Best of Positive Transitioning

Our Greatest Hits: Some of Our Favorite Stories

In This Issue Greatest Hits November 2020 Letter from the Executive Director

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Word of the Month

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Hustler to Entrepreneur

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An Interview with Tia Ryans

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The Power of Pets

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Hip-Hop Through the Years

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Voting Rights for the Formerly Incarcerated

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Letter from the Executive Director The end of the year is a perfect time to reflect and be grateful. So we took this opportunity to look back on some of our favorite articles. We’re grateful to bring articles that can be useful – both interesting and inspiring.

We hope you enjoy taking a look back with us.

Sincerely, Porche Proffit

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Masthead and Contributors Editor-in-Chief, Porche Proffit Editor, Ericka Foster

Contributors Contributing Editor, Lakia Goodman Writer, Maggie Allen Writer, Natalie Rodriguez-Steen Cover image credit: Editorial credit: Sahroe / Shutterstock.com Positive Transitioning Inc. is a non–profit organization that provides information and resources for individuals reentering the community after incarceration.

In addition to this magazine, Positive Transitioning Inc. offers a 24-hour Resource/Listening Line that services all 50 states. The Resource/Listening line is staffed by life coaches, and provides individuals with the immediate support and resources they may be needed during reentry.

Positive Transitioning Inc. also provides individuals life coaches that will assist them in every step of the reentry process: housing, education, employment, vocational training, obtaining government benefits, veteran assistance, medical management, sponsorship, financial stability, family reintegration, and legal assisting.

Currently Positive Transitioning Inc. is entirely web–based as we are hoping that this makes it easily accessible for anyone to access from anywhere.

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Word of the Month re¡flec¡tion a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation.

There are three methods to gaining wisdom. The first is reflection, which is the highest. The second is limitation, which is the easiest. The third is experience, which is the bitterest. ~Confucius

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Hustler to Entrepreneur: One in the Same

By Ericka Foster In 2018, I was launched into becoming a full-time freelance writer and marketing consultant. During the five-year adventure, I had a chance to work with other small business entrepreneurs including a tax accountant, a yoga studio owner, and a nonprofit owner. There are all kinds of entrepreneurs – offering goods or services, one employee or several, having a bricks and mortar location or using a home office.

You’ve got what it takes In his article for Entrepreneur magazine, ex-offender and entrepreneur Andrew Medal says that three reasons that the formerly incarcerated make good entrepreneurs are:   

They can handle uncertainty They are creative thinkers They are experts in resourcefulness

If you can handle the uncertainty of prison, you can handle the uncertainty of running a business. One minute, you’re feeling great about the direction of the business, and the next minute you are wondering what the hell you are thinking. (I’ve found that those moments hit hardest at about 4 a.m.). That’s why it is so important to be passionate about your work. You will certainly run the gamut of emotion – scared, proud, hopeful, and disappointed. You need to be anchored by the idea of knowing that you are meant to do the work.

“I started Positive Transitioning with my co-founder and sister because I have always been interested in the justice system, but also a passion to help support those that don't have anyone“ explains the Porche Proffit, the co-founder and Executive Director of Positive Transitioning, Inc. “These two passions are what led me to want to begin Positive Transitioning.” It’s not an easy rode, but passion is what motivates you.

Creativity doesn’t stop at coming up with a unique idea. You get to solve every challenge in a nontraditional way. There will be staffing challenges, funding challenges, logistical challenges. But an exoffender who has disregarded the rules, will bring that same rebelliousness to building the business.

So much of what being an entrepreneur is …is making it happen. Once you have those creative ideas, you have to make it happen with limited resources – time, money, and personnel. Sometimes they call it a startup mentality, but nonprofits know that life. You will too, if you decide to start your own business.

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"I love entrepreneurship because you become an owner. Entrepreneurship is the key to wealth in our society,” says Brian Hamilton (pictured left), founder of Inmates to Entrepreneurs and the Brian Hamilton Foundation. “Also, you, through your own hard work, control your destiny." Inmates to Entrepreneurs is an organization that provides the formerly incarcerated with entrepreneurial skills and support.

Inmates to Entrepreneurs provides online resources, correctional facility workshops, and city-based events to give ex-offenders with the tools to build a sustainable business. The origin of the organization took place in 1992 when Brian Hamilton and Reverend Robert J. Harris met. 27 years later, their relationship has blossomed into an organization that helps formerly incarcerated men and women build their own businesses. In-person courses are offered in North Carolina – in facilities and outside -- where the organization originated. For those outside of North Carolina, the course is available online.

