{"id":465,"date":"2024-03-25T15:33:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/?p=465"},"modified":"2024-04-22T13:55:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T13:55:10","slug":"breaking-the-cycle-with-marilynn-b-winn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/2024\/03\/25\/breaking-the-cycle-with-marilynn-b-winn\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Cycle with Marilynn B. Winn"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Estelle Jarrett<\/span>
\nWit\u00adness to Mass Incarceration<\/span>
\nFeb. 27, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

Atlanta, GA\u2013<\/b> \u201cThere\u2019s noth\u00ading you can tell me about the sys\u00adtem and how it oper\u00adates,\u201d says for\u00admer\u00adly incar\u00adcer\u00adat\u00aded Mar\u00adi\u00adlynn B. Winn. \u201cI have expe\u00adri\u00adenced it, I have lived it, breathed it, ate it, slept on it\u2014I\u2019m a part of it.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Executive Director of Women on the Rise Marilynn Winn posing for a Leadership Breakfast interview July 15, 2020. \/\/<\/p>\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/files\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2024-03-25-at-11.27.35-AM-1024x647.png\" class=\"wp-image-463 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/files\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2024-03-25-at-11.27.35-AM-300x190.png\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/files\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2024-03-25-at-11.27.35-AM-300x190.png 300w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/files\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2024-03-25-at-11.27.35-AM-1024x647.png 1024w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/files\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2024-03-25-at-11.27.35-AM-768x485.png 768w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/files\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2024-03-25-at-11.27.35-AM-676x427.png 676w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/files\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2024-03-25-at-11.27.35-AM.png 1206w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">
Exec\u00adu\u00adtive Direc\u00adtor of Women on the Rise Mar\u00adi\u00adlynn Winn pos\u00ading for a Lead\u00ader\u00adship Break\u00adfast inter\u00adview July 15, 2020. \/ Pho\u00adto cred\u00adit to Cen\u00adter of Civic Innovation<\/span><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 17 years old, Win\u00adn\u2019s involve\u00adment in shoplift\u00ading led to her first encounter with the crim\u00adi\u00adnal jus\u00adtice sys\u00adtem: her first two year sen\u00adtence of sev\u00aden in her life\u00adtime. In con\u00adcen\u00adtrat\u00aded pover\u00adty areas in inner-city Atlanta, shoplift\u00ading was a means of nav\u00adi\u00adgat\u00ading the chal\u00adlenges of every\u00adday life. Grow\u00ading up as a black girl in 1960s Geor\u00adgia, she learned ear\u00adly on the harsh real\u00adi\u00adties of pover\u00adty and how it led to a cycle of being shut away in Atlanta City Deten\u00adtion Cen\u00adter (ACDC). <\/span><\/p>\n

Winn was an only child in a sin\u00adgle par\u00adent home where her moth\u00ader worked two jobs and her father died in the Army. While she was out all day mak\u00ading ink pens for Scrip\u00adto and bussing tables, Winn was either by her\u00adself or with her grand\u00admoth\u00ader. Winn\u2019s grand\u00admoth\u00ader used to tell her to grab some\u00adthing from the store and hide it before get\u00adting to the counter. Her grand\u00admoth\u00ader lived on a plan\u00adta\u00adtion in Geor\u00adgia as a slave and had sur\u00advived by steal\u00ading from the \u201cbig house,\u201d accord\u00ading to Winn.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where Winn\u2019s habit start\u00aded. It was food, then dolls, clothes and start\u00aded to mate\u00adri\u00adal\u00adize into oth\u00ader things. Winn describes her younger self as a lon\u00ader, but she would hang around the boys in the neigh\u00adbor\u00adhood who also stole often.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her moth\u00ader did not know about the steal\u00ading until Winn\u2019s first arrest. She\u2019d been angry with her, but she couldn\u2019t stop Winn\u2019s habit at this point in her devel\u00adop\u00adment. \u201cWhite kids will go to a psy\u00adchi\u00ada\u00adtrist to fix behav\u00adioral prob\u00adlems\u2013 you go to juve\u00adnile as a black kid,\u201d said Winn in a 2020 inter\u00adview with the <\/span>Cen\u00adter for Civic Inno\u00adva\u00adtion<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When Winn first went to prison at 17, it was in the form of a Chain Gang back then which refers to the prac\u00adtice of a group of peo\u00adple chained togeth\u00ader to per\u00adform menial or phys\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly chal\u00adleng\u00ading work as a form of pun\u00adish\u00adment. This sys\u00adtem oper\u00adat\u00aded well through the 1950s in Geor\u00adgia. War\u00addens, or the peo\u00adple in charge of super\u00advis\u00ading the Chain Gangs with point\u00aded guns, only had third and fourth grade edu\u00adca\u00adtion and the pris\u00adons were seg\u00adre\u00adgat\u00aded at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI nev\u00ader want\u00aded to expe\u00adri\u00adence that again. But, when I came home, I thought I\u2019d get jobs like my friends, but I had a record. Employ\u00aders don\u2019t take the time to see what you were arrest\u00aded for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Winn could not get hired for a job, so she went back to steal\u00ading in order to sur\u00advive, but would get arrest\u00aded for it many times. She began to lie about her record on job appli\u00adca\u00adtions and was final\u00adly hired. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, infor\u00adma\u00adtion about her past incar\u00adcer\u00ada\u00adtion sur\u00adfaced and she would be fired.<\/span><\/p>\n

