*A historic event occurred on Saturday, May 30. The first virtual #TimeDone Day Rally was held. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rally, actually the second one, was a virtual event; not that it mattered to the attendees or participants, including Teddy Riley, Wyclef Jean and John Legend, who were on hand from their homes to lend support.
The #TimeDone campaign is a movement that aims to remove the nearly 50,000 legal restrictions to jobs, housing and other opportunities that 70 million Americans living with a past conviction or record face, long after serving their time. Their motto is, “When Will Our Sentence End.”
#TimeDone is calling for:
• The federal government and every state to remove restrictions on housing and employment for people living with a past conviction or record.
• The removal of restrictions on federal stimulus package support for small businesses led by people with a past conviction or record.
• States to automatically clear the old criminal records of people who have done their time and are attempting to move forward in their lives.
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The #TimeDone Day rally began with Jay Jordan, Executive Director of Californians for Safety and Justice telling his story about how as someone who was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison and now has a record, cannot obtain basic jobs, such as being a barber or selling used cars. There were others who told their stories as well. Stories of how their records are negatively impacting their families, whether it was they themselves with the record or a child speaking about how their parent’s record has impacted them.
Wyclef Jean performed three songs; one a very apropos song about not being able to call 911 anymore and there will be no real change until the justice system protects everyone. He also performed a very profound one, with lyrics that said, he could “be elected President on Friday, be assassinated on Saturday, buried on Sunday and people would go back to work like nothing happened. It would be an ordinary day.”
Robert Rooks, CEO of Alliance for Safety and Justice, talked about through all the issues of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, (e.g., dealing with the mental health crises of the70s or the crack crises of the 80s), the solution was to build more prisons. Terrance Stewart, CA Time Done Director, spoke about getting both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in order to offset his record, saying, he “had to do so much more” and shared his family is still suffering and being punished.
Project Kinship, Safe Return Project and A New Way of Life were also on hand as partners in the #TimeDone movement, as was California Governor Gavin Newsome, who has signed two bills in support of individuals with records. He spoke about the bill he signed to automatically remove convictions from 1.5 million records. John Legend was also on hand and offered words of support as did rappers G-Easy, Rotimi and P-Lo.
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Desmond Meade, President of the Florida Rights Restoration Committee, was awarded the first #TimeDone National Achievement Award and had one of the most compelling stories I have ever heard. When he was released from prison, he was homeless, addicted to drugs and standing in front of the railroad tracks waiting on a train to come so that he could jump in front of it. The train didn’t come and he ended up crossing the tracks, walking a couple of blocks and checked himself into a drug treatment facility for four months. He then turned his life around and ended up graduating from law school. As chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, Meade led the successful effort to pass Florida Amendment 4, a 2018 state initiative that restored voting rights to over 1.4 million Floridians with previous felony convictions. In April 2019, Time magazine named Meade as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Desmond Meade’s main concern these days is ensuring housing for people with convictions and records, saying, “It doesn’t make any sense that during a pandemic we are restricting housing.”
Another inspiring story was delivered by Tarra Simmons, a Washington attorney who is running to become the first formerly incarcerated State Representative. In 2011, Simmons was sentenced to 30 months in prison for theft and drug crimes. In 2017, she graduated from Seattle University School of Law, but was unable to take the bar exam because of her record. She challenged the Washington State Bar Association rules in the Washington State Supreme Court and was allowed to take the bar exam.
The following elected officials from around the country were also on hand to show their support: California Senator Holly Mitchell, California State Assemblymember Phil Ting, Michigan State Representative Cynthia Johnson, Michigan State Representative Graham Filler and Pennsylvania State Senator Camera Bartolotta. Several of the officials have bills in the works to aid #TimeDone’s cause, (e.g., expungement and clean slate bills).
Teddy Riley shared that Guy performed in prisons years ago and that he has a brother who has been incarcerated for 23 years and that he is working to get him released. Teddy also mentioned his mentor, David Hyatt, died while in prison for 22 years. I think many, if not most, of us know someone who is or has been in the criminal justice system and now has a record, so a lot of us can relate to Teddy and his brother. Teddy was asked to share some encouraging words to the 70 million people living with some sort of criminal record. He said, “there is hope. Since the Internet came out, there are so many businesses created. The Internet is the way to go.” He mentioned due to the pandemic and the fact that nobody is having concerts, new businesses need to be developed. He is in the process of launching a business that buys distressed houses and leases them back to the owner until they can afford to rebuy it. Teddy promoted virtual visits and online concerts and said people need to get creative and said, “nobody is doing comedy.” He said, “make money on the technology side.” Teddy’s parting comment was if families out there learn a trade, they should use it.
Quan Huynh, the Post-Release Program Manager for Defy Ventures told how his record prevented him from getting a COVID-19 stimulus loan for his small business. One of the questions asked about a record and once he answered “yes” he could no go any further. Andrew Glazier, President & CEO of Devy Ventures says the restrictions on people with records is “a second sentence” and hurts families, communities and our economy.
The bottom line is 70 million people want a second chance and are fighting for:
• Removal of restrictions for jobs and housing,
• Restructuring so that small business owners with records can benefit from stimulus money; and
• Sunsetting old convictions
There was a special announcement at the end of the rally. The All Hands on Deck Initiative was announced. The Alliance for Safety and Justice, Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation and Unite LA will partner to provide grants for businesses and individuals who have been locked out of opportunities due to their record. Dave’s Killer Bread has been hiring people with records for years via their Second Chance Program and will be working with businesses to expand the number of companies working with the Second Chance Program. For more information on the All Hands on Deck Initiative, go to www.timedone.org/allhands.
DJ Cassidy hosted an after-party, with his first two songs being on target…Earth, Wind and Fire’s, “Fantasy” and Harold Melvin’s, “Wake Up Everybody.”
If you would like to join the #TimeDone movement, text TimeDone to 97779. Let’s show our support and help make a difference.
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles based writer/reviewer. Contact her via [email protected]
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