To be a successful entrepreneur, ex-offenders have to harness those positive qualities into an aboveboard, legal business. In addition to Inmates to Entrepreneurs, there are other organizations that can help formerly incarcerated individuals receive the tools they need to build a viable business.

Defy Ventures offers three programs to help the formerly incarcerated get a new lease on life with training programs -- CEO of Your New Life which is a program which begins in incarceration or re-entry.

Defy also offers an entrepreneur boot camp for those who those who are released before starting the program. Finally, the organization offers a business incubator which walks the entrepreneur through the steps of building the business and includes seed money to get started. The organization boasts a less than 8% recidivism rate after one year.

Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) runs six-month When searching for support entrepreneurship training programs at the men’s facilities online, be sure to type in located at the Sanders Estes Unit in Venus, Texas, the keywords like “microloans” and Cleveland Correctional Center (CCC) in Cleveland, Texas “small business incubator” to and the Lockhart Correctional Center in Lockhart, Texas. get the most out of your search.

They also offer the Leadership Academy phase at the Gib Lewis Unit in Woodville, Texas. The in-prison leadership academy and mini-MBA boot camp begin with a comprehensive candidate selection process, includes coursework by volunteers with real entrepreneurial experience, and culminates with a competitive business plan competition and post-release support.

This is not a comprehensive list; this is just a place to get started. When searching for organizations to help ex-offenders become entrepreneurs, also look for organizations specifically focusing on women and/or minorities.

Although we’ve said several times throughout this issue, being an entrepreneur is NOT easy. But sometimes, it will be fun, often it will be rewarding, and usually the reward will be worth the hard work.

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Remaining Resilient: An Interview With Tia Ryans

By Maggie Allen Maggie Allen had the pleasure of chatting with Tia Ryans, a member of the Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM) Faces of Women Imprisoned program. Once incarcerated, Tia took on higher education and eventually founded her own nonprofit, F.O.R.T.E. (Forcing Out Recidivism Through Education) House, “to provide a healthy and transparent living environment for formerly incarcerated students transitioning through post-secondary education.� Tia is a strong advocate for criminal justice reform, and her journey is a testament to her incredible strength and the passion she feels for others.

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Maggie Allen: So tell me a bit about yourself and how you got involved with LOHM. Tia Ryans: I signed up to be a participant of their Faces of Women Imprisoned.

Some people were at different phases, but we touched on storytelling...ways to use our personal story during advocacy efforts; specific asks like monetary support and community support; and public speaking training. Just exercises to get as comfortable with using our own personal experiences, making sure that we were mentally and emotionally healthy to even do that. It was a great experience and a great retreat.

MA: Based on your website, I see that F.O.R.T.E. House was a school project of yours?

TR: It was. My first investor was Rutgers University.

MA: What was it that personally motivated you to found it?

TR: It started as a class project, but going through higher education, we have plenty of those. What stuck out, and kind of made me drawn to making this tangible was the fact that I experienced collateral consequences when it came to housing because of my incarceration. I know there were many people in my class as well, because this class was designed for formerly incarcerated students. So I’d seen many of my peers going through the same felon disenfranchisement when it came to this particular thing, and made it that much harder to focus on higher education.

But we were really determined and persevered. One of my classmates slept in her car, and it was just things like that that made me say, “Okay, if we’re that dedicated and we served our time, why shouldn’t we be rewarded for that in some way?”

So I said, “Okay, I’m going to create a house.” I asked my classmates from the original project to help me, and everyone said no. They were all busy with their own things. No one wanted to help me, so I did it on my own. And I learned so much that way.

MA: That’s great. Yeah, getting access to safe, secure, affordable housing is a major concern for a lot of people.

TR: It is. I know that a lot of people are fighting to get that question of “do you have a prior conviction” removed from applications, whether it be housing, school, or work. But there are other questions that hinder you. They might ask for a credit history; I never had credit because I was incarcerated as a teenager. Then they will ask for rental history, which I never had for that same reason.

And even if it hadn’t happened to me as a teenager - if I was incarcerated for, say, five years or a decade, or twenty years - my rental history isn’t relevant anymore.

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Credit isn’t credit anymore. Those are all barriers, what I refer to as collateral consequences, because it’s less direct than being sentenced, but no less damaging.

MA: It’s hard enough getting housing even without a criminal record. You need to have steady employment; credit history, as you mentioned...it’s especially difficult in these expensive times.

TR: I know. I went through the mortgage process and I learned how difficult it is very quickly, even for the average potential homeowner.

MA: So do your programs specifically work with college students?

TR: It doesn’t have to be a 2-4 year college institution; just some form of higher education. If you want to go to a trade school and get certification in plumbing, or learn cosmetology, that’s fine. I’m just trying to promote access to higher education and minimize that intergenerational inability to obtain it.

