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Meet Joseph Winters: From Inmate to CEO of a Birmingham Road Builders Company

By Sym Posey The Birmingham Times Joseph Winters describes himself as a “lifelong learner and a student at heart,” and the lessons he’s learned have included a 62-year prison sentence—as well as the recent purchase of the Birmingham, Alabama-based Kelly Road Builders (KRB). Along the way, Winters, an experienced land development manager with a history […]
The post Meet Joseph Winters: From Inmate to CEO of a Birmingham Road Builders Company first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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3 years ago

December 5, 2023

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Joseph Winters, CEO and president of Kelly Road Builders. (Desiree Greenwood, For The Birmingham Times).

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By Sym Posey

The Birmingham Times

Joseph Winters describes himself as a “lifelong learner and a student at heart,” and the lessons he’s learned have included a 62-year prison sentence—as well as the recent purchase of the Birmingham, Alabama-based Kelly Road Builders (KRB).

Along the way, Winters, an experienced land development manager with a history of working in the construction industry, has earned a Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) degree from Auburn University, and helped create two Alabama-based businesses: TWO Oaks Development and TWO Oaks Construction, a homebuilding development and construction company with projects in Birmingham and Huntsville, AL.

After his purchase of KRB last month, Winters said, “I am elated about the opportunity. … I have a long-term vision to increase our presence in the markets we’re in already, in addition to new markets.”

As the new CEO and president of KRB, Winters is taking over a company from someone who has helped him by providing professional direction—Robert Earl Kelly, founder of KRB, one of the largest road milling companies in the Southeast. Milling is a process through which the surface of a paved area (road, bridge, parking lot, etc.) is removed to help restore it to a uniform texture or prepare it for repaving.

“[Kelly] is a servant leader in the Birmingham area with a prominent Black-owned business and a great rep for performing quality work and leading a great competent crew,” said the 50-year-old Winters. “I thought he would be someone who would be a good mentor to me as an aspiring construction business owner.”

Growing up in the drug trade on the west side of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Winters never imagined that he would become a highly successful figure in the construction industry.

Getting Into Trouble

Winters remembers his parents divorcing when he was around age 11. As a result, he became angry, resentful, and defiant.

“My father was actually my best friend. When he and my mother divorced, I didn’t have any immediate male role models that I clung to. I was a little lost when he left, so I turned to my friends and peers in the streets for leadership. Throughout the course of that, I found myself dealing with some criminality,” said Winters.

Although he remained studious, he started fighting and getting into trouble with his peers.

Around the age of 14, Winters found himself incarcerated for stealing. “I would steal purses, belts, and clothes, … boosting with my friends or people from school. It made me a little money and gave me a taste of money and independence. It escalated, and before I knew it, I was selling drugs, … selling crack cocaine,” he said.

Things worsened from there. By the time he turned 18, Winters was “one of the largest dealers in the city,” he said.

Despite his life outside of school, Winters always excelled in his classes at Tuscaloosa’s Central High School. He went to class every day, was an A and B student, took advanced classes, and shined in math and science.

“Because of my lifestyle, I kind of had a spotlight on me,” he said. “My senior year in school, … I had a Mercedes[-Benz] and BMWs, all the toys drug dealers buy at a young age.”

But it would all come crashing down.

On Nov. 1, 1991, Winters’ friends planned for him a what was supposed to be a surprise party for his 18th birthday.

“They tricked me,” he recalled. “They took me bowling and to a high school football game. We left the game because people repeatedly asked me what time my party was. I didn’t even know I was having a birthday party. More than 100, 200 people were in attendance. It was a big to-do.”

Around midnight, a fight ensued. In an attempt to disperse the crowd, Winters fired a gun into the air. At the same time, a police officer pulled up and shot Winters. After shooting Winters, the police officer instructed Winters to put the gun down and get on the ground. Winters said he promptly followed the police officer commands. Pandemonium immediately broke out and Winters found himself in the hospital. “They patched me up, and I was free to go home,” Winters remembered.

