Activist Helps Ex-Felons Become More Hire Friendly

COLUMBUS, GA: Saturday was a day of joyous fun across the Fountain City as many embraced the 82nd annual Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic and its associated tailgating and activities. However, a group of nearly a half dozen men and women stepped away from the bar b que grills and fraternity step shows to prepare themselves for the future while trying to put their checkered pasts behind them.

Recovery Warriorz and Atlanta-based organization, headed by Columbus native Tawanna Jackson held an event at the main Columbus Public Library in Midtown on Saturday evening to help residents who had been convicted of felonies in their past. The event gave individuals with criminal records an information session on how to obtain state pardons, rights restorations, and becoming federally bonded. All these activities make those individuals more hire friendly in the job market.

Jackson herself is no stranger to the judicial system. Earlier in life Jackson served in the United States Army and entered the civilian job market upon her discharge. During the course of working in the civilian sector Jackson found herself in trouble with the law and received eight felony charges. After serving her sentence imposed by the state of Georgia, Jackson again attempted to enter the job market, but found it hard to find decent employment as her criminal record continued to haunt her. That is when she took the steps to make herself more hire friendly and obtained a pardon and became federally bonded. Today she works in the behavioral health sector for the state of Georgia.

At the information sector Jackson spoke to nearly a half dozen residents. Some of those residents traveled from as far away as Atlanta for the session. At the event Jackson presented the attendees with pardon forms and explained each step in how to fill those forms out. She also explained that their criminal record since the offense will play a role in if the pardon is granted.

Many of those in attendance seemed pleased with the information. An army vet named Ralph attended the session. Ralph was very pleased with the information Tawanna Jackson provided. He is looking to start the process immediately to get his rights reinstated and a pardon from the state. "I'm glad Tawanna came down, she provided me with a lot of information I was unaware of," said Ralph.

Jackson is no stranger to providing community enrichment programs and opportunities in the Columbus area. The ex-felon workshop she held Saturday was the result of a job-fair she held earlier this summer. During the course of that job fair Jackson says, "A lot of people came in looking for jobs that would hire ex-felons". The Saturday event was a spin-off from that interest. She has plans towards the first part of next year to return to Columbus and hold a seminar to help residents without proper driving credentials be able to obtain those documents.