Comments on: A Realistic Second Chance

By: Desheen

Desheen — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:16:11 +0000

I really like Tai as she could not have said it better. I myself am a formely incarceratd woman of color also with a Master’s degree in SW and have a certificate of good conduct. Recently got accepted into a doctorate program for criminal justice and currently enrolled in a postgraduate certificate forensic psychology program. I paid, completed the application and had been honest about my conviction to take a civil service exam for a case manager position with Westchester county. The requirements is a MSW. After having to send in a copy of my certificate of good conduct, I was approved to take the exam. 2 months later I call to follow up on my results and was denied them. Shortly after I gets a letter from the commissioner of HR telling me I am not eligible due to section 50.4 civil law after background information. I called to question this & was told that because of my record which the letter states and that there was no appeal process. Mind you I have been home 7 + years and worked with many of their staff in DSS through another agency as they had been providing services to them & paying for them to go to trainings. I ask them about the posting that said “EQUAL OPPORTUINTY”. I said how can you pay to have formely incacerated people trained and not believe in them? You don’t beleive people can change, so why all the crap about reentry? Just for more money from the Government. Now I have 2 attorney’s involved as I am filing a civil suit for employment discrimination. I want the world to know what really goes on, but had I been Martha Stewart they would have been promoting me. How serious is that? Racism will never change & equal treatment will never come about as they see us as one way only & the sad reality is that when I had been involved illegal wise, s**t DSS don’t have enough money for me. I liked benz, car & house money in those times which I still have today, but legally, so they are really funny, but hey this is the way small minded people think & the reality of this is that they are the very same ones that enduldge in embezzlement, but just still skating behind the scences.
This was a pleasure to write & hopefully peope read this & start taking a stance to share the in-justice.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:57:49 +0000

ok now quit cryin and get your mind right. I am a typical LOOKING blond haired blue eyed white female straight out the gutter struggling to survive all my life. I can put on a suit and play the part of the “Non Criminal, Best Candadite for the Job White Woman” and have my record ran and get a response similiar to sorry your not what were looking for or We dont Hire Criminals its says here your a thief. It is what it is criminal behavior that holds me accountable I obviously WAS never thinking at 33 I would be struggling to prove I have the skills and qualifications for the Good Will nite stocker. It has been very discouraging but not impossible. If you didnt get anything out of this article understand there are 3 things n life to live by “Entrepreuning, Networking, & Utilizing your Resources.” Its not a matter of how you use them its what you do with them that no matter what your future holds it will show to become successful. WE ARE THE STARS IN OUR OWN MOVIES THE ONLY ONES WHO GETS TO WATCH IT FROM BEGINNING TO END ITS YOURS TO DIRECT, PERFORM AND DISTRIBUTE. SUCCESS WILL DEPEND ON THE STORY ITSELF. I appreciate this article because It states truth for my CURRENT SITUATION. My record isnt extensive or dangerous yet it effects my employment just the same because of the nature the charges fell under. This article gave me hope for myself and also friends and family that also gave up a on having a successful future stuck believing incrimination is the only skill they have, digging the hole deeper and deeper.

By: Kira

Kira — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:28:48 +0000

Mr. Robinson, thank you for this pertinent and much-needed article. My husband is incarcerated, and we are fighting his wrongful conviction. Certainly, we will benefit from this information once he is home. In the meantime, you are addressing a need that is larger than ever before. Again, thank you – and please keep up the good work.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:23:16 +0000

Poverty is the root of most crime. I use to work for one of the big three automotive industries. And I can tell you from experience that people of color weren’t welcomed there. They didn’t want to see us make $30.00 an hour. They looked at it as though; Their son, or daughter could be making that money,or their niece or nephew, brother, or sister. So to retaliate they put most people of color on second shift (the worst shift to have because you never could spend time with your family, or was left to raise a latch key kid). And if a minority was lucky enough to work first shift, they were put on the worst job in the plant. There were a few exceptions, those minorities who had like 40 years seniority. Seniority more than anyone in the plant. We were always the last one hired, and the first ones fired. They only hired us to make quota. They didn’t plan on keeping us for long. Just enough to tell the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission that; “We tried, they just didn’t work out”! Isn’t that what they always say? Come on NAACP ! I can give you some real topics to discuss, and some solutions! Let’s do it while we at least got a president in office that’s willing to listen. Please feel free to contact me. And don’t just contact me when you want a donation.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:12:44 +0000

I agree with Tai. That it is easier for a white person with a felony to get a job, than it is for a black person who has never been arrested to get one. That is the new modern day oppression/Jim Crow. It’s a way to keep people of color oppressed. You see with all these new background checks, and credit checks they do on people today in order for a person to obtain employment, and housing;If we don’t pass we pass the background check, we would be denied employment or housiing because we didn’t pass the credit check. It’s almost impossible to pass these new Jim Crow Laws. With crooked white cops, so quick to put false charges on people of color, and with white corporate America, only hiring their own for good paying jobs. As a result, we can’t pass neither background or credit checks to obtain a good paying job so that we could bring our family out of poverty, and sustain longevity as a people. Why don’t the LDF do more about systematic oppression. There’s more to this extermination problem, than Hurricane Katrina.

By: Tai

Tai — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:50:04 +0000

I came across this article today. I am not a woman of privilege, nor am I White. Though, I was married to a White man. He was privileged with his whiteness and the shine from his badge. That privilege brought him the authority to abuse, manipulate, and lie. Lies that were supported by fellow badge wearing comrades that enforce the laws that only support their individual racist belief systems.
After being married to an abusive husband I was further raped by the judicial system. I ended up with a bogus arrest record in two states and sat in jail for over a month. After everything I had gone through, I still empowered myself with education and tried to do the best that I can. I thought my hard times were behind me and after all the hard work; I cannot get a professional license. After thinking that if I could just get my education, I could get a good job, and I could actually support my daughter and have medical benefits.
As it turns out, I am in debt in school loans and can’t make ends meet. I can’t put my Master’s Degree to work because of my arrest record. Why is it acceptable for cops to be above the law? Reality is that regardless of experience and qualifications, I will have to agree, “…it is easier for a white person with a felony conviction to get a job than for a black person who has never been arrested.”