MORE FROM HUFFPOST
MORE FROM HUFFPOST
Ban the Box
Few can anticipate just how hard reentry can be when you've got a felony conviction branded on your chest, and a feeling that the world wants you to fail.
Election year or not, the men and women representing us must hear our stories and recognize that "moving" or "banning" the box in higher education must become law to make education a equal chance, not just in New York State but nationwide.
The problem, according to some critics of the policy, is that while BTB might help those with criminal records get their feet in the door, employers without criminal record information will engage in "statistical discrimination."
My father first went to jail when I was three years old. Growing up under these circumstances provided me with firsthand insight into how the criminal justice system sets up first-time -- indeed, one-time -- offenders to be repeat offenders.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Trump always gets press but the fact that he's hired three people who've done time shouldn't be as newsy as it is. We make hiring people convicted of felonies a bigger deal than it should be.
When you are released from prison, the last thing you want to do is spend the rest of your life reliving the mistakes that put you away in the first place. I should know: when I got out of prison in 2001, I wanted nothing more than to go back to school, earn my degree, and get a job that would turn my life around.
The Education Department wants colleges to "ban the box."
I'd heard that it's hard for those who have served time to find work, but I was confident because I thought I had the skills I needed to get my life back on track and become a productive member of my community. I had no idea that the job market is barricaded against people like me.