But you do have to be a matriculating or enrolled college student to reside at F.O.R.T.E. House.

MA: On your website, it says that Rutgers University selected your proposal as part of a competition with other students’. I’d love to know more about that. Why do you think they selected your project in particular for initial funding?

TR: Well, I did have to present it. There was a panel of judges, and everyone did NOT agree with the idea. I think they thought it was kind of outlandish. I think some people were intrigued because they didn’t understand the magnitude of barriers you face when it comes to housing.

I did go through a nine month course, and I think that actually influenced people, because they saw how hard I worked. It wasn’t like they were distant; they saw me capitalizing off of the resources they gave me. I tried to build a rapport, and then, when it came time to present...well, for one, I definitely stood out because I was the only woman.

MA: Oh wow.

TR: Yes. And honestly? I think I was the most prepared. I’m not just saying that, either. I definitely was the most thorough. We had a specific amount of time, and on mine, I went over the financials, even creating additional slides because I knew I couldn’t make another time slot for questioning. I wanted to have them ready to answer any questions. I over prepared and passed out F.O.R.T.E. House notebooks, business cards, and information sheets for them to take home. And the judges asked me the toughest questions.

MA: Did they really?

TR: It was an all male panel, too. A couple of other people also said that. “Woah, they went crazy on you!” But no matter what they asked, I was very well prepared.

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Maybe a little too prepared. People told me they thought the judges went extra hard on me to see if they could trip me up.

MA: But obviously you persevered.

TR: I did. I really did. When you want something bad enough, you’ll work extra, extra hard for it.

MA: Absolutely. What are you most proud of, regarding F.O.R.T.E. House?

TR: I think I am most proud of the way we are able to get back to the community.

We’re able to be walking, living, breathing clichés. You know, a lot of people see someone who was formerly incarcerated and immediately have this preconceived notion of how we are supposed to look, think, and act. Or they might just see what they know from television. I love the fact that we are able to say, “No, we actually focus on this. We’re wanting to achieve this.”

We’ve become a part of the community; the residents do have to give back by mentoring at-risk youth. And of course we’re giving back by being self-sufficient; we’re minimizing recidivism. All we would give back would be additional debt, if we recidivate. This way, not only can we become tax paying citizens - for people who care about the monetary benefits - but we also get to pay it forward to other people who come behind us.

MA: That’s really great, and I feel like that’s a true hallmark of success. Not just succeeding as an individual, but encouraging others, even in situations unlike your own, to succeed and treat each other with respect and dignity.

TR: Yes, absolutely.

MA: What are your plans to expand and develop new programs over the next couple of years?

TR: Oh my god, yes. F.O.R.T.E. House is designed to be scalable. That’s why the website says “njfortehouse.” I want an NY F.OR.T.E. House, and a CA F.O.R.T.E. House.

I never saw myself as a person just to run day-to-day operations. I’m the founder, and I want to see expansions. I actually just flew back into town Friday night; I stayed in Texas for almost a week. Texas A&M University invited me out there to talk about F.O.R.T.E. House and see how we could collaborate.

Hopefully sooner rather than later, we can expand there, and further down the road, to everywhere around the United States. I do want the second house to be in Camden, NJ; I feel like it’s really needed down there. And the garden state is my home state, so I want to get two here before I go anywhere else. It’s definitely exciting.

MA: Here’s a fun one. Did you have any role models prior to this project? Who would you say most inspired you?

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TR: There were so many, and everyone was formerly incarcerated, because I looked at them and saw them doing things that I thought could not be done. Being incarcerated, there’s a stigma around you, making you feel like, “Oh, I can’t do this or that.” You know, I interned for Congressman Payne. I didn’t think I could work in a government building, right? So when I started seeing people like Topeka Sam (LOHM Founder and Executive Director), who has done so many things...like, how did she make it to the White House?

I see things like that, and I’m like, “I have to do that.” When I first met Topeka, I told her I had this idea for a house. And she said, “Really? I want to do something similar. I want to find out what Columbia University thinks of it.” So I am almost literally following in her footsteps, if you can believe it. She did it, and I thought to myself, “I’m going to do it.”

Her idea to partner with Columbia University gave me the idea to partner with Rutgers for my house. Then she started Faces of Women, and I said, “You know, people are always coming to me for speaking engagements, and sometimes I can’t do it...I’m going to start my own speakers bureau, just like Topeka did.”

Another person who influenced me was Ivelisse Gilestra, though she’ll probably deny it. She is one of the strongest people I know. We have taken two different paths, but there is a spirit in her that I just can't get over. She has this energy; you want to follow in her footsteps, but she also energizes you to create your own footsteps. She’s just so awesome. She’ll deny being my biggest inspiration, but I’m telling you otherwise.

