Nationally Known as a Social Justice Advocate for Formerly Incarcerated Women, Ms. Burton Goes to Oakland to Share Her Own Story From Prison to Recovery

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, USA, June 6, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- According to the American Civil Liberties Union, more than one million women are behind bars or under the control of the criminal justice system making them the fastest growing segment of the incarcerated population increasing at nearly double the rate of men since 1985. Yet, the conversation is centered around the incarcerated male population.

To change the narrartive, Ms. Susan Burton, author of her memoir, "Becoming Ms Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women," makes her stop in the Bay Area to raise awareness about the injustices suffered by formerly incarcerated women. Ms. Burton was greeted by a capacity crowd on June 5 at Laurel Book Store at 1423 Broadway in Oakland, CA. Her conversation and book tour continues:

Friday, June 9
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Marcus Book Store
3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 652-2344

The public is encouraged to attend, learn about the toll mass incareration takes on women, families and entire communities, and join the conversation. The event is free and media friendly.

Ms. Burton, one of the leading voices in the fight against mass incarceration, especially among women, shares her heart-wrenching journey of losing a young son, spending years in the darkness of a jail cell for a drug problem, and finding the light of her future. "My intent for writing about my life is to elevate the conversation about the mass incarceration of women," said Ms. Burton. "I want to increase opportunity and create solutions."

As a formerly incarcerated woman, she understands the challenges people, especially women, face when leaving prison. After nearly 20 years in and out of the criminal justice system, Ms. Burton was unable to find work, housing or addiction-recovery treatment. In spite of those obstacles, Ms. Burton mercifully gained freedom and sobriety in 1997 and made it her life’s work to help other women who walk in her shoes.

The Sentencing Project reported that Black women represent 30% of all incarcerated women in the U.S, although they represent 13% of the female population generally Hispanic women represent 16% of incarcerated women, although they make up only 11% of all women in the U.S.

"The [prison] guard told me, 'You'll be back' and I came back. I came back and led women up out of that place," said Ms. Burton. "I do the work because it needs to be done, so I picked up the banner to help women escape the prison system," said Ms. Burton who served 6 prison terms. "I found the support, the services, and treatment in Santa Monica, California and brought it to South Los Angeles." Ms. Burton has helped more than 1,000 women out of the system.

Activist/Book Author Michelle Alexander dubbed Ms. Burton as the modern-day Harriett Tubman because of her crusade to empower women and give them true freedom once released from the prison system. "I know that what I do rescues people, allows them to have an analysis of what's happening in their lives and breaks them free of the criminal justice system," said Ms. Burton.

Help A New Way of Life Reentry Project team focus on the work to effect change and continue seeking multi-dimensional solutions to the effects of incarceration by making a donation at http://www.anewwayoflife.org/donate-3/

For press credentials, talent submission consideration, an interview request, or speaking engagement for Ms. Burton, contact Marie Lemelle, publicist for ANWOL at 213-276-7827 or info@platinumstarpr.com. To view Ms. Burton's book tour dates, go to http://becomingmsburton.com/events/


About Ms. Susan Burton and A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project

Founded in 1998 by CNN Top Ten Hero Susan Burton, A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project provides housing and support to formerly incarcerated women for successful community re-entry, family reunification and individual healing. ANWOL, based in South Los Angeles, California, also works to restore the civil rights of formerly incarcerated people and empowering, organizing and mobilizing advocates for social change, civic engagement and personal transformation.

In an effort to continue to bring social justice issues to the forefront, JustUS Voices | Storytelling for Change, a multimedia story project, is a partnership between Burton and a New Way of Life Re-Entry Project and the strategic communications firm, McKinney & Associates. The initiative embraces advocacy through the power of storytelling, interviews, testimonials and commentaries, blogs, video vignettes and social media. http://justusvoices.com/

A collaboration between Burton and award-winning author Michelle Alexander resulted in an annual Justice on Trial Film Festival, which is set for September 2017 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. http://justiceontrialfilmfestival.net/

Among the many honors and recognition bestowed on Ms. Burton, she is the recipient of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award in 2014. In 2015, the Los Angeles Times named her one of the nation’s 18 New Civil Rights Leaders.


#BecomingMsBurton #ANewWayOfLife #UpAndOut #FreeAmerica

Connect with Ms. Burton and A New Way of Life Re-entry Project on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ANewWayofLifeReentryProject/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ANewWayOfLifeReentry

Twitter: @anewwayoflife1 and @susanburtonLA

Marie Lemelle
Platinum Star PR
(213) 276-7827
email us here

Breaking the Prison Pipeline

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