'I Can’t Just Sit and Not Speak Up Against Injustice'

 

By Shae Harris

I was brought on board to help guide the policies and practices of the District’s criminal justice system. Before I was hired as Policy Advisor, l served as the Deputy Director at the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs where I ran day to day operations. What I learned through my daily interactions with the people directly impacted by the system prepared me to serve as a committed advocate. I see my career as doing what I can to create equal justice for all the residents of D.C., regardless of their zip code.   I want to leave the world a better place than how I inherited it. I have a genuine love for Black people and culture, and because I care about my people, I can’t just sit and not speak up against injustice.
 
I have cared deeply about these issues since I was a child. When I was home in Columbus, Ohio for Thanksgiving, I came across an old scrap book of mine. In it was an essay I had written in 8th grade when there had been a spike in crime in the city. The schools were being patrolled by police officers, and students had to pass through metal detectors. I described the school-to-prison pipeline before that term was coined and wrote that it was not only discriminatory, but it created an atmosphere that undermined our right to a quality education. That essay won a prize and the experience taught me an important lesson: I had a voice and I could make an impact and a difference.  
 
Years later, when I was in college in North Carolina, I had a summer internship with the NAACP Washington Bureau. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Marc Mauer of The Sentencing Project, Julie Stewart of Families Against Mandatory Minimums and other leaders. Those conversations were transformative. I walked away from that summer knowing I wanted to change the criminal justice system. I saw that our laws were extremely unjust and led to the disproportionate incarceration of Black and brown people. And when I went home to Ohio, I saw how the collateral consequences of involvement with the system were absolutely destroying the community I was from. So many people I know and love were damaged. The more I learned, the more I knew what my path would be.
 
My participation in JLUSA’s Leading with Conviction training is yet another step on what I see as my life’s path. Being among other leaders who have been affected by the criminal justice system affirms my purpose and reenergizes me. Having just completed the first training session, I am truly excited about the experience and looking forward to the next one. 

Source: JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA)