The story of Ms. Susan Burton is a story of redemption and overcoming the odds. After the loss of her 5-year old son, addiction took hold of Ms. Burton sending her on a decades-long journey of incarceration and recidivism. After six separate stints in prison, Ms. Burton found sobriety and founded her own nonprofit, A New Way of Life, which aims to help other women break the cycle of incarceration.
Through this work, Ms. Burton pushed for reforms that reduced the mass incarceration of African Americans, overcrowding in the state’s prisons, and for those stuck in the cycle to truly get back on their feet. A New Way of Life provides housing, case management, employment, legal services, leadership development, and community organizing on behalf of, and alongside people who struggle to rebuild their lives after incarceration.
In addition to her advocacy work, Ms. Susan Burton is the author of Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women, where she shares her own experiences with addiction, incarceration, and trauma.
In honor of the 2022 Charles R. See Forum on Reentry in partnership with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, the City Club will welcome Ms. Susan Burton virtually, in conversation with an in-person live panel on reentry.
A Cultural Exchange, a nonprofit multicultural arts and literacy project, will be on site for book sales.
The livestream will be available beginning at 12:00pm. Have questions? Tweet them at @TheCityClub or send a text to 330.541.5794.
Effective October 1, 2021, the City Club will be requiring ticketholders to provide proof of Covid vaccination or a recent negative Covid test. Email info@cityclub.org with any questions.
Production and distribution of City Club forums in partnership with Ideastream Public Media is generously provided by PNC and the United Black Fund.