IMAN: Fighting for returning citizens’ right to vote in Georgia

IMAN-mobilizes-dozens-of-organizers-leaders-at-GA-state-capital-Atlanta-for-Justice-Day-1-1400x897, IMAN: Fighting for returning citizens’ right to vote in Georgia, News & Views
For the third consecutive year, IMAN mobilized dozens of organizers and leaders at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta for Justice Day. Legislators, who have the power to improve prison conditions and restore the right to vote to prisoners upon release, need to hear from the people whose lives they hold in the balance. 

by Robert ‘Fleetwood’ Bowden

What’s going on, everybody? It’s ya boy, Fleetwood, still out here on the frontline. Love to meet a soldier. I’m honored this morning down here in Atlanta, Georgia, to be at IMAN, a powerful organization doing amazing work. Let’s get the proper introduction from their lead community organizer, Kareemah Hanifa, of what this organization is and why it does what it does and why we should support them.

Fleetwood: Hey, sister, how you doing?

Kareemah: I am well. So we are IMAN, Inner-City Muslim Action Network, a 501(c)(3) grassroots movement. We focus on healing the inner city. We provide housing for returning brothers and sisters. We also run a food ecosystem training which allows us to provide food here. Not only do we provide healthy food, we also provide mental health services, which is our “Restoring Our Health Roundtable” discussion. Currently I am leading the “No Taxation Without Representation” campaign to restore voting rights.

IMANs-Kareemah-Hanifa-Fleetwood, IMAN: Fighting for returning citizens’ right to vote in Georgia, News & Views
Lead organizer Kareemah Hanifa leads Fleetwood on a tour of IMAN, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network. Kareemah is the god-daughter of Imam Jamil Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, the world revered fiery orator and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), who was framed and has been imprisoned since 2002.

In Georgia, if you are currently on probation or parole, it is against the law for you to be registered, which means that you can be arrested or sent back to prison for accidentally registering to vote. And so what we are doing is basically creating awareness and building a campaign in order to change the language so as to stop voter suppression and things of that nature. We’re working to remove that language from the constitution, which will empower those who are currently on probation and parole, giving them back their voice.

Fleetwood: This is a nationwide effort. You also have a branch in Chicago; is that correct?

Kareemah: Yes, and this year we’re getting ready to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

Fleetwood: You definitely can feel the energy when you come into IMAN. It’s very peaceful, and at the same time I do feel the revolution here as well. Change definitely is on the way. So what are some of the main barriers you have dealt with around voter suppression?

Kareemah: Specifically around this campaign, the suppression comes around individuals who are impacted by the criminal justice system, who have served their sentences inside of the Georgia penal system, who have been found safe enough to come back out into the community to pay taxes, become law abiding citizens, but are not allowed to participate in democracy, which means they’re not allowed to use their voices in order to participate in the system.

We focus on healing the inner city.

Fleetwood: Well, you know, that’s the whole policy of America, a place that was built on crime and sending people to jail. So we want to applaud you guys again for what you’re doing – tipping the scales, making the ancestors proud. Now if I’m not mistaken, if you have a misdemeanor crime and you’re incarcerated, you can vote while you’re in jail?

Kareemah: Yes, you can. You have not lost your right to vote. However, a lot of county jails do not allow individuals who are inside access to the ballot. Recently, I went inside a Woodson County jail to speak and one of the things that came up is that these individuals have not been tried, neither convicted. So therefore, they are not convicted felons. They have not lost their right to vote, but they are not being given access to the ballots in order to cast a vote. So, of course, that’s a different form of suppression. But it’s all in the same house.

Fleetwood: Yes, ma’am. Like you say, it’s all about educating people and letting them know that you still have your rights, you know? Education changes the situation. Do you see any change in the South since you came home? if so, what are some of the changes that you have seen?

Kareemah: Yes, I have seen some changes because I’m a part of that change. I see the change and I see that there is movement here in Georgia. It is a bit slow, but I think that after our next election cycle that we will be able to truly see a change.

Fleetwood: What is your definition of equality?

Kareemah: Equal access. When I think about the disenfranchised population, I think about equal access or just our population, that demographic of people who have been incarcerated. I think about equal access, education, access to housing, equal access to employment, equal access to vote, voting. 

