Susan Burton Incarceration Essay

On September 21st, I attended an event featuring guest activist and author Susan Burton. The event started at 2:00pm as the room overflowed with people eager to hear Susan 's voice. There were people occupying every space of the rather small Whitsett room. Ms. Burton first talked about the traumas she suffered as a child and later, as an adult. Susan 's son was tragically ran over and killed by a police officer, which led to alcohol and drug abuse and her eventual incarceration. After many failed attempts to get her life back together, she finally received the help she deserved from the very beginning. Ms. Burton started working and saving money and was able to start the New Way of Life Re-Entry Project, which helps women who are released from prison get their children back and their lives on track. Then, the floor was opened for attendees to ask questions. Many expressed their gratitude to Ms. Burton for visiting our campus and asked questions regarding potential solutions to the issues faced by women who have been incarcerated. Ms. Burton read part of her book and continued to talk about her work. After that, there was a book signing where I met Ms. Burton and got her book signed.

After introducing themselves and their work, the panelists engaged in a discussion with the attendees. The CSUN community present in the room were eager to Several topics were discussed including the importance of Ethnic Studies, mass incarceration in the united states, sexual violence against women, the removal of DACA, the importance of mental heal care, the gentrification of our communities, among many other relevant