Four months later, he was charged with attempted murder of an officer: “They said I was trying to kill a cop that night,” Winters said. But even before those charges, he was arrested for drug sale and unlawful distribution.

Sentenced

By March 1993, Winters was convicted in the attempted murder case and found guilty of three other drug offenses. He was sentenced to serve a combined 62 years behind bars: 30 years for attempted murder, 20 years for drug trafficking, 10 years for unlawful distribution, and another two years for unlawful distribution.

At just 19 years old, Winters was sent to Draper Correctional Center in Elmore, Alabama. Immediately after arriving, he earned his GED. Still, he found himself with his “back against the wall,” he said.

“When I first went in, I didn’t just go in and become a saint,” Winters recalled. “I was smuggling drugs into the prison and things of that nature, and I found myself facing additional charges [because] some fellow inmates implicated me in a drug transaction they got caught in.”

The warden gave Winters an option to straighten up, and in November 1995 he was sent to Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton, Alabama. After serving approximately eight years behind bars, he found himself in front of a parole board.

“[They were] compassionate and gracious enough to give me parole after I’d served eight years and nine months,” he recalled.

In October 2001, he was released and reunited with his family. “I came home, … got my [commercial driver’s license (CDL)], and worked for an asphalt pavement company. It was my first job, and I worked with them for little less than a year. I went on to work for an oil field company for almost two years. … Then I found myself back in prison again with a fresh 130-month sentence for drug conspiracy,” Winters said.

Once again, Winters was behind bars. His parole was revoked, and he was sent to the ADOC Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore, AL. Eventually, he was transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and did stints in Yazoo City, MS and Fort Dix, NJ.

Making a Living

Going from state prison directly to federal prison, Winters served an additional seven years, but this time he approached his incarceration differently, he said.

“The first time I went to prison, I learned how to live because all I did was [participate in] drug- and behavior-modification programs and study religion,” he said. “The second time I went to prison, I learned how to make a living.”

While serving his second prison sentence, Winters pursued becoming a certified fitness trainer, a fiber optic installer, and a solar panel installer, in addition to earning two associate degrees: one in construction management and one in computer-aided drafting and design (CADD).

In June 2015, he was released from federal prison and worked as a state highway road and bridge inspector in Birmingham. By 2016, he made plans to return to college to pursue a bachelor’s degree in construction management. Before earning that bachelor’s degree from Everglades University online, he also enrolled in Auburn University’s MRED program. He eventually earned his bachelor’s degree in construction management in 2018 and his MRED degree in 2020. In January 2018, Winters moved to Tennessee, where he worked as a land developer. And in March 2020, he returned to Alabama.

“My daughter was entering her senior year in high school and, because I had been away for so long, I wanted to be closer to her, so I looked for something closer to her,” he said of his move back to Birmingham.

While working for a Birmingham-based homebuilder, Winters gained more construction experience from managing Birmingham-based construction firm Tortorigi Construction. Over the next one-and-half years, Winters bonded with its owner, Joseph Tortorigi, who gave Winters the opportunity to start his own business.

By March 2021, Winters would help found TWO Oaks Development, followed by TWO Oaks Construction in November of the same year. All of that would lead him to purchase KRB and continue the work of his mentor, Robert Earl Kelly.

“I’m looking forward to getting the employees more engaged, helping to strengthen their commitment to KRB, and continuing to share the vision that was set by [the previous owners],” he said.

Winters, a father of two young adults, is currently engaged and is in the process of planning his wedding. In his free time, he enjoys swimming, working out, and reading history and religious texts.

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

The post Meet Joseph Winters: From Inmate to CEO of a Birmingham Road Builders Company first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled

BLACKPRESS USA NEWSWIRE — “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”
The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 days ago

June 8, 2026

Oakland Post

By National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center released its annual State Child Care Assistance Policies report, finding that the number of children placed on waiting lists for federally funded child care assistance nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 — and that number has only continued to grow.

The report serves as a key resource for state lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers by tracking state child care assistance policies and identifying where states are strengthening support for families and early educators — or falling behind.

