At TakeAction Minnesota’s Justice 4 All Program, I have found a home. Since being convicted of a felony more than a decade ago, I have long felt like an orphan to American society. And like many orphans, I ran away. I may not have always been conscious of it, but I was running. By running, I was postponing my truth. Joining the fight as the new Justice 4 All Organizer has allowed me to give my truth a makeover.
Trying to overcome the stain of your criminal background is like being sequestered in a deep sea submarine, with no clear idea of when you’ll resurface. Or, it’s as if you’re climbing a mountain, and you’re clever enough to find the least treacherous path to the top, only to discover that your entry to the top is not granted, because you left something at the bottom of the mountain. You’re then told that you must go back down the mountain, pick up your criminal record, and climb back up the most difficult route-the nearly impossible route-and if you do that, only then will you barely be considered being let all the way to the top. Now, it is very likely that, we, the formerly incarcerated, left with no other choice, will assess that alternative plan and deem it unworthy, that there is little to no opportunity or incentive to reroute and climb the mountain all over again. And therefore, we give up, before we even begin to climb back down the mountain.
I have given up several times. I gave up on my own homeland. I left America on three occasions, on three one-way tickets. But I am tangled up in this socio-economic diaspora no matter how many miles away I am; I remain tangled up in the philosophy of injustice every moment of my life. Justice 4 All’s vision, and the strides we have made through community action, have given me conviction and strength to come home and build collectively something beautiful through organized struggle.
Those of us who have been through the Justice System are an abandoned people, but we must not abandon one another. Many folks in various communities have powerful stories to help grow this movement. I feel in my bones the necessity to bring these people and their stories together to create a magnetic force that will heal, inspire, and create change.
It feels good to be home.
The PLACE. TO. BE. this Saturday is TakeAction’s Annual Meeting and 10th Birthday Party from 10am-2pm at Hamline University. If you’re wondering where TakeAction is headed and are interested in learning more about the power we’re building into what is sure to be a momentous 2016, please register here for this great event. We’d love to see new faces, as well as old friends, and continue to connect our stories and our visions for a beautiful future in Minnesota.
