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Susan Burton shares personal journey with LMU students

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — For Susan Burton, helping formerly incarcerated women embrace a new way of life is a calling.

Published

5 years ago

March 9, 2019

By Angela N. Parker

WESTCHESTER — For Susan Burton, helping formerly incarcerated women embrace a new way of life is a calling. As a formerly incarcerated woman herself, Burton is committed to giving back a little bit of what was given to her when she received her second chance.

With that commitment comes a desire to reach into the community and to tell her story to those whose time, talent and resources can make all the difference in the lives of the most vulnerable among us. One of those communities is Loyola Marymount University, a catholic university where Burton has formed a partnership with faculty and students.

On Feb. 5, Burton was the featured speaker at a conversation on incarceration, hosted on campus as part of Black History Month, where she challenged the 100 students and faculty members in attendance to rethink how they view incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women.

“We have been trained to think about people who are incarcerated in a certain way,” Burton said. “There is this idea that everyone in jail is a sexual predator (or a monster) when the truth is most people are in prison because we have criminalized mental health, we have criminalized poverty and those are the reasons most people are incarcerated.”

That is a message that Deanne Cooke, assistant clinical professor and director of engaged learning at LMU, wanted to impart to the students in attendance.

“Our university’s mission is to promote social justice and so we enact that mission by helping our communities understand the current system of justice and imagine what it might look like to have a system that is more just,” Cooke said. “The most powerful way I can envision educating students is to let people tell their own stories and connect their humanity to the humanity of our students and community members.”

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in 37 adults, 2.7 percent of the adult population in the United States, is under some form of correctional supervision. African Americans as a whole are incarcerated at a rate five times higher than their white counterparts, while African-American women are twice more likely to go jail than their white counterparts.

“We rarely think about how the individual and their extended families are impacted by incarceration,” Cooke said. “We rarely think about why, by far, America has the largest rate of incarceration in the world; why there has been a large increase in incarceration of women; what happens to people’s children or parents when individuals are incarcerated; how incarcerated people continue to be impacted by various policies well after their release; or how our policies create disproportionate enforcement and convictions for black, brown and poor people.”

The sentiment is shared by Nathan Sessoms, director of the office of black student services at LMU.

“Speaking about the need for justice is one thing; understanding that need and getting involved in the eradication of injustice is something totally different,” Sessoms said. “My hope is that today participants develop a better understanding of this justice-related issue, as well as the various ways they can get involved.”

Burton, who is the author of “Becoming Ms. Burton,” an autobiographical memoir in which she discusses her journey to become who she believes she was born to be, hopes that her speaking out will change how people think and act about the issue of mass incarceration.

“I was out of prison six different times,” said Burton, who became addicted to substances after attempting to self-medicate to cope with the death of her child. “Then somebody helped me, provided me with a safe place to live, provided me with food, showed me compassion and introduced me to Alcoholics Anonymous. That was the magic pill for me. But that help came out of Santa Monica and … I became driven to bring these types of services to my community.”

In 1998, Burton founded A New Way of Life Reentry Project, an organization that offers housing, legal services and leadership training to formally incarcerated women. Through her organization, she has provided a safety net and a chance for reunification for more than 1,000 women and children.

“In addition to the related and long-standing issue of police brutality, mass incarceration represents the critical justice issue of our time,” Sessoms said. “However, people’s knowledge about these issues is often derived from television shows and, perhaps, social media.

“So, the opportunity to hear about Ms. Burton’s experiences, as well as the amazing work that she’s done and continues to do, paints a much clearer picture of the bias and disparities present within the criminal justice system.”

Burton said that from the very beginning her organization was committed to going beyond providing shelter and was determined to eliminate the institutional obstacles that made succeeding post prison nearly impossible.

“According to the American Bar Association, more than 48,000 barriers to reentry have been documented,” Burton said. “These barriers included limited access to employment, inability to get a driver’s license or a student loan, inability to secure permanent housing, and inability to get public assistance.

“We are all human and we have all made mistakes whether we have been convicted of them or not,” Burton added. “It is not fair to continually punish someone for a crime they have already served the time for.”

One of the ways that Burton hopes to convey this message is through the Justice on Trial Film Festival, which features films that speak to the challenges of people navigating the criminal justice system. Held annually at LMU, the event is open to the public.

“It is important that we understand all the struggles that people who are incarcerated face … and that we focus more on restorative justice,” Burton said. “We need to start speaking to each other and working towards creating the type of close communities that look out for each other.”

This article originally appeared in Wave Newspapers.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

2 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

14 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”

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For Cervical Cancer Month, Medical Community Focused on Education

January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Physicians, advocates and others in the medical community commemorated the month by raising awareness about a form of cancer they say is highly preventable and treatable. Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV) and it develops slowly over time but can be prevented with proper care in girls as young as 13 years old.

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14 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

A Mayo Clinic article published last month stated that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to White women in the U.S. 2,000 Black women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer and 40% die as a result.

By Magaly Muñoz

January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

Physicians, advocates and others in the medical community commemorated the month by raising awareness about a form of cancer they say is highly preventable and treatable.

Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV) and it develops slowly over time but can be prevented with proper care in girls as young as 13 years old.

Sonia Ordonez, an OBGYN and gynecology surgeon at Kaiser Permanente, stated that as soon as people with cervixes reach the maturity reproductive age, they should start taking preventative measures like getting the HPV vaccine. The vaccine involves a series of two-doses for people aged 9 through 14 or three-doses for people 15 through 45 years old.

“I see a lot of young women who can’t remember or may not have gotten [the vaccine] when they were younger, or maybe got one, but we can give them the series of vaccines and restart at any point in time,” Ordonez said.

She said that cervical cancer is not the only cancer caused by HPV. Strains of the virus can also lead to throat, anal and penile cancers.

Screening is also an effective way to check for cervical cancer and should be done every three years after someone turns 21, doctors recommend. It is best to start as early as possible to catch occurrences early.

Ordonez said that this cancer is also more likely found in people of color and has led to more deaths overall.

A Mayo Clinic article published last month stated that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to White women in the U.S.

2,000 Black women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer and 40% die as a result.

“This disparity is not due to genetic differences among White, Black or Hispanic women, but rather related to systemic racism, access to healthcare and socioeconomic factors,” Dr. Olivia Cardenas-Trowers, a Mayo Clinic urogynecologist, said in the article.

Ordonez stated that immigrant women are also highly susceptible to the cancer, as many Latin American countries may not have accessibility to screenings or lack of insurance makes it harder for them to get tested.

Hispanic women are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 30% more likely to die from it, as compared to non-Hispanic White women, according to the Office of Minority Health.

Family medicine physician, Joy Anyanwu, stated that the pandemic contributed to hesitancy about getting cervical cancer screenings among some women. Other factors are people’s aversion to vaccines, parents not wanting to believe that their children are or will become sexually active, and doubt about the overall effectiveness of the vaccine.

“The vaccine is very safe — over 97% effective in preventing cervical cancer,” Anyanwu said. “Even if you aren’t having sex, the earlier you start would actually help.”

Anyanwu said she understands that parents might not want to ask questions about their children’s reproductive health, but it’s a mindset that can be a barrier to having important conversation about prevention or care.

To keep families their families and communties healthy, the doctor emphasized that people should prioritize keeping up with their vaccine series and going to screenings every year.