“This deeply troubling increase in the number of children on child care waiting lists is the result of a failure to invest in this crucial sector,” said Karen Schulman, senior director of state child care policy and author of the report. “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”

Key findings in the report related to waiting lists for child care assistance include:

• 17 states had waiting lists or a freeze on intake for child care assistance in February 2025, up from 13 states in February 2024.

• Approximately 106,700 children nationwide were added to waiting lists between February 2024 and February 2025, bringing the total to 225,500 children in February 2025 — a 90 percent increase compared to February 2024.

• The numbers climbed even further between February 2025 and summer/fall 2025, with more than 175,000 additional children added to state waiting lists in just a few months — a 78 percent increase.

• At least seven states newly began placing families on waiting lists or freezing intake, while at least 10 additional states saw their waiting lists grow, after February 2025.

The report also includes state-by-state data on key child care assistance policies, including income eligibility limits, parent copayments, provider payment rates, and eligibility policies for parents searching for work.

Click the link to learn more: Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025.

The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy

ROLLING OUT — Crucially, Williams did not read the comment as a real farewell. She said she did not believe Sabalenka truly wanted to leave, calling such an outcome a loss for both the player and the sport.
The post Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 days ago

June 7, 2026

Oakland Post

The seven-time major champion read frustration, not a real goodbye, in the world No. 1’s words

By David Kesiena | Rolling Out

When the world’s top-ranked player said she wanted to walk away from the sport, Venus Williams chose empathy over alarm.

Aryna Sabalenka’s blunt remark after her French Open quarterfinal collapse rattled plenty of fans, but Williams heard something different in it. The seven-time Grand Slam champion treated the comment as the raw reaction of a hurting athlete rather than a serious signal about her future.

The collapse that triggered the comment

Sabalenka looked headed for a routine win over Diana Shnaider. She took the opening set 6-3 and built a commanding lead in the second, climbing to 4-1 and later serving for the match at 5-4 while sitting just two points from victory.

Then everything unraveled. Shnaider stormed back to steal the second set 7-5 and bageled the world No. 1 in the third, with Sabalenka dropping 12 of the final 13 games in gusty conditions that reached around 26 mph. The 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 result sent Shnaider into her first Grand Slam semifinal and extended Sabalenka’s long wait for a maiden Roland Garros title.

In the aftermath, Sabalenka did not soften her feelings. She told reporters she had no thoughts and no emotions left and felt like quitting on the spot. She described being stuck in a deep, dark mental hole during the match, unable to find her way back.

What Venus Williams said about Sabalenka

Williams reacted with understanding. She admitted the moment made her sad and said she had been swept up in Sabalenka’s emotions, feeling a surge of empathy for her. She praised the Belarusian for laying everything bare on court, where every feeling shows.

Crucially, Williams did not read the comment as a real farewell. She said she did not believe Sabalenka truly wanted to leave, calling such an outcome a loss for both the player and the sport. Rather than scold her, Williams offered a gentle observation about the rhythm of professional tennis. She suggested players might benefit from a little more time to gather themselves before stepping in front of the cameras, a quiet acknowledgment that athletes are routinely asked to dissect painful defeats before the sting has faded.

Sabalenka walks it back

The story did not end on that bleak note. Within days, Sabalenka signaled she was not actually quitting, framing the press-conference outburst as heat-of-the-moment honesty rather than a plan. At the time of the loss she had also left the door open, saying she would see how she felt in a few days and hoped to get back on track mentally. The walk-back lined up with how Williams had read the situation from the start.

It is not the first time a Paris quarterfinal has pushed Sabalenka to her limit. In 2024 she exited at the same stage and skipped her press conference entirely because of illness, with the tour later releasing her quotes on her behalf. The pattern underscores how heavily this particular tournament has weighed on her despite deep runs in recent years.

For now, attention shifts to the grass. Wimbledon offers Sabalenka a quick chance to reset, and a strong showing there would turn this French Open meltdown into a footnote rather than a turning point.

Originally published by Rolling Out — https://rollingout.com.

