Speaker: Paris Knox
Tell us about yourself and how you became justice impacted.
Paris Knox: Hi, my name is Paris Knox. And at the age of 26 I call a very devastating case. So that's how I became injustice impacted.
How has being justice impacted affected your life?
Paris Knox: Being in justice impact had opened my eyes to a lot of, um, and so a lot of problems that people have when they coming home returning, not having that proper. How can I say? I don't want to say chilly, but that proper support, positive support someone there that's gonna always tell you you can do, it can push you because that's what we need. When we come home, we need that person, that nagging person who is gonna push us to the next step before I got into trouble. I did not understand the um, I didn't understand being in jail, being incarcerated. I didn't understand how people can return and then end up going right back until I was that person returning and had to sit there and take it when Doris was slammed in my face because of my background. Yeah.
What did the Legacy Program help you accomplish? What did you gain from the Legacy Program?
Paris Knox: What I have accomplished and gained from the Legacy program, the number one thing that I wanted and was to have my background seal. Um on my background, I had first degree murder and second degree murder, which it started off being a first degree murder. And I won my appeal and came back and I end up with second degree murder. So me trying to get jobs and apartments, I was getting turned down because both of them are showing up. And so when even when I do explain my situation that it was a domestics, it doesn't look like that on paper. And so when I heard about the Legacy program, one of the things I heard that they had a workshop to help you seal your background and that's like the main thing I want to. So I signed up and as of a month ago, my background has been sealed. So it should open up more opportunities for employment housing. And I'm real excited about that.
What have you gone on to do and accomplish since completing the Legacy Program?
Paris Knox: I have accomplished um quite a few, few things like I said, I have got my background sealed. Um I have been able to go back inside the prisons and speak to the um people that reside in there and share my story and giving them hope. Um I have been able to travel and go to Puerto Rico and do marches and you know, give back. That's the main thing I wanted to do is give back to the community. And so that was like the biggest accomplishment of me being in the uh legacy program. It has opened up other doors for me that I didn't even think that could be open.
What words of encouragement or advice do you have for people who are trying to navigate their justice impacted journey?
Paris Knox: My advice is to never give up. If you think positive and put positive energy out there, you will get positive response back. You cannot give up. It's not a shortcut. You can't go through life doing shortcuts. You have to work, you have to put your feet on the ground and you have to run. There's no cutting corners, no cutting alleys. You have to work the process to get where you want to get to. Because when you work the process the right way, it cannot be taken from you. And that is something that we have to understand when you take shortcuts, it's gone quick. We don't enjoy it. But when you actually work for the things that you want, it can't be taken away from you. Thank you.
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