MA: I glean that women tend to face very unique issues, both in incarceration and re-entry. Is there any particular advice you would offer to women who find themselves in your previous situation, who are trying to get their lives back together?

TR: I would caution everyone that it’s not going to be easy. It’s not, but the payoff is so big if you remain resilient. Sometimes when I speak about change, I tell them, “I’m not asking you to do anything other than what they already do.”

When I was incarcerated, society was seeing the worst part of me. They’d see me fighting and say, “Oh my god, she’s so aggressive and angry!” And now, I still fight, but I do it in a different way. I fight for those women to get out, and for laws to be changed. What some said was my worst part, I made my best part. What used to be a liability is now an asset. Now, I’m not called angry. I’m called passionate.

MA: It reminds me of a lot of work dynamics I’ve seen, where women either get called too passive or too involved and bossy. It’s great to take something that others see as a negative and reframe it in a healthy way, staying true to yourself.

TR: Yeah, at the end of the day, stay true to who you are.

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I would also tell people that I won’t ask anything of them that they aren’t capable of. If you get takeout food, you throw the container away after you’ve eaten it.

Same with an empty water bottle or the tags on new clothes. I say take what you need out of any situation in life, and throw what you don’t need away, like trash.

Everyone can take out the trash; we’re all capable of doing that every day. Just take that idea and apply it mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically in our lives. Throw away what doesn’t serve you, or isn’t good for you.

MA: Right. Well, that’s about all I have. Is there anything else, any side projects you’d want to highlight, for those who are unaware?

TR: I’ve actually started another organization called All of Us or None, Northern New Jersey. It’s a completely volunteer organization, but it’s very active. When they have ideas, they kind of pass them through me, but I’m just the founder. I oversee it.

We have a Welcome Home initiative in which, when someone is released, they get a welcome home basket with toiletries and small essentials. It’s easy to advocate for housing and job access, things like that, but the first day you’re home, you’re not going to think about that right away. You will need soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, tampons, etc. Those kinds of direct services are what we try to focus on; we also partner with people to get gift cards, to secure meals, you know, more immediate needs upon release.

In Florida and New Jersey, we’re also starting a re-entry anonymous group. There didn’t seem to be a specific space for people to talk about re-entry, like they might about alcoholism, etc. My partner just flew back in from Florida, trying to narrow down the specific details so that we can launch that one and New Jersey’s simultaneously. Groups should pop up around the country and be like Alcoholics Anonymous, with guiding principles to help support people trying to get their lives back in order. Definitely check us out at allofusornone-northernnj.com.

MA: It’s really impressive, all this work you’ve done in just the last couple of years.

I imagine that you didn’t know what exactly was going to pay off. You just had to try.

TR: Yes, I didn’t know. I started relationships before F.O.R.T.E. House, and I think that was the key. I formed a relationship with Rutgers University and said, “Hey, if I have this house, will you visit the institution and consider it as an option?” They said yes. About three years ago, I went to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and presented to them. About a year ago, I contacted the regional parole office and asked if I could have one parole officer for my house. So when F.O.R.T.E. House came to fruition, I already had a network and resources set in place. It looked like it happened fast, but it didn’t. It took years to build those relationships.

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The Power of Pets

By Maggie Allen

In times of stress and sadness, what cheers people up? It can be hard to pull yourself out of a funk, but if the view counts on YouTube are anything to go by, watching pets is a good place to start.

It’s a known fact that animals can make us smile, but many people don’t realize that there are health benefits to keeping them as well. According to the CDC, people who own pets tend to have decreased blood pressure, cholesterol, and feelings of loneliness, but report increased opportunities for exercise, outdoor activities, and socialization. This has been shown across many demographics, but especially those who are older, more isolated, or struggling with mental health.

Bonding with an animal can also offer a greater sense of purpose, because even the most well-behaved pets need a lot of care and attention. Pets of all kinds are waiting in shelters or foster homes, all vying against each other for the chance to be adopted into a loving home. I have adopted two skittish cats from shelters in my area, because their shyness was making it harder for them to be noticed. I had the feeling that their true personalities would shine through in time, with their own space to feel comfortable and safe. Seeing them warm up to me since then has been so rewarding. One of them has even proven to be a serial cuddler, something I never knew a cat could actually enjoy.

Pets provide a sense of unconditional love and support that might feel lacking in other relationships, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have to be earned. Like people, some animals had rough starts in life, being abandoned, neglected, or mistreated. Forming a connection might be gradual, way slower than you would like. But giving them another chance can be rehabilitative for more than just the pet.

