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The Development of Ban The Box

The Development of Ban The Box. Who came up with the term “Ban The Box”?. All of Us or None.

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The Development of Ban The Box

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  1. The Development of Ban The Box

  2. Who came up with the term “Ban The Box”?

  3. All of Us or None All of Us or None, a project of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, is a national grassroots civil and human rights movement started by formerly-incarcerated people to challenge the discrimination we face after release and to secure full restoration of our human rights, as well as the rights of persons still incarcerated. We feel that after our sentences are completed, we have a right to re-establish our lives with full rights and responsibilities as human beings in America.

  4. How we began… Strategy Session Convening of over 60 formerly-incarcerated people April, 2003

  5. Agreements were established to organize statewide across racial, class, gender, age and geographic boundaries Organized a national planning meeting in New Orleans, convening over 50 former prisoners from 16 states

  6. Collectively we agreed to form All Of Us Or None.

  7. WHO WE ARE Formerly / Previously, Currently Incarcerated People Fathers, Mother, Sons, Daughters, Educators, Attorneys, Nurses… Our life experiences are much richer and diverse than our past indiscretions

  8. WHO WE ARE NOT We are not the total sum of our past mistakes, accusations, or convictions We reject terms such as: "ex-offender," "ex-criminal," "ex-felon," "ex-convict," “convicts,”, “offenders,” “inmates,” and other dehumanizing labels because they seek to redefine us by our worst mistake(s), and prevent us from being seen as legitimate people, as human beings in the U.S.

  9. The operative word should be PEOPLE (The words prisoner or captive reflect the actual state of people being held in captivity, and so we do not object to such use.)

  10. We have also developed campaigns in California to build political power and strengthen the voices and leadership of people and communities affected by the "criminal justice”/punishment system.

  11. One of our current campaigns is   – Ban The Box – the nationally-recognized effort to eliminate all questions relating to a person’s arrest or conviction history from all applications – for housing, employment, benefits, etc..

  12. “Have you EVER been convicted by a court?” This question appears on most applications for employment, housing, public benefits, and student loans. We believe this question is the basis for widespread discrimination against people who have been in prison or who have past convictions of any kind.

  13. EMPLOYMENT Many employers are using any conviction history as a way to eliminate applicants from consideration, without ever looking at their qualifications.

  14. HOUSING AUTOMATIC DENIAL FOR APARTMENT RENTAL Conviction histories that include felony or misdemeanor convictions or pending charges….

  15. INSURANCE NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY APPLICATION FOR LIFE INSURANCE ASKS THE QUESTION: “In the last 5 years, have you been arrested, convicted or imprisoned for any reason?”

  16. We organized and brought our demands to cities and counties first because this is where we can show our power locally, by mobilizing our communities. As a result, SF became one of the first cities we were able to Ban the Box from application from City and County Employment in 2006.

  17. San Francisco: Ban The Box for Private Employers Recently, with the support and leadership of Community Housing Partnership (CHP), Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, and National Employment Law Project, we expanded our BTB efforts to remove the question on initial employment applications, requiring PRIVATE employers to select finalists on the basis of qualifications and job experience, and removing barriers to affordable housing. On March 4th, the Fair Chance Ordinance was signed into law.

  18. ALL OF US OR NONE The campaign to BAN THE BOX came straight from us – the people who have been facing this problem for decades We recognized the problem*, coined the term Ban The Box, and began to see how to move us from talk to action to solving this problem! *Structural Discrimination Against the Formerly-Incarcerated

  19. The Conundrum We appreciate the support from the many agencies joining our efforts to level the playing field. However, formerly incarcerated leadership on Ban the Box has been relegated to the backburner, in terms of both prominence and resources. How can those who are not directly impacted by structural discrimination honor our efforts to be seen as legitimate people and as developers of the most comprehensive solutions to problems of discrimination facing us, our families, and our communities?

  20. Our goal …continues to be to strengthen the voices and leadership of people most affected by structural discrimination and the growth of the prison-industrial complex. We want to be considered and treated as human beings in a society still saturated with discriminatory and inhumane policies and practices.

  21. For More Information on Ban The Box or how to get formerly-incarcerated people involved with All Of Us Or None, please contact: Manuel La Fontaine manuel@prisonerswithchildren.org 415-625-7051 or Dorsey Nunn dorsey@prisonerswithchildren.org 415-637-8195

  22. All of Us or None

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