What happened? No one will hire me and even if they did, I was going to be paid 20% less than half of the other workers. If I worked there long enough to get health insurance, it wouldn’t pay for some of my basic needs. The government says I owe them money and can take up to 100% of my wages, but I don’t have any wages. I can’t get food stamps or public housing. My family can’t take me in because their proprietors won’t allow it. I wish I could help change things, but I can’t vote, serve on a jury, or join the military. I tried to get a car but most insurance companies won’t insure me. I left Missouri because the police stopped me for a DWB (driving while black), so I moved to Indiana. Now in Indiana, if a business denies me goods or services, I can’t even sue them. I will try to stop complaining and tell you about myself. I’m P.A.T. I am an acronym for a Person of All Types. One of the 20 million convicted felons, part of the 12.7 million LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community, an adult female (121 million), black, and possibly a mentally
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He has paid for his crimes and now faces this all too common experience explained in “Free at Last: Legalized discrimination against convicted felons” referring to the book, “The New Jim Crow”, Aditi Fruitwala describes how racism has continued through the justice system by depriving convicted felons of their civil rights. She begins by explaining the disproportionate number of minorities targeted by police. Next, the focus is towards the problems felons face after release. The regulations deny convicted felons food stamps, housing, jobs, and the right to vote. She compares this to immigration reform, the civil rights movements of the past and LGBT struggles today. She concludes, “Today’s justifications are different and easier to stomach than slavery and poll taxes, but the outcome of systematic disenfranchisement remains
He has paid for his crimes and now faces this all too common experience explained in “Free at Last: Legalized discrimination against convicted felons” referring to the book, “The New Jim Crow”, Aditi Fruitwala describes how racism has continued through the justice system by depriving convicted felons of their civil rights. She begins by explaining the disproportionate number of minorities targeted by police. Next, the focus is towards the problems felons face after release. The regulations deny convicted felons food stamps, housing, jobs, and the right to vote. She compares this to immigration reform, the civil rights movements of the past and LGBT struggles today. She concludes, “Today’s justifications are different and easier to stomach than slavery and poll taxes, but the outcome of systematic disenfranchisement remains