Nothing good could ever have come of my life if I hadn’t been able to get therapy and overcome my addictions. Susan Burton Read Quote
Most incarcerated women have stories that are similar to mine. They suffered great trauma as children. Susan Burton Read Quote
Education, hard work, dedication, a support system, and knowing my life had value – these were what had made all the difference. Susan Burton Read Quote
I can remember, as a child, the happy days of us all piling into the car and going to the drive-in. And that was a weekly routine for my father. He was a proud black man, and that all sort of vanished as America began to export jobs. Susan Burton Read Quote
People are released from prison so unprepared. They give you $200. We call it gate money. And you have to pay for a bus ticket back to L.A. You get off the Greyhound bus, downtown Skid Row, and you’re supposed to make a life from that. Susan Burton Read Quote
Many times, I left the prison thinking, ‘I’m smart. I can make it. I won’t get caught up again.’ But you get off downtown Skid Row, and you’re a target for all of the environmental harms in that area. The pain and trauma in that area is so thick, you can almost reach your hand out and touch it. Susan Burton Read Quote
Our ancestors went through so much in a fight for us to vote. So I believe that we should engage in all civic participation. It’s healthy engagement. Susan Burton Read Quote
In prison, you’re issued a number of sanitary pads per month. And many times, even when you’re issued a number of sanitary pads, the guards will just come in and rip your room apart, rip your locker apart and take them. Susan Burton Read Quote
