Formerly Incarcerated Ms. Burton, dubbed the Modern Day Harriett Tubman, Comes to the California Endowment on June 12 to sign her memoir, "Becoming Ms.Burton"

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA, June 12, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In California, there are three state prisons housing women - Folsom Women’s Facility under the administration of Folsom State Prison; California Institution for Women in Corona; and Central California Women's Facility, the largest female institution in the state, located in Chowchilla. According to the State of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's weekly population report as of midnight June 7, 2017, the three prisons, with a combined female population of 5,264, are over capacity by 138.3%.

To raise the awareness about the injustices suffered by formerly incarcerated women and change the narrative, Ms. Susan Burton, author of her memoir, "Becoming Ms Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women," comes to The California Endowment today for a candid discussion and a book signing. "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."

Meet Ms. Burton on Monday, June 12 from 7 pm to 9 p.m. at the California Endowment, 1000 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. For directions and parking, call (800) 449 – 4149. The public is encouraged to attend, learn about the toll mass incarceration takes on women, families and entire communities, and join the conversation. The event is free and media friendly.

"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. As a formerly incarcerated woman, Ms. Burton understands the challenges people, especially women, face when leaving prison. To address the needs of the women, she found a solution and established, "A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project," to provide housing and support to formerly incarcerated women for successful community re-entry, family reunification and individual healing.

Social Justice Advocate Ms. Burton is considered by nationally known activists as a Modern-Day Harriett Tubman because of her work to provide a better future for formerly incarcerated women. After Ms. Burton spent nearly two decades cycling through systems of incarceration, she 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.

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.

New York Times Journalist Nicholas Kristof said, "Susan Burton is a national treasure," in his article, "A Modern-Day Harriet Tubman." Ms. Burton, one of the leading voices in the fight against mass incarceration, especially among women, bravely 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.

"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. "I found the support, the services, and treatment in Santa Monica, California and brought it to South Los Angeles." Now, Ms. Burton is taking that message across the nation.

The National Research Council reported that the United States has the largest prison population in the world. According to Michelle Alexander, author of "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," the United States "imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid."

The American Civil Liberties Union states 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. International Center for Prison Studies stated that about 33% of all female prisoners in the world are held in the United States. Yet, the conversation is centered around the incarcerated male population. Further reports document that women in the US criminal justice system are marginalized by race and class.

Barbara Owens, author of "Prisons for Women," cited that Hispanic women are incarcerated nearly twice the rate of white women, and black women are incarcerated at four times the rate of white women.

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.

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

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