Prison programs are a great example. The Florida Department of Corrections is utilizing a Teaching Animals and Inmates Life Skills (TAILS) program, pairing at-risk dogs with institutionalized men. Most of these dogs were seized from dog-fighting, abusive or hoarding environments, or were otherwise awaiting euthanasia.

Both the dogs and prisoners are screened for serious behavioral problems or offenses before they can enter the

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program. Once there, the men assist with training the dogs, and in the process, get to interact and play with them.

Many prisoners see themselves in these dogs, and can provide them with the second chance that they themselves might have felt denied. The inmates can tangibly feel that it makes a difference.

One-on-one attention and training does wonders for the animals.

Canine aggression and behavior expert Jim Crosby tells a story of a Pit bull named Cuddles, who was seized as part of a dog-fighting arrest in Canada, but was then deemed too dangerous to be placed in a home.

“Cuddles, who had the full battle scars of a dog that had experienced the viciousness of a fighting ring, went to rehab training before she was entered into the TAILS program where she graduated with top honors and earned a Canine Good Citizen title”, Crosby said. “She is now an emotional support dog for a 73-year-old retired firefighter and veteran living in Cornwall, New Jersey, while six of the other dogs who were once sentenced to death now work with law enforcement throughout Florida as detector dogs for bombs and drugs,” Crosby said.

There are similar programs for cats as well. In 2015, the Animal Protection League (APL) started the F.O.R.W.A.R.D. program in Indiana’s Pendleton Correctional Facility. The initiative was to take cats from a shelter and place them in the correctional facility. Inmates could learn how to take care of them, while the cats would become more social and trusting towards humans.

In many cases, the effect was twofold. “I’ve had offenders tell me when they got an animal, it was the first time they can remember they were allowing themselves to care about something, to love something,” said the director of APL, Maleah Stringer.

Prisons across the United States have instituted programs that pair inmates with animals in need. One of the oldest prison pet programs in the U.S., beginning in 1981, is the Prison Pet Partnership Program, at the Washington State Corrections Center for Women. A collaboration between Washington State University, Tacoma Community College, and Dominican nun Sister Pauline, the program trains inmates to raise puppies and socialize them for service to disabled people. Dogs that can’t succeed at service training are taught obedience and offered up for public adoption instead.

Right from the beginning, the program reduced the rate of recidivism among inmates who participated for at least two years. It also serves as vocational training, allowing inmates to earn certification in pet training and grooming.

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There are programs for dogs and cats, but what about one for horses? In order to stabilize the growing numbers of America’s wild horses, the federal Bureau of Land Management is adopting them out, working with the Arizona Department of Corrections and Colorado Correctional Industries on the Wild Horse Inmate Program (WHIP). Professional horse trainers supervise and instruct inmates in gentling and training horses, which then become available for adoption after they’ve completed the program.

What about even less traditional pets?

Inmates at the Norfolk County Jail in Dedham, Massachusetts, work with birds, raccoons, foxes, and other animals in need at the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth. The program, launched in 2014

by Sheriff Michael Bellotti, allows inmates to help care for sick and injured animals. This helps them cultivate stronger compassion, and a respect for nature as a whole.

If you are out of prison, but you absolutely cannot own a pet right now, fear not! There are opportunities everywhere to be around animals. You could volunteer at a shelter or humane society, cleaning up after cats or dogs and helping them socialize with people. In a similar vein, volunteer at a zoo, sanctuary, or petting farm, where the workers teach visitors about traditional and exotic animals. There are also animal conservationist groups, with opportunities to go abroad and do some good for the global effort. You could also apply to become a pet sitter or dog walker, depending on your exact criminal history. If that doesn’t work out, offer to help friends and family with their pets.

At the end of the day, bonding with animals can mean many things. Some will be excitable, or cuddly, while others are more aloof, content to keep you company nearby. Their personalities are extremely varied, and you should always do your research on species and breeds, finding the ones that suit you and your lifestyle best. They can be expensive to keep, especially if their behavioral or medical issues need ongoing treatment.

But with that said, companion animals can do wonders for the humans in their lives. Loving them, and being loved by them, can heal and grow you in ways that you don’t expect. My cats tend to exasperate me. I wish they would leave my furniture alone, and stop knocking things over when they wrestle and chase each other. But I have yet to have a day where I don’t feel loved and needed by them, and when I am feeling my absolutely lowest, they always seem to know and step in. On my face.

Yes, literally, they will try to walk on my face. But it’s the thought behind it that really counts.

