
How Atlanta Is Turning Ex-Cons into Urban Farmers - rmason
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/06/food-policy-incarceration-young-people-atlanta-222758
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nimbius
disclosure: I am a former inmate at a regional detention center in the
midwest. I work as an engine mechanic now.

Prison quality varies dramatically around the country. Some prisons are only
interested in turning a profit or keeping the lights running, so youll be
scrubbing dishes and floors for "shit tickets" and soap. These places are
miserable. the _people_ who work at these places are equally miserable. they
barely earn more than you. These places serve no purpose but to make
shareholders rich. they only make money so long as you are there.

Good, state run prisons, have every incentive in the world to offer competent
education in farming, machining, or trade (part of what I learned.) A good
prison can help heal your soul, and learn about yourself.

The real challenge isnt getting ex-convicts to work, its getting employers to
hire them. Since in the US youre legally required to disclose your former
convictions and felonies, most ex-convicts are barred from ever rejoining the
workforce (or society for that matter.) Its biblical retribution.

convicts arent evil demons. Most of the circumstances that landed them in
prison would really surprise you. Entrepreneurship might just be the only way
to break out of the sorry cycle of unemployment, and I for one really hope
Atlanta turns this into something sustained.

~~~
akulbe
This isn't biblical retribution. In the Bible, there are consequences for
crime, for sure… but there are also the concepts of restitution and
restoration.

You weren't punished forever. Forgiveness existed.

You weren't in debt forever. There was an end in sight.

Look up "Jubilee".

IF ONLY we had that today.

I think the only thing coming close to this concept has to do with your credit
history, and things falling off after 7 years.

~~~
PavlovsCat
> _The possible redemption from the predicament of irreversibility - of being
> unable to undo what one has done - is the faculty of forgiving. The remedy
> for unpredictability, for the chaotic uncertainty of the future, is
> contained in the faculty to make and keep promises. Both faculties depend
> upon plurality, on the presence and acting of others, for no man can forgive
> himself and no one can be bound by a promise made only to himself._

\-- Hannah Arendt

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freedomben
> _“I was so used to seeing death that I didn’t know how it’d feel to see
> something grow,” Trent said. “To see plants grow full of life, from
> something I control, it’s probably the best feeling in the world._

This made my whole day, maybe my whole week. I can also say I agree
wholeheartedly. There's something magical and healing about plants, and
getting your hands in the dirt. I highly recommend it.

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rmason
What I really liked about this article is that this idea looks like it could
be applied just about anywhere. What I think the folks in Atlanta need to do
next is to produce a manual that shares what they've learned, what works and
what doesn't.

Then you could realistically launch in other cities like Detroit that appears
to be tailor made for this type of program.

~~~
mlinksva
Similar program in Oakland, California
[http://plantingjustice.org/](http://plantingjustice.org/)

~~~
p1itopre
Yet another. West coast I think.
[http://www.daveskillerbread.com/secondchances/](http://www.daveskillerbread.com/secondchances/)

~~~
fipple
So that's what they mean by "killer" bread. On a more serious note, of the 12
ex-felons on their website, 2 are black males and 5 are women. This is highly
nonrepresentative of prison demographics.

~~~
thaumasiotes
It seems likely that, for the same reasons normal companies prefer not to hire
ex-felons at all, Dave's Killer Bread might prefer to hire ex-felons who are
slanted toward the nonviolent end of the ex-felon pool.

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abledon
This is one of the most positive articles I've read all year. This program
looks so powerful as a community driver. I can't wait to see what will change
in the next 20 years if this keeps growing. The picture of people doing yoga
was great. I'm not interested in churches as a community event, but if my town
had a movement like this I'd definitely volunteer if it was accessible.

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40acres
Such an awesome program and a great way to tackle multiple tough problems (how
to reduce recidivism rates; how to solve the food desert problem in urban
areas; how to improve the health & nutrition of the black community) with one
solution.

Programs like this really give me hope, I wish there were more incentives from
the government to spark innovations like this; monolithic solutions like food
stamps and medicaid are strong programs that I support, but on the other end
I'd like to see more funding for "micro-service" programs like this that solve
issues on a census tract scale.

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durkie
Atlantan here. I got a bottle of their hot sauce with my CSA and it's really
good. I'm not normally a big vinegar-sauce guy, but their recipe has lavender
in it and it's pleasantly funky. Recommended!

~~~
uxp100
Ooh, I love the smell of lavender, but I've only had it in desert foods, which
didn't work for me (lavender and lemon cake really rubbed me the wrong way.)
I've never even thought of lavender in more savory food.

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blablabla123
I'm surprised this is understood so positively. The article is revealing how
much discrimination is happening. It is obviously being economically rooted,
also if you look at the history.

That being said, farming is the least economically interesting thing to do.

~~~
dredmorbius
What would be more interesting, in your view?

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blablabla123
I'm not saying this is not interesting but this is picked up surprisingly
positively. But if you ask in terms of solutions, it seems to make more sense
to tackle the socio-economic root causes instead of creating another vicious
circle.

~~~
dredmorbius
And those root causes are?

~~~
blablabla123
I think you should try to think for yourself. It's kind of unfair that you
answer with only are fourth of the words. ;-)

~~~
dredmorbius
Sometimes I absorb, sometimes I deliver, e.g.,
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18380654](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18380654)

You made an assertion, I'm curious how you will back it up, if at all.

The stage is yours.

~~~
blablabla123
Alright ;) My argument is purely based on observing the past and the present.
Georgia has a history of slavery, one might argue the state has his wealth
build on that, the peach being the symbol of it. Virtually all of the slaves
had African American heritage and self-speaking low income.

Of course slavery has become illegal, segregation rules as well. But obviously
you cannot make the past disappear instantly. Nowadays there are areas in
which there are only black people living, those areas are unfortunately poor
and large. Presumably a lot of crime happens there, which should also be no
surprise because the area is so poor. People get imprisoned, even worse,
sometimes the police has a negative bias towards black people.

So yes, and nowadays the state endorses putting the people back on the field?
These seems almost insulting to me. Probably it's easy for me to think like
this, I don't live in the U.S. but on the other hand probably all developed
nations have a archaic past. It's one thing to deal with it and another thing
to pretend it didn't happen.

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povertyworld
It's amazing what a living wage job will do for people.

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chiefalchemist
I am by no means a TED fan but this one by Ron Finley is amazing / inspiring.

"It's like printing money."

[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w)

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amelius
Reminded me of this: [https://www.benjerry.com/whats-new/2017/03/reforming-
crimina...](https://www.benjerry.com/whats-new/2017/03/reforming-criminal-
injustice)

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atlfarmers
I’m curious as to how they manage rival gang factions. In the first picture
alone I noticed three gang signs. Perhaps they stick to their own groups? Not
sure but would be interesting to know how that works.

~~~
latchkey
That stood out to me as well. Palm inward on the peace sign is considered
offensive to some and the looks on the faces of the guys with the gang signs
do not look happy at all.

