960
Speaker 3: to the White House. Uh, we got invited to the

521
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,280
Speaker 3: White House. You got to vite it to the White

522
00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:53,080
Speaker 3: House a few months ago. Then got denied access to

523
00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,120
Speaker 3: the White House. That is yeah, that is too because

524
00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:56,560
Speaker 3: they vet you out before you come there.

525
00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,879
Speaker 2: So you got to invite you knowing why they're inviting

526
00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,480
Speaker 2: you and what you stand for, and then tell you

527
00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:02,280
Speaker 2: you can't commit.

528
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:03,000
Speaker 1: Listen.

529
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,200
Speaker 3: So then we got into the White House a Black

530
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:07,919
Speaker 3: History month and I felt like jay Z with the

531
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,240
Speaker 3: Beyonce around all these Grammys and the Wars. I went

532
00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,439
Speaker 3: to the President and was like, listen, he got all

533
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,720
Speaker 3: these awards, but he didn't get the ultimate, like like,

534
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:16,320
Speaker 3: what's up with his pardon?

535
00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:18,600
Speaker 1: So what I'm trying to say is that there's not.

536
00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,600
Speaker 3: Even an easy route for folks who have shown that

537
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:26,359
Speaker 3: they have contributed their life commitment to even democracy to

538
00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:27,120
Speaker 3: get a second chance.

539
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:28,639
Speaker 1: So that means that the system is broken.

540
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,600
Speaker 3: So what I'm saying is that whoever is in high office,

541
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 3: we need to make sure that there are laws that

542
00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,960
Speaker 3: give people a pathway to being able to get the

543
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,800
Speaker 3: record clear, whether through a pardon, through a petition.

544
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:41,760
Speaker 1: So that's what we had the Clean Slate Act.

545
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:43,920
Speaker 2: For, all right, And how can people support If they're

546
00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:45,639
Speaker 2: listening today and they're like, what can I do to

547
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,680
Speaker 2: make sure that I help elevate this message and make

548
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,200
Speaker 2: sure that we help get this across off fifty states.

549
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,440
Speaker 3: Yes, So the first thing I would say is think

550
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:55,359
Speaker 3: about the time that you ask for a second chance.

551
00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,280
Speaker 3: Just sit in that moment. Think about that moment that

552
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,080
Speaker 3: maybe you, just by the grace of God, did not

553
00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,439
Speaker 3: get arrested where you could have or the time that

554
00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:07,640
Speaker 3: you did in the case got dropped. Think about those moments,

555
00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,080
Speaker 3: think about your low ones and family members, talk about

556
00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,520
Speaker 3: it at your dinner table. That's the first thing that

557
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,119
Speaker 3: you know, we got to change the narrative about who's impacted.

558
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:16,040
Speaker 1: It's not the others.

559
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,879
Speaker 3: It's our families, it's our loved ones, it's our clergyman,

560
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:21,000
Speaker 3: it's our preachers, it's some of our politicians.

561
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,320
Speaker 1: Another thing I'll say, go to Cleanslate Initiative dot org.

562
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,040
Speaker 3: Follow us online, Go and see if one of your

563
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,840
Speaker 3: states have passed clean slave We have twelve states. Maybe

564
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,400
Speaker 3: you eligible, Maybe you have a clean slate. Michigan has

565
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,280
Speaker 3: a past clean slate. There's one of our states where

566
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,119
Speaker 3: on day one when they passed it, over a million

567
00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:43,359
Speaker 3: people records got cleared. Wow, and so you may be

568
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 3: still living like you have a record when your record

569
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:47,720
Speaker 3: may be clear. So I would say going to the website,

570
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,440
Speaker 3: talk to your local legislators, your state legislators, your members

571
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:51,960
Speaker 3: of Congress.

572
00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:53,600
Speaker 1: Make your voice be heard. You know.

573
00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,600
Speaker 2: I love when businesses and organizations also are supportive of

574
00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,520
Speaker 2: people who are justice impacted and making sure that they're

575
00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,040
Speaker 2: high hearing, you know, people and providing housing for people

576
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:04,879
Speaker 2: who are just as impacted. All so that is so

577
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,360
Speaker 2: important for people to be able to feel I think

578
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:10,320
Speaker 2: the confidence that they need to fail. Yeah.

579
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,439
Speaker 3: JP Morgan has been a big supporter of JP Morgan

580
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:16,960
Speaker 3: Chase on second Chances. They just had a big event

581
00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,440
Speaker 3: in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the first state to pass clean slave.

582
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:22,760
Speaker 3: Were actually having our conference there this June.

583
00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:23,439
Speaker 1: And.

584
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,920
Speaker 3: They have found that they even have a call center

585
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,800
Speaker 3: that is dedicated higher and directly impacted people, and they

586
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,960
Speaker 3: said this has been their most successful workforce for ours,

587
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,800
Speaker 3: like turnover work, what is it like there worth work

588
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,959
Speaker 3: etic and just how they're showing up and that you know,

589
00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:44,040
Speaker 3: people do want to work. So when we have employers

590
00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,399
Speaker 3: saying that people don't they can't find employees, we have

591
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,800
Speaker 3: seven over seventy two hundred million people that is ready

592
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,240
Speaker 3: to go to work, but maybe your practices is keeping

593
00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:52,600
Speaker 3: them out.

594
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,760
Speaker 2: And so something for our business owners to take into

595
00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,399
Speaker 2: consideration from you telling us those numbers right now.