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Hip-hop: Through the Years

By Maggie Allen *click on images for photo credit In the 1970s, an underground movement known as "hip-hop" began to form in the South Bronx section of New York City. Though often considered a synonym for rap, hip-hop specifically refers to a complex culture comprising four elements: deejaying, or “turntabling”; rapping, also known as “MCing”; graffiti painting, also known as “graf” or “writing”; and “B-boying,” which encompasses hip-hop dance, style, and attitude.

Supposedly, the graffiti movement of hip-hop was inspired by Greek American teenager in 1972. He tagged, or signed, “Taki 183” (his name and street, 183rd Street) on walls throughout the New York City subway system. By 1975, youths all over the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn neighborhoods were sneaking out after dark, spray-painting colorful mural-size renderings of their names, favorite imagery, and even Andy Warhol-like Campbell’s soup cans onto the sides of subway cars and trains. Some considered it vandalization; New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority responded with dogs, barbed-wire fences, and undercover police squads as deterrents. However, many other people recognized the visual speech and its artistic value. Influential art dealers in the United States, Europe, and Japan began collecting and displaying graffiti in major galleries.

In the Iced- T directed documentary “Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap,” Lord Jamar remarked that Black people, having no room or money for instruments at home in major cities, turned their voices into instruments. It was a transition from the jazzier sounds of previous generations, while innovating and expanding upon them. "We created something from nothing, with hip-hop. That's what the whole spirit of hip-hop is. It was at a time when they were taking instruments and s**t out of the schools and all that type of s**t. See, Black people used to be pretty musical back in the days...and at some point, all of that s**t was removed from us, you know what I mean?...So they tried to take the music from us..."

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Many artists and fans argue that hip-hop has a fifth element, called “knowledge of self/consciousness,” which is shown when the music addresses systemic issues and injustices. At its inception, hip-hop was used by teens and young adults in urban Black and Latino communities as a form of expression, channeling anger, frustration, sadness, and other emotions into a unique art form that would take the world by storm in the decades to come.

"Hip-hop is not made up from scratch. The music and the foundation of the music of hip-hop comes from records that we found in our parents' crates,” said Grandmaster Caz, a rapper, writer, and DJ for the Cold Crush Brothers.

“Old funk and soul, blues; we've given new life to artists like James Brown and Isaac Hayes...and so many other groups. Because we're rapping over their beats...So hip-hop didn't invent everything, but it reinvented everything."

To many people, hip-hop was born in the late summer of 1973. An 18 year old Jamaican immigrant calling himself DJ Kool Herc deejayed his sister's August back-to-school party. “He extended the beat of a record by using two record players, isolating the percussion ‘breaks’ by using a mixer to switch between the two records. Kool Herc's sister, Cindy Campbell, produced and funded the Back to School Party that became the ‘birth of hip-hop.’”

While Kool Herc was widely credited as the father of modern mean, you could consider Dr. Seuss a rapper... rapping for his spoken MC is someone that either has that party-rocking interjections over records. There skill or that lyrical skill. Doug E. Fresh, Busy Bee, these are MCs because these are people who are many historical precedents know how to get on the mic." cited for MCing, such as talking blues songs, the epic histories of - Big Daddy Kane (Something from West African griots, the dozens Nothing: The Art of Rap) (the ritualized word game based on exchanging insults, usually about members of the opponent’s family), and jailhouse toasts (long rhyming poems recounting outlandish deeds and misdeeds). He and other pioneers like Grand Wizard Theodore, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash also isolated and extended the break beat (the part of a song where all sounds except the drums “drop out”). This would often get the crowds to dance; contests soon developed, sparking the invention of “break dancing,” a style involving many acrobatic, and sometimes even airborne, moves.

"A rapper is, you know, someone that rhymes. I

Deejays began developing new techniques for turntable manipulation.

Needle dropping, created by Grandmaster Flash, prolonged short drum

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breaks by playing two copies of a record simultaneously, moving the needle on one turntable back to the start of the break while the other played.

Sliding the record back and forth underneath the needle created the rhythmic effect we know as “scratching.”

It wasn’t long before hip-hop artists outside of New York City began to make their mark. Among some of the most notable were DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Will Smith), from Philadelphia; the provocative 2 Live Crew, from Miami; and M.C. Hammer, from Oakland, California, who experienced short-lived but massive crossover success with a pop audience.

The new school of hip-hop began in the mid 1980’s, with Run-D.M.C. (pictured left) at the forefront. This was a trio of African Americans who fused rap with hard rock, defined a new style of hip dress, and are credited with bringing rap to a wider mainstream audience. RunD.M.C. recorded for Profile, one of several new labels that took advantage of the growing market for rap music. Def Jam featured three important innovators: LL Cool J, rap’s first romantic superstar; the Beastie Boys, a White trio who broadened rap’s audience and popularized digital sampling (composing with music and sounds electronically extracted from other recordings); and Public Enemy, who invested rap with radical Black political ideology, building on the social consciousness of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” (1982).