There’s a scarlet letter that individuals are forced to wear even after their release from prison. This is like, hey, you did a bad thing and you’ve been outcast for the rest of your life. 

IMANs-Green-ReEntry-Program-trained-50-men-in-construction-life-skills, IMAN: Fighting for returning citizens’ right to vote in Georgia, News & Views
IMAN’s Green ReEntry Program experienced unprecedented growth, with over 50 men honing construction skills, learning money management practices and utilizing behavioral health support as part of a holistic array of services for returning citizens. IMAN’s deepening impact in Atlanta was powerfully reflected by the successful matriculation of its first Green ReEntry cohort. 

But I think after you pay your debt to society, you should be allowed to come back out and fall back into the ranks of community life. And statistics have shown that people thrive and are more successful when they believe that they are actively involved in communities that they may be of service to.

Fleetwood: San Francisco Bay View, it reaches all the penitentiaries in Northern California and throughout the country. What words of encouragement do you have for the ones still inside?

Kareemah: I’m a strong believer in my career to help others. I was sentenced to consecutive life sentences in prison. I was never supposed to come home, but I never gave up hope because of my belief in God. “Never give up” is what I would say to them.

Who would have thought that 26 years later I would be back out here enrolled in change, engaged in work – as an activist, as an advocate. And it’s crazy because when I was incarcerated, I made a promise to God: If I ever get out, I will never forget about my tribe. My tribe are those that are going into the system and those that are coming out. 

Fleetwood: Sistah, you have found purpose. One more time for anybody who wants to be part of anything that you’re doing in the campaign, how can they reach out to you guys?

Kareemah: Go to the website www.imancentral.org/atlanta/ and join the campaign and sign the petition and just learn about the different work that is being done and see which part of the work that’s being done fits for you. We always have something going on in the community. We’re always looking for people to come out and join.

Fleetwood: Once again, thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak with you. May peace be with you.

Fleetwood interviews Brotha Jerome ‘Ariif’ Pattillo, who lives in IMAN

Fleetwood: Can you describe the energy in Georgia prisons?

Brotha Ariif: I first went to Georgia prison in 1970. At the time, they had no African-American employees. So it was rather difficult, you know, racism. It took a lawsuit named Gertrude versus Evans to get the Georgia prison system under federal review.

Fleetwood: When did that take place and when did it go into effect?

Brotha Ariif: 1972. 

Fleetwood: And what was the basis of it?

Brotha Ariif: Discrimination in housing, discrimination in work assignments, institutional racism, just a combination of things that were an existing system at that time. So you know that the struggle was pretty much the same as in most prisons across the country. You know, the prison system in and of itself began with slavery. 

So we agitated, man. Those of us who had a little courage, we challenged them. We filed lawsuits, grievances, whatever it is that we needed to.

Fleetwood: Well, I’m here to salute you, soulja, give you your flowers now.

Brotha Ariif: Thank you, man. Thank you.

Fleetwood: How do you feel about voter suppression?

Brotha Ariif: Why should you tax us and then not allow us to vote? That’s a crime in itself. All of the struggles that are going on all around the country, they’re pretty much the same as it pertains to criminal justice reform. You guys come to some of our meetings sometime. Just leave me your information and I’ll invite you to come to some of our open sessions where you can represent what it is that you’re doing. And you can listen to what we discuss about trying to make change in the criminal justice system in the state of Georgia. 

IMAN-resident-Jerome-‘Ariif-Pattillo-Fleetwood-outside-re-entry-house, IMAN: Fighting for returning citizens’ right to vote in Georgia, News & Views
Brotha Jerome “Ariif” Pattillo and Fleetwood stand in front of one of the housing units IMAN provides.

Fleetwood: San Francisco Bay View newspaper. We go to all the prisons in California and around the country. What would you like to say to the brothers and sisters?

Brotha Ariif: Well, I’ll say what we used to say back in the early ‘70s: We have to continue the struggle to fight for justice for those who have been positioned not be able to do it for themselves. We have to represent our communities as best we can. Giving up is not an option.

Fleetwood: Thank you.

Fleetwood, aka Robert Bowden, has been a community organizer connecting people returning from prison with jobs, a filmmaker who’s made both historical documentaries and films on hood heroes, the single father of beautiful little Zephaiah and now a journalist. Contact him at Fleetwood_189@hotmail.com.