scary dangerous addict liar thief
manipulator criminal guilty it’s like I
put on this orange outfit and all these
labels got attached to me because I have
to be one of them right since you’ve
been here today how many times is one of
these words come to your head how many
times have you been looking at a woman
dressed in orange and you smile to be
polite but the entire time you’re trying
to figure out what light will do you
place on her what did she do did you get
nervous like this much when you found
out that you might be sitting next to an
inmate throughout the entire conference
because if I was you out of a nervous
like this much what are you supposed to
think unless you have the the privilege
of knowing the woman that is
incarcerated typically most of our
mindsets are cultivated and molded by
the platform deciding is created to
display our image so you have shows like
scared-straight 60 days in orange is the
new black and I mean what show are you
watching with this is gonna ever cause
you to remove one of these labels that I
stand behind right now
when does the last time you were
watching one of these shows and you’re
just in awe because the woman she was
convicted of armed robbery but she’s now
being honored because she created a
program directing children away from
criminal path were you ever watching the
show and you just couldn’t figure out
why she was even convicted guilty and
sent to prison ever watching get chills
because the whole time you’re looking at
the story you’re thinking man that could
have been me I should be in prison
probably not major media typically
doesn’t show those stories or even cause
you to even think about the negative
side effects of putting these labels on
women I mean because I did it and I’ve
always carried these labels inside of my
head I watched scared-straight mascara
me so before I sign my plea I did
extensive research on the settings of
women’s prison and I must have been
asking Google the wrong questions
because Google told me I was gonna die
[Laughter]
Google says when I walked into this
prison I was gonna get shanked my old
head so when I walked in and I saw an
officer I made sure I pulled out every
bit of collegiate verbiage I had so he
knew I wasn’t her any response that I
would give to her direct if I receive I
was somehow laced it in to intertwine it
with the fact about my life so they knew
that I was different I felt that I was
creating this beautiful imagery of my
life so they knew I was not her but the
whole time I’m talking it started kick
in and I realized they weren’t even
listening because they saw everything
that they needed to see so I kept
fighting and I got my first job as a GD
tutor and I thought this prison was
lucky to have somebody like me teaching
their students but on the first day that
I started working I was immediately
humbled because I realized I wasn’t the
smartest person walking around this
prison I meet a woman who obtained a
degree that made my degree look like a
kindergarten certificate but then I
started meeting women that are proud
because they’re fighting to get their
GED because they’re determined to walk
out of here different from the woman
that they walked in as I started meeting
singers and comedians doctors lawyers
teachers cosmetologist spiritual leaders
so I immediately stopped trying to
differentiate myself from these women
because we share this common bond of
strength and intelligence in recognizing
that strength within each other we form
a conglomerate of a wavering minds every
day determined to expose our greatness
to the world so we come in every day and
we practice putting on our capes because
we’re super women we start drafting up
our flight plans for the day that we
leave but then all of the sudden we
start getting hit by kryptonite in the
form of these labels we’re just sitting
if they’re trying to
right a list up of plans and goals to
achieve and have our blueprint so we can
follow it when we walk out of these
gates but then we just start reading all
that the collateral consequences that
don’t even begin until the day
our sentence in prison ends so everyone
in this classroom sitting over here
they’re supposed to be talking about
math they’re talking about seeing in and
what happened last night and what
they’re gonna do to make it better when
they get out but they’re panicking
because they don’t even know if they’ll
be ever to vote again and I’m trying to
fust at this table right here because
they’re supposed to be doing social
studies but they become family to one
another so they’re gossiping but they
lean on each other because they don’t
have anyone outside this prison to
depend on they are panicking because
they don’t even know if they’ll and
they’ll be able to get public assistance
to help them get on their feet when they
get out of here in my teachers doctors
and lawyers they are trying to figure
out how long they’re gonna be part of
these 27,000 women and individuals who
are restricted from practicing in their
profession or if they’ll ever be able to
to step foot in their career again and
you would think that we would stop
reading after we find out all this
information but we keep going because
there is a study done by the Department
of the bear of justice that they follow
four hundred and five thousand women for
five years after they’re released from
prison okay four hundred and five
thousand women that’s enough women to
fill up the city of Miami Florida and
they follow them for five years one
third of them they’re back in prison
within six months more than half of them
within a year and so you’re supposed to
feel a little bit of comfort because
everybody doesn’t come back but
two-thirds of those women five years
later are either under underemployed or
unemployed all together so now we are
all panicking and all these labels start
sinking in and we start believing them
so much to the fact that I had to break
down and I called my mom crying because
I’m listening all of my limitations to
her and what I can never do again and
that has to be one of the hardest
conversations you had as a mother
