American - Activist | -
I knew I wasn't born to be caged and chained up.
Susan Burton
BornUpKnewChainedCaged
I went to pick my son up from school and walked him back and was in the house preparing dinner, and he came in the house and gave me this flower of chrysanthemum that was full of ants. And he went back out to play and ran out into the street and got hit by a car. The car happened to be driven by a LAPD detective.
FlowerCarSonSchoolMeDinner
We keep a woman in prison for decade after decade at a cost of $60,000 a year, and then give them $200 when they hit the gates for release. And, adios. People have to get their IDs, Social Security cards. They have to get clothing, housing, apply for benefits and services, and it's impossible to do with 200 bucks.
WomanPeopleImpossiblePrisonYear
People are released from prison so unprepared. They give you $200. We call it gate money. And you have to pay for a bus ticket back to L.A. You get off the Greyhound bus, downtown Skid Row, and you're supposed to make a life from that.
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Unless we address those that are leaving prisons, we can't begin to repair the damage of mass incarceration and make our communities whole and healthy once again.
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Education, hard work, dedication, a support system, and knowing my life had value - these were what had made all the difference.
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It's important the sheriff and the D.A. work with the community to realize real-world solutions. If they make decisions in silos, it will fall short.
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I got caught back up in the underworld because the upperworld really doesn't have a place for people with criminal histories.
PeopleBackPlaceBack UpUpCaught
The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery other than in prisons - but it was a lie that you regained your freedom once you left the prison gates.
FreedomLieSlaveryConstitutionYou
Our ancestors went through so much in a fight for us to vote. So I believe that we should engage in all civic participation. It's healthy engagement.
FightBelieveHealthyVoteI Believe
After six prison commitments, at the end of those, I was more broken than when I went into the system.
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One of the things about incarceration is that you're deprived. You lose all of your identity, and then its given back one day, and you're ill-equipped to actually embrace it and work it.
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