With each brush with the law came the real\u00adiza\u00adtion that the crim\u00adi\u00adnal jus\u00adtice sys\u00adtem was ill-equipped to address the root caus\u00ades of her behav\u00adior, per\u00adpet\u00adu\u00adat\u00ading a cycle of pover\u00adty and incar\u00adcer\u00ada\u00adtion that seemed impos\u00adsi\u00adble to escape.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo one ever asked me why do you keep doing this? And all I can say is I need\u00aded a job,\u201d Winn said in a 2022 inter\u00adview with 11Alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being born and raised in the inner-city of Geor\u00adgia, she knew there are road\u00adblocks for peo\u00adple of col\u00ador. Peo\u00adple get stopped by the police and arrest\u00aded because they couldn\u2019t afford to buy a decal, car insur\u00adance or for a bro\u00adken tail\u00adlight. \u201cThese are not crimes wor\u00adthy of prison,\u201d Winn assert\u00aded. \u201cEvery time you get fin\u00adger\u00adprint\u00aded into that jail, you\u2019ve just received a life sen\u00adtence, no mat\u00adter what you did.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that Atlanta\u2019s city jail holds low lev\u00adel offend\u00aders. Accord\u00ading to the <\/span>jail\u2019s 2020 records<\/span><\/a>, the most com\u00admon offense in the jail is for dri\u00adving with a sus\u00adpend\u00aded license, with 1,019 peo\u00adple impris\u00adoned for it in 2020. Winn her\u00adself was incar\u00adcer\u00adat\u00aded there mul\u00adti\u00adple times for dri\u00adving on a license that she hadn\u2019t real\u00adized was sus\u00adpend\u00aded and once jailed 30 days when she couldn\u2019t pay a $100 fine.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On her 7th prison sen\u00adtence, she told a judge she need\u00aded some\u00adthing dif\u00adfer\u00adent. In a piv\u00adotal moment of courage, she stood before Judge Wal\u00adter Lovett dur\u00ading one of her court appear\u00adances and said, \u201cYou keep send\u00ading me to prison, and it\u2019s not going to work. I\u2019m going to come back and steal some more because I don\u2019t have a choice in the mat\u00adter,\u201d accord\u00ading to a 2019 inter\u00adview with South\u00adern Cen\u00adter for Human Rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

She then pro\u00adceed\u00aded to explain how she\u2019d lied to obtain 18 sep\u00ada\u00adrate jobs she couldn\u2019t keep, show\u00ading the judge her social secu\u00adri\u00adty doc\u00adu\u00adments to prove it. Dur\u00ading her fourth stint in prison, Winn had become addict\u00aded to drugs, but man\u00adaged to get clean dur\u00ading the peri\u00adod of time she had a job and was out of prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

Judge Lovet\u00adt\u2019s response was a turn\u00ading point in Win\u00adn\u2019s life. He offered her a life\u00adline by send\u00ading her to Account\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty Court which is a court pro\u00adgram that pro\u00advides an alter\u00adna\u00adtive to tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal crim\u00adi\u00adnal jus\u00adtice pun\u00adish\u00adment and pro\u00advides sup\u00adport. Winn seized the oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty and found employ\u00adment at a staffing com\u00adpa\u00adny, final\u00adly get\u00adting the sta\u00adble job she\u2019d been plead\u00ading for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Winn thrived with First Step Staffing\u2014a non-prof\u00adit, alter\u00adna\u00adtive staffing orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion\u2013 and worked her way up to be on the board of direc\u00adtors. This kick\u00adstart\u00aded the exten\u00adsive work Winn would pro\u00advide the coun\u00adtry and her com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty. In 2014, \u200b\u200bshe\u2019d receive the Inspire Award from First Step Staffing for her achieve\u00adments in Com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty Activism. <\/span><\/p>\n

