in me or individual I need to tell you
that I’m really nervous and I haven’t
been this nervous since I got released
in 2011 I’m not here to tell my story
today I’m here to share our story people
currently incarcerated preparing to come
out into society to you while I was
incarcerated for that 17 years of my
life every time that I was going to get
out I have this hope that I would make
it that hope still sits with me today I
hope that you will understand our story
and I hope that when my friends get out
of incarceration I hope that you will
accept them and not judge them and allow
them to show you who they are
individually how many of you know
someone who has someone or you have
someone that is incarcerated please
raise your hands
so we know that people get incarcerated
and we know that they get out but when
they come out we have this big old fear
around the word criminal ex-con
probation parole and we tend to separate
I’ve been separated my uniform is
sparkly and pretty because I’m a little
bit different because I made it out and
I did something with my life I don’t
want to be separated I don’t want you to
separate me it took me 17 years to get
my nickname you would have thought that
I had that coming
after doing 17 years currently there are
people that incarcerated that don’t need
to be separated from me because they too
can be as as successful as I am today in
my life I’ve started an organization I’m
like I’m rare I’m very rare but all of
those opportunities would have never
ever been available to me if I didn’t
run into specific individuals in my
community who gave me the opportunity to
be an individual so I’m going to share
with you a little bit about what’s going
on inside of our Jail right now
so our Jail here in Humble is Century
centrally located when you drive down
the highway entering into our town it’s
smack dab in the middle of it and people
pass by it every day like it’s not there
there is life behind those walls that
are hopeful there is a magical process
happening once the handcuffs go on to
the time that we get our County issue
hopefully it fits to the time that we
get released we mark our calendars with
the date that we’re going to get
released once we have that date and we
count down the days with hope that oh
it’s going to be different this time I’m
gonna make it I’m gonna do this
differently we plan it out every single
time we get arrested and we never give
up that that might be possible for us
sometimes we make it and sometimes we
don’t yet there are many yet sitting in
the county jail sitting in the prisons
many yets waiting to get it something
that I’ve done is I’ve created this
organization to share with my peers how
I got it
I documented it it’s the only reason why
I know how I did is because I
specifically set out to document when I
get released I’m gonna watch my every
move I’m gonna trust the system I’m
gonna do what they ask and if it doesn’t
work then I’m gonna do my life the way
that I want to do it but if it does work
I’m going to turn around and I’m going
to tell my peers how to do this because
we didn’t have anyone coming in telling
us how to stay out that we knew and
trust we had people that had education
coming in and talking to us about things
that we needed to do but they didn’t
actually know if it worked or not they
just thought that it might work so I
started this organization and it works
it’s worked for me and it’s
for many people that I’ve gotten to work
with now I’m in Humboldt County and I’m
ready to do the work here but there’s a
problem
I cannot do this work alone I have
systems from the state
they’ve given money for programs to help
people reentering into society and
that’s all great when we sit back in the
community and we’re like they’re
handling it it’s not just them it’s not
a 2-part job it’s an all part job and
you are a part of that all part you’re
the most important part of that part so
we get released we leave our county
clothes where we got them we don’t want
to wear those net once we’re out we get
to choose what we want to wear however
we don’t get to choose who knows what
crimes we’ve committed but we’re
supposed to advance we’re supposed to be
better we’re supposed to go get jobs and
we sit down to get a job and weird look
perfect from the outside and then they
look at the paperwork and they say have
you ever been convicted of a felony ever
yeah seven years ago hmm
darn we almost filled that position and
then the head goes down and I’m never
gonna get a job and all of that happens
what happened for me was there was an
individual out there who didn’t care if
I’d ever been convicted of a felony so I
left it blank if they ask me they ask me
they don’t get to tell them before they
make a judgement of me so we get out we
go to get jobs we go to get rentals we
want to go back to school we want to do
everything that it’s said that we need
to do but then there’s you all who have
this fear of us who are scared that
we’re going to somehow rob you and hurt
you and still from you and harm you or
hold you look gunpoint to take your
money I don’t know I never committed any
of those types of crimes
I beat up my partners I stole from
stores because they’re insured I stab
someone in a parking lot in 2005 because
they ran up on me and it was dark and I
was scared but that’s just my story do I
have to tell you that story because I
want to get a job or because I need a
roof over my head I served my time when
I left County I left my clothes behind
so why am I wearing the uniform on a job
interview they released me doesn’t that
mean that I did good why am I not being
rewarded for serving my time am I not
accountable to my community 17 years in
the criminal justice system and what I
could tell you for me and my homies is
that every time we went in front of a
judge we were fully ready to take
responsibility for our actions there are
people that would rather go to prison
than to go to a drug treatment because
they want to serve their time for their
crime you see sometimes we think less of
ourselves than you do of us already send
me up I did it I deserve it
not that we don’t want to get help
there’s there was programs in prison
send me to prison I’ll get a program but
I want to serve my time to my community
do we get acknowledged for that nope we
sure don’t and what I can tell you is
that I have been able to do all types of
work with all types of individuals who
have committed all types of crimes and
they all need the opportunity to rebuild
themselves to rebirth themselves once
they are released from the system so I’m
holding you accountable we’re doing a
major work all around the state of
California specifically here in Humble
the jails are working overtime to help
the
convicts get the mindframe that they
need to come out to society and to keep
that hope but what’s the point of doing
that if we’re releasing them to you and
you’re judging us and not helping us and
not giving us an opportunity to tell you
our own individual stories sure we were
inmates but let us tell you our story we
don’t want to talk to people who are
judging us that is not safe we cannot
share who we are with you
when you’re looking at our pasts so I
want to encourage you to continue to
walk a mile in our shoes and help us
shake those prison blues thank you
[Applause]
