The Scarlet Letter F

July 21 @ 6:00 pm

Over 4 million Georgians have a criminal record. Over 600,000 have felony convictions that subject them to bleak prospects for moving on with their lives and getting back on their feet. This has far-reaching consequences—not just for the individuals held back by their criminal conviction but also for the economic stability of their families and for the progress and safety of communities.

To build healthy communities, we must remove barriers that make it difficult for people who have felony convictions to thrive. “F: The Scarlet Letter” will address what we can and should do to dismantle policies and practices that create roadblocks to housing, education, employment, and voting for people who are formerly incarcerated.

Moderated By

Terrica Redfield Ganzy
Deputy Director @Southern Center for Human Rights

Terrica Redfield Ganzy is the Southern Center for Human Rights’ (SCHR) Deputy Director, where she focuses on elevating SCHR’s mission, assisting the executive director with coordination of SCHR’s strategy and programs, developing strategic partnerships, cultivating donor relationships, and planning major fundraising events.

Presenters

Waleisah Wilson
Client Services Advocate @Southern Center for Human Rights

Waleisah Wilson is the Southern Center for Human Rights’ (SCHR) Client Services Advocate, where she focuses on working with individuals whom SCHR has helped get released from prison or otherwise represented in SCHR’s impact or capital litigation.

Aklima Khondoker
Georgia State Director @All Voting is Local

Aklima Khondoker is the Georgia State Director of All Voting is Local, a national campaign housed at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, where she works to expand voting access for all Georgians. She previously worked as Staff Attorney and the Senior Manager for the Voting Access Project at the ACLU of Georgia. While there, she successfully challenged discriminatory voting and map-drawing practices that excluded communities of color from the ballot.

She has also spearheaded Board of Elections monitoring programs designed to monitor, document, and respond to voting changes that could harm marginalized communities. Through these initiatives, she has expanded voting by opening polling locations in rural Georgia and on college campuses. Aklima has also worked with policy leaders and government officials to end voter suppression tactics, by challenging unlawful voter purges and polling place closures, simplifying voter registration, and expanding access for returning citizens and people with disabilities.

Aklima is licensed to practice law in Georgia. She is committed to local and national initiatives that both serve the community and gives everyone a voice through their vote.

Page Dukes
Communications Associate @Southern Center for Human Rights

Page Dukes joined the Southern Center for Human Rights as a communications intern in 2019 while finishing her dual BA in mass communications and philosophy and religion at Piedmont College. In May 2020, Page joined the SCHR staff as the Communications Associate.