By the late 1990s hip-hop was artistically dominated by the WuTang Clan, from New York City’s Staten Island, whose combination of street credibility, neo-Islamic mysticism, and kung fu lore made them one of the most complex groups in the history of rap.

Where You From?

One of the most significant responses to New York hip-hop came from Los Angeles, beginning in 1989 with N.W.A.’s dynamic album Straight Outta Compton. N.W.A. (Niggaz With

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You can’t discuss the origins of hip-hop without mentioning Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Yo-Yo, and Roxanne Shante.

Attitude) and former members of that group—Ice Cube, Eazy E, and Dr. Dre—led the way as West Coast rap grew in prominence in the early 1990s. Their graphic, frequently violent tales of real life in the inner city, as well as those of Los Angeles rappers such as Ice-T (remembered for his 1992 single “Cop Killer”) and Snoop Dogg and of East Coast counterparts I was your standard sheltered white kid, but maybe more so because my brother is autistic and I spent a lot of time helping to watch him for my parents. In college, I started to branch out in my music taste. I also started to put on weight towards the end of high school, which made me even more shy than I usually was. I felt ugly and unsocial, which made it hard when I moved away to go to school.

Over time, I met a lot of great friends, including my now husband, who got me more into rap and hip hop. I think the thing that affected me most was Sir Mix-a-Lot, because even though it wasn’t directed at white women, having someone so adamant and excited about “dating” plus sized women helped me to realize that it’s not a dealbreaker. Some guys actually really like it.

It’s all fun and great self expression, for me listening and the artists making the music. ~Maggie Allen

such as Schoolly D, gave rise to the genre known as “gangsta rap.”

As the Los Angeles-based label Death Row Records built an empire around Dr. Dre, Snoop, and Tupac, it also entered into a rivalry with New York City’s Bad Boy Records.

Popularity grows By the 2000's, many of the biggest figures rose from the American South, including Houston’s Geto Boys, Atlanta’s T.I. and Lil Wayne from New Orleans.

From the beginning, the commercialization of hip-hop caused controversy. Seen as a passing fad, hip-hop even showed up in TV commercials. However, if a negative consequence of popularity is commercialization, then a benefit would be its influence on other genres and pop culture as a whole.

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The thing I love most about hip-hop is the storytelling. Music, especially hip-hop, is about celebration, common understanding, and healing. I think the memory that resonates with me the most when I think about hip-hop is the incredible queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige.

Growing up, I owned her album the Breakthrough and I listened to it so much that everyone in my house knew the songs too. I'm pretty sure I burned a hole into the CD too. In that album, she spoke about joy and suffering in a beautiful way.

But so many songs bring back memories such as dancing to them in the car on the way home from school because they allowed you to escape through the music. To this day when I hear a classic Ashanti song like What’s Luv? I can’t help but sing along. ~ Natalie Rodriguez-Steen

When the century turned, hip-hop soon solidified its standing as the dominant influence on global youth culture. It influenced the sound of some of the boy bands of the 1990’s, and to this day, there are variations across cultures all over the world. The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC drew heavily on hip-hop sounds and styles, and rhythm and blues and even gospel had adapted so fully to the newer approach that stars such as Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, and Kirk Franklin straddled both worlds. It also began to generate huge sales of products in the fashion, liquor, electronics, and automobile industries that were popularized by hip-hop artists on cable television stations such as MTV and The Box and in hip-hop-oriented magazines such as The Source and Vibe.

Music has always played such a major part of my life. I have always loved every genre of music and the way that it people together. Music is what really got me through my high school years, I NEVER watched TV and spent all my time listening to music.

Although, I have always loved every genre of music, the stories that hip hop tells taught me so much and gave me a different perspective on life, equality, poverty, and justice. My favorite memories primarily revolve around me learning and having self-awareness. One of my favorite memories is me and my best friend driving around late at night with the music turned up LOUD and listening to DMX’s cd’s Blood of my Blood.

We listened to this CD every day on the way home from school for at least a month, and we made sure that we always recited “BLOOD of my BLOOD, Flesh of my FLEEEESSSSHHHH” which was obviously our favorite part because we would also yell it to each other in school between class to get each other's attention in the hall. What makes this story even funnier, is this is the exact opposite of the music that my best friend would listen to. It really showed how music can reach and resonate with anyone! ~ Porche Proffit

Hip-hop has always been a powerful medium. It has shared so many lived experiences with people who might never have known otherwise, by elevating Black and other minority voices. It has brought to light structural injustices, and many people are fighting to this day to get them fixed. Artists and their listeners have formed strong connections, and now, rap and hiphop also serve as platforms to celebrate the acquisition of power, where once there was none at all. Cardi B was a teenage stripper who used social media and music to elevate herself into financial stability and fame. Drake’s “Started from the Bottom” details his journey from having nothing to rising to the top with his “whole team.”