because what do you tell your daughter
who’s on the phone with you crying
because she’s a felon and the world
thinks she’s a liar and uneducated and
if she’s using big words she’s just
trying to manipulate the system I’ll
tell you what my mom told me
my dad is not selling so I stopped
crying because I think my mom is losing
it now and I have to remind her about
the court and the judges and the
prosecutors and lawyers and the plea
that I sign is she cuts my story off
again she says my daughter is not a
felon Dominique the day that I start
calling you a felon is the day that you
identify with every label that they are
trying to place on you you are not a
felon you will never stand behind the
curtain of being a sullen and baby girl
if you want to fly like Superman
you can fly click we only get 15 minutes
of talk so that’s why I’m just thinking
like I’m walking back to my room I’m
like mom my mom just doesn’t get it I’m
a felon I can’t teach I can’t do this
she doesn’t get in so I’m frustrated and
I turn my TV on and black girls rock is
on so if you’re unfamiliar with the
program black girls rock it is a
platform that was created by
african-american women to showcase their
achievements and accomplishments in
society that no one thought that they
would ever be able to do
I am extremely motivated watching this
not only because I’m an african-american
woman but these women are refusing to
let any labels that have ever been
placed on them prevent them from doing
everything that they know that they are
able to do the platform that black girls
rock has created allows every little
african-american girl to look up and
dream without the fear labels cuz they
watched a woman that looks just like
them do it this platform of black girls
rock allowed a group of individuals to
not go by the labels of society handed
them and started doing things so they
could be identified from this lake this
platform of black girls rock reminded me
despite anybody’s initial perception of
women in prison we could still do
anything please don’t let our orange
outfits fool you because we’re gonna
fight we’re gonna fight like every woman
that was labeled weak and wasn’t strong
enough to do a man’s job and she fought
until she had that job anyway we’re
gonna fight like every person that was
excluded and labeled weird because they
had a medical condition that labeled
them handicapped and they fought they
fought until they were included in
everything we’re gonna fight just like
that person that’s trying to tell the
world that they are man but the world’s
labeled among confused because they’re
looking at the birth certificate saying
this says you’re a woman but they’re
gonna keep fighting because they’re not
putting on that dress today we’re gonna
fight like every person that was ever
labeled stupid for waking up with a
dream that society said that’s
impossible but they fought until they
achieved it anyway I am gonna fight to
stay on the stage as long as it takes to
remove every label off of me [Applause]
manipulator criminal guilty it’s like I
put on this orange outfit and all these
labels got attached to me because I have
to be one of them right since you’ve
been here today how many times is one of
these words come to your head how many
times have you been looking at a woman
dressed in orange and you smile to be
polite but the entire time you’re trying
to figure out what light will do you
place on her what did she do did you get
nervous like this much when you found
out that you might be sitting next to an
inmate throughout the entire conference
because if I was you out of a nervous
like this much what are you supposed to
think unless you have the the privilege
of knowing the woman that is
incarcerated typically most of our
mindsets are cultivated and molded by
the platform deciding is created to
display our image so you have shows like
scared-straight 60 days in orange is the
new black and I mean what show are you
watching with this is gonna ever cause
you to remove one of these labels that I
stand behind right now
when does the last time you were
watching one of these shows and you’re
just in awe because the woman she was
convicted of armed robbery but she’s now
being honored because she created a
program directing children away from
criminal path were you ever watching the
show and you just couldn’t figure out
why she was even convicted guilty and
sent to prison ever watching get chills
because the whole time you’re looking at
the story you’re thinking man that could
have been me I should be in prison
probably not major media typically
doesn’t show those stories or even cause
you to even think about the negative
side effects of putting these labels on
women I mean because I did it and I’ve
always carried these labels inside of my
head I watched scared-straight mascara
me so before I sign my plea I did
extensive research on the settings of
women’s prison and I must have been
asking Google the wrong questions
because Google told me I was gonna die
[Laughter]
Google says when I walked into this
prison I was gonna get shanked my old
head so when I walked in and I saw an
officer I made sure I pulled out every
bit of collegiate verbiage I had so he
knew I wasn’t her any response that I
would give to her direct if I receive I
was somehow laced it in to intertwine it
with the fact about my life so they knew
that I was different I felt that I was
creating this beautiful imagery of my
life so they knew I was not her but the
whole time I’m talking it started kick
in and I realized they weren’t even
listening because they saw everything
that they needed to see so I kept
fighting and I got my first job as a GD
tutor and I thought this prison was
lucky to have somebody like me teaching
their students but on the first day that
I started working I was immediately
humbled because I realized I wasn’t the
smartest person walking around this
prison I meet a woman who obtained a
degree that made my degree look like a
kindergarten certificate but then I
started meeting women that are proud
because they’re fighting to get their
