L
EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
WEDNESDAYS • May 20, 2015
INSIDE Meet the new GSCV CEO - 4 Richmond actor is multi-faceted- 11 ‘Ban the Box’ urged for federal jobs - 12 Cuts coming to Social Security- 14
Richmond & Hampton Roads
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I Vote for Me
Local non-profit working to impact social change in a powerful way This past Saturday a new nonprofit was introduced. Its purpose is simple: to dismantle the current social, economic and political systems that seek to maintain a permanent class of poor and sometimes powerless individuals. Nearly 100 people attended the launch of I Vote For Me (IVFM) at Stratford University. According to its executive director, Lorraine Wright, IVFM will work to educate, inform and ignite social change. Wright, a devoted wife and mother of two, describes IVFM as a movement for the people by the people. “There is an apparent need for social advocacy,” Wright said. “The social climate of the country is raising concern and bringing major attention to the racial, educational and socio-economic issues for the faces of under-represented communities.” Wright believes that social change is not an option but a necessity. “No one human being is valued more than another. Therefore, I Vote For Me is an organization that’s inclusive for everyone. Truth is a revolutionary act. It’s about figuring what you can do to be the best you,” Wright explained. This movement was organized on principals of leadership, empowerment and self-advocacy. Its four components are: · Courage Under Fire—Women’s empowerment; · REMIX—Ex-offender re-imaging and resource building; · Mind Your Business—Financial
Lorraine Wright at the launch of her new non-profit I Vote For Me. wellness and wealth building; and · SWAG (Showing the World Achievement and Growth) —Youth leadership. One of the most center-staged issues that IVFM is advocating against is the so-called school-toprison pipeline. Wright states that various states spend billions of dollars on the juvenile justice system instead of on schools. “On average, states spend $88,000 per year to incarcerate a young
person and only $10,000 to educate one. “Taking it a step further, three million students are suspended from school each year and the majority of those suspensions are for minor and subjective infractions,” Wright said. This pipeline, said Wright, mostly impacts African American and Hispanic students. She points out that black students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than their white
counterparts. “At least 70 percent of students arrested or referred to police at school are black and Latino. Black students represent approximately 16 percent of enrollment but represent 31 percent of school-related arrests,” Wright asserts. Referring to a study from the Center for Public Integrity, Wright points out another area of main concern —Virginia leading the nation (continued on page 2)