Hip-hop is the music of strength and solidarity in the face of adversity. It brings people together, and while a lot of progress has happened, I think we need its power now more than ever before.

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The Positive Transitioning magazine has provided me with the opportunity to learn more from my fellow writers while also expanding my knowledge through the pieces I have created. Looking back at the past articles I have had the privilege of working on, my favorite topic to write and research for has been the issue of voting rights for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. With the presidential election, this topic is even more prevalent and important than ever.

As a nation, we must address how we treat those individuals who have come into contact with the law while understanding the civil disenfranchisement we continue to perpetuate by limiting the right to vote for certain individuals. ~Natalie Rodriguez-Steen

Voting Rights for the Formerly Incarcerated

By Natalie Rodriguez-Steen

As a citizen of the United States, I never felt like I had to worry about my right to vote being eliminated. As a child, I would often see news coverage plastered across the TV screen about the un-democratic election processes of other countries. I would frequently hear about how those citizens did not feel safe going to the polls or how their elections were rigged so their vote ultimately did not matter. The act of deliberately undermining someone’s right to vote seemed inhumane and not like something we would face here.

However, there are various issues with the current voting system in the United States that limit an individual’s right to vote and alter its effectiveness. One of these issues is the limitations that are placed on individuals who have been convicted of a felony. Because of these restrictive measures, those who return to their communities from incarceration are continually made to feel like second class citizens long after their punishment has been served. In fact, a 2016 study by the Sentencing Project estimated that around 6 million Americans are unable to vote because of felony disenfranchisement or laws restricting voting rights.

These laws took hold particularly after the Civil War due to the passing of the reconstruction amendments. The 15th Amendment was intended to unequivocally grant all males the right to vote, however, that right was eroded and limited through voter suppression and disenfranchisement. During that time, many states adopted laws that limited the right to vote for those convicted of crimes specifically targeting black men. Although, many states have adopted amendments to grant voting rights for those convicted of State’s general rule regarding restoration a felony, felony disenfranchisement of voting rights: continues to plague our country. The continued use of felony No restrictions: Vote restored after disenfranchisement as a means of prison and parole: punishment has a direct effect on the political outcomes in the United States.

• Maine • California One study has estimated that, • Vermont • Connecticut “disenfranchisement polices have likely affected the results of seven U.S. Senate races from 1970 to 1977 as well as the hotly contested 2000 Bush-Gore presidential election”.

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Even more so, it has been found that civic participation in one’s community is linked to lower recidivism rates (Chung) . Participating in civic society helps individuals reaffirm that they are members of the community from which they have been separated. In an interview in 2015, Dexter Stanton said of his inability to vote that, “I was a part of the community, and yet I was separate. I wasn’t a community member”.

The process of regaining the right to vote after serving time for a felony depends on the state in which that crime was committed. Some states like Maine and Vermont have no restrictions but others require all of probation or parole to be served before the right to vote can be restored.

Other states do not allow individuals to regain the right to vote if they have been convicted of certain felony offenses. In a lot of states, the path to restoring one’s right to vote is full of obstacles. Some states require that all fines must be paid and all obligations of probation and parole must be completed before voting rights can be restored. Additionally, states like Iowa require that individuals convicted of a felony must apply to have them restored. Those applications will be reviewed and decided on by the governor.

Each state’s general rule regarding restoration of voting rights (con’t): Vote restored after Vote restored after prison, May permanently lose the prison: parole, and probation right to vote: • Colorado, • DC, • Hawaii, • Illinois, • Indiana, • Maryland, • Massachusetts • Michigan, • Montana, • Nevada, • New Hampshire, • New Jersey, • New York, • North Dakota, • Ohio, • Oregon, • Pennsylvania, • Rhode Island, • Utah

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico,

•

Alabama,

• • • • • • • •

Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Wyoming

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin

*Some states have specific restrictions, rules, and exceptions for restoration of voting rights.

Felony disenfranchisement has a difficult and sordid place in our history as a country.

We must understand that laws are subject to change as society learns about what types of retribution and rehabilitation are suitable. As public perception alters and legislation is enacted to restore voting rights in fair and reasonable ways, we may see more people being able to show up to the polls in the future. As citizens, we are all entitled to our right to vote and participate in our civic duty.

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