596
00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,680
Speaker 3: Yeah, and if JP Morgan the bank who's federally regulated,

597
00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:03,200
Speaker 3: you can hire directly impacted people. I know y'all can't

598
00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,479
Speaker 3: y'all Okay, all right, and how when is this going

599
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:08,159
Speaker 3: to happen for you, like when are you going to

600
00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:08,960
Speaker 3: have your clean slate?

601
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,840
Speaker 2: What is what has to get done still for that

602
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:12,359
Speaker 2: to happen.

603
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:13,119
Speaker 1: Yeah.

604
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,080
Speaker 3: So you know, one thing I just want to say,

605
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,480
Speaker 3: like every state, because we have states reach out to

606
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:21,520
Speaker 3: us all the time, politicians, people, activists, leaders saying how

607
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:23,439
Speaker 3: can we pass this in our state. The first thing

608
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:25,840
Speaker 3: is we also got to have the technical feasibility because

609
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,119
Speaker 3: there is like technical peace to it to automate it.

610
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,920
Speaker 3: And we got some states that is still chiseling their

611
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,200
Speaker 3: files on some stone tablets back there.

612
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:35,720
Speaker 2: Let me go pull up this spot.

613
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,040
Speaker 1: Yeah no, literally, you got missing.

614
00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:40,399
Speaker 3: You got miss Betsy going in the big old Stor's

615
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,760
Speaker 3: room trying to pull up a foul and that serves

616
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,359
Speaker 3: as a barrier. So we have to make sure states

617
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,720
Speaker 3: are updating their infrastructure, data, infrastructure. But for me, again,

618
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,520
Speaker 3: I am committed to making sure that not just myself,

619
00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:53,800
Speaker 3: there are over two million people in the state of

620
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,200
Speaker 3: Florida who just have a non conviction, a non conviction

621
00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,879
Speaker 3: on their record that they're trying to get cleared and

622
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:01,199
Speaker 3: hoping that we could pass that.

623
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,320
Speaker 1: And I was past clean slate there so they could

624
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:03,800
Speaker 1: have relief.

625
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:07,760
Speaker 3: We had a spongement clinic there two years ago down

626
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,000
Speaker 3: to Miami and they had hundreds of people in line

627
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 3: that came trying to get the record clear again a

628
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,560
Speaker 3: non conviction. And I would say it was this older

629
00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:21,040
Speaker 3: Hispanic guy and he was like, you know, I'm.

630
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:22,920
Speaker 1: Not sure if he had parking sins or whatever. He's shaking.

631
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,359
Speaker 3: He was like stumbling again in with his wife and

632
00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:27,000
Speaker 3: we ran over to him to help him in and

633
00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:29,160
Speaker 3: we I'm thinking he's coming to the community center, thinking

634
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,159
Speaker 3: he's coming for some like real estate or some I

635
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:33,600
Speaker 3: don't know, some other type of help.

636
00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:34,919
Speaker 1: And he said, where do I go to get my

637
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:36,000
Speaker 1: record clear? Wow?

638
00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,040
Speaker 3: And that just hit me like, this man ain't coming

639
00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:40,720
Speaker 3: like most people are coming because they're trying to get

640
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,399
Speaker 3: access to his job, maybe housing. This man is later

641
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:47,040
Speaker 3: in his life and his last looked like maybe that

642
00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:49,080
Speaker 3: last tent of his life. He's coming here for the

643
00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:53,000
Speaker 3: dignity to not die with a record defining him, right,

644
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 3: not to be defined by his record. And I think

645
00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:58,440
Speaker 3: that's just all what people want to have, not been dignity,

646
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,000
Speaker 3: humanity to be seen for themselves and not their record.

647
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:03,840
Speaker 1: And so that's what we want.

648
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:06,840
Speaker 3: And so right now even if my record don't get

649
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:08,600
Speaker 3: clear in the next two or three years, if I

650
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,440
Speaker 3: don't do anything else, if I can help change the

651
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:14,080
Speaker 3: narrative around who and how and who we are as

652
00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:16,560
Speaker 3: people and people who have records.

653
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:18,400
Speaker 2: All right, well, thank you so much. I appreciate all

654
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,280
Speaker 2: the work that you're doing. Of course, you know, if

655
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:22,479
Speaker 2: there's anything I could do to help, I'm always on

656
00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:24,719
Speaker 2: board for that because it is something that I do

657
00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,280
Speaker 2: believe in because of people are close to me as well.

658
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm gonna make sure we send you a shirt

659
00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:31,160
Speaker 3: because I don't have your size.

660
00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:35,040
Speaker 2: So what's my size?

661
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:35,439
Speaker 3: You?

662
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:37,600
Speaker 2: How do you know I'm not a large.

663
00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:40,480
Speaker 1: I don't have it, so we gonna send you. I

664
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:41,480
Speaker 1: believe and have aqs it.

665
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:42,879
Speaker 3: But we got like I shorts and said, we're not

666
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,760
Speaker 3: defined by record and just being able to amplify that

667
00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:48,359
Speaker 3: and continue to talk about it. We got twelves, like

668
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,280
Speaker 3: twelve states that pass it, but we got a lot

669
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,360
Speaker 3: of more work, a lot a lot of work to do.

670
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,080
Speaker 2: All right, Well, thank you so much. She and to

671
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,879
Speaker 2: me the clean Slate initiative. Make sure y'all follow her,

672
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,600
Speaker 2: make sure you guys support amazing, make sure you watch

673
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:01,120
Speaker 2: her Ted.

674
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:05,639
Speaker 1: Talk yes, please watch my yes. All right, his way up,

675
00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:08,560
Speaker 1: way up,