that I’m really nervous and I haven’t
been this nervous since I got released
in 2011 I’m not here to tell my story
today I’m here to share our story people
currently incarcerated preparing to come
out into society to you while I was
incarcerated for that 17 years of my
life every time that I was going to get
out I have this hope that I would make
it that hope still sits with me today I
hope that you will understand our story
and I hope that when my friends get out
of incarceration I hope that you will
accept them and not judge them and allow
them to show you who they are
individually how many of you know
someone who has someone or you have
someone that is incarcerated please
raise your hands
so we know that people get incarcerated
and we know that they get out but when
they come out we have this big old fear
around the word criminal ex-con
probation parole and we tend to separate
I’ve been separated my uniform is
sparkly and pretty because I’m a little
bit different because I made it out and
I did something with my life I don’t
want to be separated I don’t want you to
separate me it took me 17 years to get
my nickname you would have thought that
I had that coming
after doing 17 years currently there are
people that incarcerated that don’t need
to be separated from me because they too
can be as as successful as I am today in
my life I’ve started an organization I’m
like I’m rare I’m very rare but all of
those opportunities would have never
ever been available to me if I didn’t
run into specific individuals in my
community who gave me the opportunity to
be an individual so I’m going to share
with you a little bit about what’s going
on inside of our Jail right now
so our Jail here in Humble is Century
centrally located when you drive down
the highway entering into our town it’s
smack dab in the middle of it and people
pass by it every day like it’s not there
there is life behind those walls that
are hopeful there is a magical process
happening once the handcuffs go on to
the time that we get our County issue
hopefully it fits to the time that we
get released we mark our calendars with
the date that we’re going to get
released once we have that date and we
count down the days with hope that oh
it’s going to be different this time I’m
gonna make it I’m gonna do this
differently we plan it out every single
time we get arrested and we never give
up that that might be possible for us
sometimes we make it and sometimes we
don’t yet there are many yet sitting in
the county jail sitting in the prisons
many yets waiting to get it something
that I’ve done is I’ve created this
organization to share with my peers how
I got it
I documented it it’s the only reason why
I know how I did is because I
specifically set out to document when I
get released I’m gonna watch my every
move I’m gonna trust the system I’m
gonna do what they ask and if it doesn’t
work then I’m gonna do my life the way
that I want to do it but if it does work
I’m going to turn around and I’m going
to tell my peers how to do this because
we didn’t have anyone coming in telling
us how to stay out that we knew and
trust we had people that had education
coming in and talking to us about things
that we needed to do but they didn’t
actually know if it worked or not they
just thought that it might work so I
started this organization and it works
it’s worked for me and it’s
for many people that I’ve gotten to work
with now I’m in Humboldt County and I’m
ready to do the work here but there’s a
problem
I cannot do this work alone I have
systems from the state
they’ve given money for programs to help
people reentering into society and
that’s all great when we sit back in the
community and we’re like they’re
handling it it’s not just them it’s not
a 2-part job it’s an all part job and
you are a part of that all part you’re
the most important part of that part so
we get released we leave our county
clothes where we got them we don’t want
to wear those net once we’re out we get
to choose what we want to wear however
we don’t get to choose who knows what
crimes we’ve committed but we’re
supposed to advance we’re supposed to be
better we’re supposed to go get jobs and
we sit down to get a job and weird look
perfect from the outside and then they
look at the paperwork and they say have
you ever been convicted of a felony ever
yeah seven years ago hmm
darn we almost filled that position and
then the head goes down and I’m never
gonna get a job and all of that happens
what happened for me was there was an
individual out there who didn’t care if
I’d ever been convicted of a felony so I
left it blank if they ask me they ask me
they don’t get to tell them before they
make a judgement of me so we get out we
go to get jobs we go to get rentals we
want to go back to school we want to do
everything that it’s said that we need
to do but then there’s you all who have
this fear of us who are scared that
we’re going to somehow rob you and hurt
you and still from you and harm you or
hold you look gunpoint to take your
money I don’t know I never committed any
of those types of crimes
I beat up my partners I stole from
stores because they’re insured I stab
someone in a parking lot in 2005 because
they ran up on me and it was dark and I
was scared but that’s just my story do I
have to tell you that story because I
want to get a job or because I need a
roof over my head I served my time when
I left County I left my clothes behind
so why am I wearing the uniform on a job
interview they released me doesn’t that
mean that I did good why am I not being
rewarded for serving my time am I not
accountable to my community 17 years in
the criminal justice system and what I
could tell you for me and my homies is
that every time we went in front of a
judge we were fully ready to take
responsibility for our actions there are
people that would rather go to prison
than to go to a drug treatment because
they want to serve their time for their
crime you see sometimes we think less of
ourselves than you do of us already send
me up I did it I deserve it
not that we don’t want to get help
there’s there was programs in prison
send me to prison I’ll get a program but
I want to serve my time to my community
do we get acknowledged for that nope we
sure don’t and what I can tell you is
that I have been able to do all types of
work with all types of individuals who
have committed all types of crimes and
they all need the opportunity to rebuild
themselves to rebirth themselves once
they are released from the system so I’m
holding you accountable we’re doing a
major work all around the state of
California specifically here in Humble
the jails are working overtime to help
the
convicts get the mindframe that they
need to come out to society and to keep
that hope but what’s the point of doing
that if we’re releasing them to you and
you’re judging us and not helping us and
not giving us an opportunity to tell you
our own individual stories sure we were
inmates but let us tell you our story we
don’t want to talk to people who are
judging us that is not safe we cannot
share who we are with you
when you’re looking at our pasts so I
want to encourage you to continue to
walk a mile in our shoes and help us
shake those prison blues thank you
[Applause]
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