GED because they’re determined to walk
out of here different from the woman
that they walked in as I started meeting
singers and comedians doctors lawyers
teachers cosmetologist spiritual leaders
so I immediately stopped trying to
differentiate myself from these women
because we share this common bond of
strength and intelligence in recognizing
that strength within each other we form
a conglomerate of a wavering minds every
day determined to expose our greatness
to the world so we come in every day and
we practice putting on our capes because
we’re super women we start drafting up
our flight plans for the day that we
leave but then all of the sudden we
start getting hit by kryptonite in the
form of these labels we’re just sitting
if they’re trying to
right a list up of plans and goals to
achieve and have our blueprint so we can
follow it when we walk out of these
gates but then we just start reading all
that the collateral consequences that
don’t even begin until the day
our sentence in prison ends so everyone
in this classroom sitting over here
they’re supposed to be talking about
math they’re talking about seeing in and
what happened last night and what
they’re gonna do to make it better when
they get out but they’re panicking
because they don’t even know if they’ll
be ever to vote again and I’m trying to
fust at this table right here because
they’re supposed to be doing social
studies but they become family to one
another so they’re gossiping but they
lean on each other because they don’t
have anyone outside this prison to
depend on they are panicking because
they don’t even know if they’ll and
they’ll be able to get public assistance
to help them get on their feet when they
get out of here in my teachers doctors
and lawyers they are trying to figure
out how long they’re gonna be part of
these 27,000 women and individuals who
are restricted from practicing in their
profession or if they’ll ever be able to
to step foot in their career again and
you would think that we would stop
reading after we find out all this
information but we keep going because
there is a study done by the Department
of the bear of justice that they follow
four hundred and five thousand women for
five years after they’re released from
prison okay four hundred and five
thousand women that’s enough women to
fill up the city of Miami Florida and
they follow them for five years one
third of them they’re back in prison
within six months more than half of them
within a year and so you’re supposed to
feel a little bit of comfort because
everybody doesn’t come back but
two-thirds of those women five years
later are either under underemployed or
unemployed all together so now we are
all panicking and all these labels start
sinking in and we start believing them
so much to the fact that I had to break
down and I called my mom crying because
I’m listening all of my limitations to
her and what I can never do again and
that has to be one of the hardest
conversations you had as a mother
because what do you tell your daughter
who’s on the phone with you crying
because she’s a felon and the world
thinks she’s a liar and uneducated and
if she’s using big words she’s just
trying to manipulate the system I’ll
tell you what my mom told me
my dad is not selling so I stopped
crying because I think my mom is losing
it now and I have to remind her about
the court and the judges and the
prosecutors and lawyers and the plea
that I sign is she cuts my story off
again she says my daughter is not a
felon Dominique the day that I start
calling you a felon is the day that you
identify with every label that they are
trying to place on you you are not a
felon you will never stand behind the
curtain of being a sullen and baby girl
if you want to fly like Superman
you can fly click we only get 15 minutes
of talk so that’s why I’m just thinking
like I’m walking back to my room I’m
like mom my mom just doesn’t get it I’m
a felon I can’t teach I can’t do this
she doesn’t get in so I’m frustrated and
I turn my TV on and black girls rock is
on so if you’re unfamiliar with the
program black girls rock it is a
platform that was created by
african-american women to showcase their
achievements and accomplishments in
society that no one thought that they
would ever be able to do
I am extremely motivated watching this
not only because I’m an african-american
woman but these women are refusing to
let any labels that have ever been
placed on them prevent them from doing
everything that they know that they are
able to do the platform that black girls
rock has created allows every little
african-american girl to look up and
dream without the fear labels cuz they
watched a woman that looks just like
them do it this platform of black girls
rock allowed a group of individuals to
not go by the labels of society handed
them and started doing things so they
could be identified from this lake this
platform of black girls rock reminded me
despite anybody’s initial perception of
women in prison we could still do
anything please don’t let our orange
outfits fool you because we’re gonna
fight we’re gonna fight like every woman
that was labeled weak and wasn’t strong
enough to do a man’s job and she fought
until she had that job anyway we’re
gonna fight like every person that was
excluded and labeled weird because they
had a medical condition that labeled
them handicapped and they fought they
fought until they were included in
everything we’re gonna fight just like
that person that’s trying to tell the
world that they are man but the world’s
labeled among confused because they’re
looking at the birth certificate saying
this says you’re a woman but they’re
gonna keep fighting because they’re not
putting on that dress today we’re gonna
fight like every person that was ever
labeled stupid for waking up with a
dream that society said that’s
impossible but they fought until they
achieved it anyway I am gonna fight to
stay on the stage as long as it takes to
remove every label off of me [Applause]
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