Good woman from the OOC with her story and an important message and link provided below. Dear Kyle, I am voting in this election – and in every election – because it’s my proud right as a citizen returning from incarceration. As a leader with the Ohio Organizing Collaborative in Youngstown, Ohio, Ive been canvassing, phone banking, passing out fliers and having conversations about the importance of voting in order to get my community to the polls on Tuesday. Every time that I walk into a corner store, I ask the customers if they’re registered to vote; and I am planning to drive my neighbors to the polls if they don’t have a ride. Why? Because I know that every voice matters and every VOTE matters as we fight for our civil liberties at the ballot box on Tuesday. Will you join PICO in making phone calls or going door to door this weekend in your state? Just sign up here and we will let you know how to plug in to our Get Out The Vote programs in the next 4 days. While I was in prison, separated from my community and unable to vote, I had no say in what happened in my neighborhood or for the loved ones I left behind. Our 65 million citizens returning from incarceration after completing their sentences across the country are still too often locked out of the voting process, stripped of the very voices we could be raising in order to create life-changing opportunities for our children and families. Ive definitely faced the struggles of re-entry after I had served my time and paid my debt to society. Obtaining my first college degree and serving my time in prison has proven not enough for the workforce: I am still denied employment even though I have worked so hard to become an asset to my community following my release in 1990. The rules of our society make it hard for us to succeed: being denied housing and employment, even dignity. Too often, it is communicated to us that we are not wanted or needed. Yet we know that ALL voices are needed for our United States to work for everyone. I have made mistakes, yet these mistakes should not haunt me for the rest of my life. As a child of God, I deserve equal opportunity to housing and employment, and access to the American dream. It is time to create laws and systems that serve and protect all Americans, no matter their histories. Click here to help remind your community that their voices matter, and remind them to vote this Tuesday, November 4th. This year, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative has united thousands of people in community groups, labor unions, policy institutions and faith organizations from across the state to fight for our civil liberties at the ballot box. In each of our communities across the country, this fight looks different, but is just as real. Together, let’s raise our voices and drive polices that rebuild our communities. Join us as we all work to get our communities out to vote on November 4th. salsa3.salsalabs/o/2115/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=13826 Let’s raise our voices with our votes! Akim Akim Lattermore Community leader with the Ohio Organizing Collaborative Part of the PICO National Network PS - Click here to learn more about where your polling place is and whats on your ballot.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 02:10:16 +0000
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