Winn didn\u2019t stop there. She went on to co-found Women on the Rise, a grass\u00adroots orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion advo\u00adcat\u00ading for crim\u00adi\u00adnal jus\u00adtice reform and reduc\u00ading the num\u00adber of women under cor\u00adrec\u00adtion\u00adal con\u00adtrol in the state of Geor\u00adgia. This orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion nur\u00adtures Atlanta, but their reach is local, state-wide and nation\u00adal due to their part\u00adner\u00adships with orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtions all around the globe. One of the many inten\u00adtions of Women on the Rise is to pro\u00advide sup\u00adport groups and wel\u00adcome home pack\u00adages for those who have recent\u00adly been released. <\/span><\/p>\n

The impact of Women on the Rise is dis\u00adplayed in the many awards Winn has received since start\u00ading her work. In 2019, Winn was the Cham\u00adpi\u00adon for Change Hon\u00adoree for Wash\u00ading\u00adton D.C.\u2019s Salute Her Awards. In 2021, Winn was award\u00aded the John R. Lewis Life\u00adtime Achieve\u00adment Award from the Cen\u00adter of Civic Inno\u00adva\u00adtion for her work with Women on the Rise.<\/span><\/p>\n

She was also the Lead Orga\u00adniz\u00ader for 9to5\u2019s ini\u00adtia\u00adtive to Ban the Box. Ban the Box referred to the ques\u00adtion on employ\u00adment appli\u00adca\u00adtions ask\u00ading about pri\u00ador felony con\u00advic\u00adtions, the part in the hir\u00ading process that pre\u00advent\u00aded Winn from sus\u00adtain\u00ading a job. Atlanta made his\u00adto\u00adry by being the first city in the south to ban the box on their employ\u00adment applications.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nation\u00adal\u00adly, Winn\u2019s efforts have been rec\u00adog\u00adnized by the White House. Winn was a nom\u00adi\u00adnee for the Unit\u00aded States of Women Sum\u00admit in 2016. She also served as a Jus\u00adtice Votes Pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial Town Hall del\u00ade\u00adgate in 2020 and lat\u00ader was invit\u00aded to par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpate in con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion with mem\u00adbers of the Biden-Sanders Uni\u00adty Task Force on Crim\u00adi\u00adnal Jus\u00adtice Reform. She\u2019s also been rec\u00adog\u00adnized by Pres\u00adi\u00addent Jim\u00admy Carter and First Lady Rose\u00adlynn Carter for her work to end employ\u00adment dis\u00adcrim\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion in 2014, and became a JustLead\u00ader\u00adship USA 2016 Fellow. <\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Winn still lives in Atlanta, GA with her rot\u00adtweil\u00ader, Sassy. At 72 years old, she remains stead\u00adfast in her activism, ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00ading her\u00adself dai\u00adly to the caus\u00ades cham\u00adpi\u00adoned by Women on the Rise and oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtions she sup\u00adports. As Winn said, she knows the prison sys\u00adtem inti\u00admate\u00adly. Her par\u00adents and grand\u00adpar\u00adents worked on plan\u00adta\u00adtions and she has expe\u00adri\u00adenced first\u00adhand the dehu\u00adman\u00adiz\u00ading con\u00addi\u00adtions of incar\u00adcer\u00ada\u00adtion and being on the line of a Chain Gang when she\u2019d been only a teenag\u00ader. Despite all this, Winn has bro\u00adken this cycle with her unwa\u00adver\u00ading resolve to turn an unjust sys\u00adtem into some\u00adthing better.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Estelle Jar\u00adrett Wit\u00adness to Mass Incar\u00adcer\u00ada\u00adtion Feb. 27, 2024 Atlanta, GA\u2013 \u201cThere\u2019s noth\u00ading you can tell me about the sys\u00adtem and how it oper\u00adates,\u201d says for\u00admer\u00adly incar\u00adcer\u00adat\u00aded Mar\u00adi\u00adlynn B. Winn. \u201cI have expe\u00adri\u00adenced it, I have lived it, breathed it, ate it, slept on it\u2014I\u2019m a part of it.\u201d  At 17 years old, Win\u00adn\u2019s involve\u00adment in\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":926,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aggregation","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/926"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":605,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions\/605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/estelle-jarrett-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}