070: Francie Ekwerekwu—Nothing worth advocating for comes easy
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Francie Ekwerekwu did not know her father was in prison until she was sixteen years old. When she found out, her life changed. She determined to learn all she could about her father and his incarceration. That quest ultimately led her to a life of advocating for the rights of the poor who faced longer than necessary periods of incarceration for no reason other than they were poor.
Francie has a special place in her heart and work for children of incarcerated parents. In this episode of the Spirit of Leading podcast, Francie tells her story and explains the particular difficulties the poor, and especially minorities, face in our criminal justice system.
Related links
The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM)
Article A Republican Crusader Takes on Oklahoma’s Prison Machine byPOLITICO
Article The Criminalization of Poverty by the 20|20 Bipartisan Justice Center
Article Mass Incarceration: The whole pie 2020 Prison Policy Initiative
An assistant public defender’s work is never done.
Francie with an intern, Elsie, and a Re-entry program client
At work at the TEEM office
Spreading the word about TEEM with son, Samson, and co-worker Emma, hoping to find more mentors for program clients.