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COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue

THE CAROLINIAN — Operating at the intersection of the arts and mental health, Darkness RISING uses music, storytelling, wellness programming, and community engagement to inspire healing while addressing barriers that have historically prevented many Black Americans from accessing mental health support.
The post COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 days ago

June 7, 2026

Oakland Post

By Judaea Ingram | Special to The Carolinian

RALEIGH, N.C. – Music filled the air as families danced through the crowd, children gathered around activity stations, and community members explored wellness resources from local organizations. Black-owned businesses lined the streets while people stopped for chair massages, conversations, and moments of connection inside the wellness suite.

At the center of the event stood a simple but powerful reminder:

“You Matter.”

For Darkness RISING, those words represent far more than a slogan. They reflect the organization’s mission to break the stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community while creating spaces centered on healing, honesty, and hope.

Operating at the intersection of the arts and mental health, Darkness RISING uses music, storytelling, wellness programming, and community engagement to inspire healing while addressing barriers that have historically prevented many Black Americans from accessing mental health support.

The organization hosts a variety of programs and events throughout the year, including block parties, wellness workshops, mixers, kickoff events, community classes, and Darkness RISING: Live — a free annual arts and wellness festival now celebrating its ninth year.

The festival combines entertainment with healing-centered resources, featuring live music, dancing, singing, food trucks, Black vendors, children’s activities, mental health resources, wellness spaces, and opportunities for open conversations about mental health.

While the events may feel celebratory on the surface, organizers say the deeper purpose is creating safe spaces where people can feel comfortable discussing mental health without fear of judgment.

Darkness RISING also provides free nationwide resources, including a Black Mental Health Resource Packet, a Black Mental Health Provider Database, and its “Find Me a Therapist” initiative, which helps connect individuals with culturally competent care.

The organization’s work is rooted in addressing longstanding inequities that continue impacting mental health access within Black communities.

Historically, segregation, redlining, racial discrimination, incarceration, poverty, and unequal healthcare access have contributed to higher rates of behavioral health challenges while simultaneously limiting access to proper treatment and support. Darkness RISING approaches those issues through what organizers describe as a transformative justice lens, focusing on healing rather than punishment and creating equitable wellness opportunities for marginalized communities.

Its REBUILD program specifically supports justice-involved and formerly incarcerated people of color through free therapy and wellness support, while the REBUILD Youth program focuses on young people impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences, also known as ACEs.

For Rudolph, therapy became life-changing after decades of incarceration and years of rejection after returning home.

“Came home in 2015, started my own computer company, investing in real estate, did the normal thing and got some jobs here and there and was met with rejection after rejection and people telling me I am not a good person,” Rudolph shared. “Even had a rejection in church.”

He said one of the hardest battles became overcoming the mental barriers created during incarceration.

“I got in touch with a couple of friends, and they explained to me how I had to get over the mental hurdles and get rid of the way my prison mindset was in order to survive and become successful,” he said.

Rudolph later moved to North Carolina hoping for a fresh start, but the struggle continued.

“Things were looking bad,” he said. “Could not get a job. The struggle was real.”

Eventually, therapy and support through organizations like Darkness RISING helped begin his healing process. He said working alongside other justice-involved men through therapy gave him the ability to rebuild mentally while finding community with people who understood his experiences.

Stories like Rudolph’s reflect the foundation behind Darkness RISING’s mission: ensuring people feel seen, supported, and worthy of healing regardless of their background or circumstances.

Community members who attend the organization’s events often describe them as emotionally transformative.

Some participants say Darkness RISING encouraged them to seek therapy for the first time, while others say the organization gave them a safe space to openly discuss struggles they previously kept hidden.

“I have been encouraged by the beautiful, generous, brave and open individuals who come together and use their talents to create art, share personal experiences and provide hope to those who may be struggling with mental health,” one participant shared.

By combining art, wellness, education, and community outreach, Darkness RISING continues changing how mental health conversations happen within the Black community.

Not through silence.

But through healing, honesty, connection, and joy.

Originally published by The Carolinian — https://caro.news.

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