WASHINGTON― When a delegation went to the White House recently to deliver a set of policy recommendations related to President Barack Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative, one brother was kept out — ostensibly because of his background as an ex-offender.
Desmond Meade — whose story of personal redemption was widely shared on social media when he earned a law degree last month from Florida International University after having experienced homelessness, drug addiction and incarceration — told an audience at the Center for American Progress on Friday that the refusal came as an affront.
“I was slapped in the face with the harsh reality that even though my release was granted years ago, access is still denied to me by not being able to go to the White House,” said Meade, who is president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a group that fights for convicted felons to regain their civil rights after they finished serving their time.
“I can’t even pass the security clearance,” Meade said. “It’s indicative of the things that we as returning citizens or formerly incarcerated individuals face on a daily basis.”
Meade’s denied entry to the White House came last week as he joined PICO National Network officials to relay a set of policy recommendations related to “My Brother’s Keeper” — a public-private effort called for by President Barack Obama to improve life outcomes for boys and young men of color. Efforts to receive comment from the White House regarding the reason why Meade was denied entry to the White House were not successful.
Panelist Rev. Michael McBride, director of Urban Strategies and Lifelines to Healing Campaign at PICO, said the meeting was subsequently moved from the White House to a conference center on the White House grounds.
The policy recommendations the group delivered included:
