0:00:00.899,0:00:02.270
One evening,

0:00:02.294,0:00:06.644
after watching the nightly news[br]with my then five-year-old son,

0:00:06.668,0:00:10.792
he asked me a question I thought[br]I would have a ton of time to answer.

0:00:11.555,0:00:15.634
I thought the complicated questions[br]typically came at eight or nine years old,

0:00:16.888,0:00:20.776
but my son looked me in the eyes[br]while I was tucking him in,

0:00:20.800,0:00:24.240
and with a very straight face he asked me,

0:00:24.264,0:00:26.875
"Daddy, why did you go to jail?"

0:00:29.590,0:00:31.830
My wife and I often[br]thought about this moment.

0:00:32.403,0:00:35.233
We knew this question was coming,

0:00:35.257,0:00:36.910
and we wanted to handle it well.

0:00:37.763,0:00:40.054
But that night,[br]I had a question to answer.

0:00:40.672,0:00:45.873
So I decided to tell my son[br]how I ended up going to prison

0:00:45.897,0:00:49.012
when I was just a 15-year-old kid.

0:00:50.958,0:00:53.445
This picture was taken[br]when I was 14 years old.

0:00:54.007,0:00:55.287
That's my mom,

0:00:55.311,0:00:56.475
my sister,

0:00:56.499,0:00:58.706
and that cute little baby,[br]that's my niece.

0:00:59.341,0:01:01.287
She's 23 now,

0:01:01.311,0:01:04.765
and it drives me crazy every time[br]I think about how old I'm getting.

0:01:04.789,0:01:06.169
(Laughter)

0:01:06.645,0:01:09.083
This was the last photo that I took

0:01:09.107,0:01:13.205
just a few weeks before I made[br]the worst decision of my life.

0:01:14.874,0:01:16.360
A friend of mine and I,

0:01:17.185,0:01:19.876
we approached a man sleeping in his car,

0:01:19.900,0:01:21.608
pulled out a gun,

0:01:21.632,0:01:23.781
demanded the keys to his car

0:01:23.805,0:01:25.123
and sped off.

0:01:26.177,0:01:29.315
That decision landed me[br]in front of a judge,

0:01:29.339,0:01:32.820
with my mom and my sister[br]standing just a few feet behind me,

0:01:32.844,0:01:34.664
as they listened to me get sentenced

0:01:34.688,0:01:38.884
to eight years in adult[br]maximum security prison.

0:01:41.234,0:01:44.055
This is the next family photo[br]that I took with my mom.

0:01:44.079,0:01:48.174
But this time, it was taken[br]in the prison visiting room.

0:01:49.032,0:01:51.047
Now don't let the waterfalls and the trees

0:01:51.071,0:01:53.282
and all that stuff[br]in the background fool you.

0:01:53.306,0:01:54.323
(Laughter)

0:01:54.347,0:01:57.435
This was one of the hardest[br]times of my life.

0:01:58.288,0:02:02.750
In fact, for the first two years,[br]I battled depression

0:02:02.774,0:02:05.568
by living in denial[br]about my prison sentence.

0:02:06.631,0:02:09.028
I would commonly say things[br]to my mom like,

0:02:09.052,0:02:11.336
"I mean, Ma, I know you don't think

0:02:11.360,0:02:15.170
that this judge is really[br]going to keep us here through Christmas."

0:02:15.194,0:02:17.522
And then, "... Valentine's Day."

0:02:17.546,0:02:20.118
And then, "... the last day of school."

0:02:20.142,0:02:22.408
And then, "... the first day of school."

0:02:22.987,0:02:24.554
And on and on.

0:02:25.082,0:02:28.762
I promised my mom that one day,

0:02:28.786,0:02:32.104
someone would see[br]that I was drowning in those cells,

0:02:32.128,0:02:36.699
that someone would tell us[br]that we could breathe again

0:02:36.723,0:02:39.804
because they just wanted[br]to teach me a hard lesson.

0:02:40.869,0:02:43.451
But one day, as I'm walking around[br]the prison rec yard

0:02:43.475,0:02:44.964
with my friend Danny B,

0:02:44.988,0:02:47.511
I asked him, "How long[br]have you been here?"

0:02:48.163,0:02:51.795
He told me that he had[br]already served 31 years.

0:02:53.386,0:02:55.119
My palms immediately got sweaty,

0:02:56.090,0:02:58.393
heart dropped down to my toes,

0:02:58.417,0:03:00.874
and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

0:03:00.898,0:03:02.979
Because that's the moment when I realized

0:03:03.003,0:03:05.954
that I would have to serve[br]all eight of my years.

0:03:07.401,0:03:12.083
Now, the story of going[br]to prison as a teenager

0:03:12.107,0:03:13.877
is not an uncommon one.

0:03:13.901,0:03:15.893
But for my family,

0:03:15.917,0:03:19.467
this was the most tragic thing[br]that had happened in our lives.

0:03:20.284,0:03:21.907
I missed my family terribly.

0:03:22.863,0:03:24.662
And just like every other teenager,

0:03:24.686,0:03:28.249
I just wanted to open up gifts[br]on Christmas morning

0:03:28.273,0:03:30.740
and graduate from high school[br]with my friends.

0:03:32.692,0:03:35.597
And because of the intense[br]security in prisons,

0:03:35.621,0:03:37.374
internet access is limited.

0:03:38.216,0:03:40.268
There's no easy emailing,

0:03:40.292,0:03:42.034
no texting

0:03:42.058,0:03:44.206
and definitely no social media.

0:03:45.178,0:03:51.799
This means that the meaningful moments[br]like prom night or college graduation

0:03:51.823,0:03:56.406
or the tons of free content[br]that you and I digest every day

0:03:56.430,0:04:03.301
very seldom gets shared with the cousin,[br]sibling or best friend in prison.

0:04:04.936,0:04:06.432
I became very dark.

0:04:08.107,0:04:11.462
My childhood and the dreams of it,[br]they disappeared.

0:04:12.688,0:04:17.242
And those slamming steel doors[br]clanking shut every night

0:04:17.266,0:04:19.265
in the prison housing unit,

0:04:19.289,0:04:21.077
they forced me to grow up fast.

0:04:22.696,0:04:24.649
I can tell you firsthand

0:04:24.673,0:04:28.163
that there is something[br]about the violent cards of prison

0:04:28.187,0:04:29.977
that completely cripple hope.

0:04:31.458,0:04:33.707
I even tried to push my mom away,

0:04:33.731,0:04:37.756
because I didn't want her to be subject[br]to the collect calls

0:04:37.780,0:04:41.136
or the eight-hour drives[br]for the one-hour visits,

0:04:41.160,0:04:43.118
those horrible body cavity searches

0:04:43.142,0:04:46.181
that she would experience[br]coming into the prison visiting room.

0:04:46.841,0:04:51.391
But as many of you parents[br]here know tonight,

0:04:51.415,0:04:53.735
you can't stop a mother's love.

0:04:53.759,0:04:55.598
(Laughter)

0:04:55.622,0:04:57.014
So what did my mom do?

0:04:57.705,0:05:00.698
She made a promise while sitting[br]in a prison visiting room.

0:05:01.650,0:05:05.614
She promised she would write me a letter

0:05:05.638,0:05:07.073
or send me a picture

0:05:07.097,0:05:11.628
every day from that day forward[br]until I came home.

0:05:13.445,0:05:16.604
I had six years left to do on a sentence,

0:05:16.628,0:05:20.424
our lives were completely[br]crumbling around us,

0:05:20.448,0:05:22.861
and here comes this happy-go-lucky lady

0:05:22.885,0:05:26.021
prancing into a prison visiting room[br]like I'm in summer camp,

0:05:26.045,0:05:28.580
with a new plan to send me[br]a bunch of pictures.

0:05:28.604,0:05:30.367
(Laughter)

0:05:31.843,0:05:33.374
Such an interesting time.

0:05:35.105,0:05:36.789
Little did I know,

0:05:36.813,0:05:40.041
it would be my mom's letters[br]that saved my life.

0:05:41.473,0:05:45.016
My mom would take pictures[br]of a cheeseburger

0:05:45.040,0:05:47.371
or a mattress at a department store --

0:05:47.395,0:05:49.733
(Laughter)

0:05:49.757,0:05:52.082
and she would send them[br]to me along with a letter

0:05:52.106,0:05:56.802
with a promise that one day[br]I would enjoy a fat, juicy burger

0:05:56.826,0:05:58.853
or sleep on a comfortable bed.

0:05:58.877,0:06:02.380
My mom assured me[br]that there was life after prison.

0:06:04.290,0:06:09.130
In fact, my best friends[br]began living vicariously

0:06:09.154,0:06:11.086
through my mom's letters and photos --

0:06:11.110,0:06:12.984
(Laughter)

0:06:13.008,0:06:18.326
giving an entire prison unit a glimpse[br]into what was happening in the world.

0:06:19.072,0:06:24.437
After eight years of nightmares[br]of prison never ending,

0:06:25.682,0:06:27.924
being dehumanized,

0:06:27.948,0:06:30.017
strip-searched,

0:06:30.041,0:06:35.382
watching people get wheeled[br]down the prison walkway in body bags,

0:06:35.406,0:06:37.418
I was finally released.

0:06:37.977,0:06:39.698
And I bet you can't guess

0:06:39.722,0:06:43.720
who was there to pick me up[br]that cold morning in February.

0:06:43.744,0:06:45.502
(Laughter)

0:06:45.526,0:06:46.677
OK, you guessed it --

0:06:46.701,0:06:47.734
(Laughter)

0:06:47.758,0:06:49.635
my sister and my mom.

0:06:52.062,0:06:56.091
The years that we prayed for[br]were finally in front of us,

0:06:56.836,0:07:00.401
and the pain of living[br]behind bars was behind us.

0:07:01.150,0:07:02.704
Or so we thought.

0:07:03.519,0:07:07.580
Like me, most people in prison[br]are coming home one day.

0:07:08.405,0:07:10.232
And unlike me,

0:07:10.256,0:07:15.782
many don't have the consistent support[br]during and after incarceration that I had.

0:07:16.977,0:07:19.092
The struggle is real,

0:07:19.116,0:07:22.540
and even I struggled to find a job[br]when I came home.

0:07:23.576,0:07:26.713
Each application that I filled out --

0:07:26.737,0:07:33.088
from grocery stores to mortgage companies[br]to fashion retail --

0:07:33.112,0:07:36.386
they all included the same question,

0:07:37.579,0:07:40.131
glowing, pulsating,

0:07:40.155,0:07:42.405
waiting for me to add my check:

0:07:43.248,0:07:46.009
"Have you ever been[br]convicted of a felony?"

0:07:47.446,0:07:49.685
Now, to be honest,

0:07:49.709,0:07:52.144
I knew that this moment was coming.

0:07:52.168,0:07:54.145
I knew I would have to face this issue.

0:07:54.585,0:07:59.478
So I leveraged the mental toughness[br]that I built while going through prison.

0:08:00.171,0:08:03.606
But after being declined for over 40 jobs,

0:08:03.630,0:08:05.858
even I began to feel deflated.

0:08:06.859,0:08:10.485
I thought that I would get my life back

0:08:10.509,0:08:14.461
and that all those things were behind me[br]and things would start looking up.

0:08:15.358,0:08:19.054
But that decision that I made[br]when I was a 15-year-old kid

0:08:19.078,0:08:22.815
continued to haunt me[br]even up until that moment.

0:08:24.221,0:08:25.474
But while on a job hunt,

0:08:26.326,0:08:31.156
one day, I ran across an application[br]that asked the question,

0:08:32.466,0:08:35.088
but this time it was worded[br]a little differently.

0:08:35.960,0:08:37.734
This time, the question asked:

0:08:37.758,0:08:42.287
"Have you been convicted of a felony[br]within the last seven years?"

0:08:43.382,0:08:45.746
Now, after doing an eight-year[br]prison sentence --

0:08:45.770,0:08:47.564
(Laughter)

0:08:47.588,0:08:53.088
I could honestly say that my conviction[br]was over seven years ago.

0:08:54.315,0:08:57.993
I was able to answer that question[br]with an honest "no,"

0:08:58.844,0:09:01.966
and finally, I landed my first job.

0:09:02.868,0:09:06.773
(Applause)

0:09:08.130,0:09:10.895
I was the guy who mixed paint[br]at the paint store.

0:09:11.626,0:09:14.127
And eventually, customers[br]would come into the store,

0:09:14.151,0:09:15.575
and they would ask me,

0:09:15.599,0:09:18.743
"Hey Marcus, how much do you charge[br]to paint my kitchen?"

0:09:19.657,0:09:24.100
"Well, Ms. Johnson,[br]we don't paint kitchens,

0:09:24.124,0:09:26.836
we sell you the paint[br]so you can paint your own kitchen."

0:09:26.860,0:09:28.099
(Laughter)

0:09:28.535,0:09:32.450
A light bulb went off,[br]and I launched a painting company

0:09:32.474,0:09:37.022
that became the conduit[br]between the customers in the paint store

0:09:37.046,0:09:39.454
and the painters[br]who needed consistent work.

0:09:41.007,0:09:42.860
After a year or so,

0:09:42.884,0:09:45.559
I left that paint store,

0:09:46.570,0:09:48.944
we grew our contracting company,

0:09:48.968,0:09:54.412
and since then, I have hired[br]tons of other returning citizens.

0:09:54.436,0:09:58.342
(Applause)

0:10:00.813,0:10:03.254
I stand today with a felony,

0:10:04.095,0:10:08.372
and just like millions of others[br]around the country

0:10:08.396,0:10:12.195
who also have that "F" on their chest[br]that represents felony,

0:10:13.671,0:10:17.651
just as my mom promised me many years ago,

0:10:17.675,0:10:21.332
I wanted to show them[br]that there was still life after prison.

0:10:22.911,0:10:25.377
I started living my best life,

0:10:26.577,0:10:29.146
and I couldn't believe[br]that I was living on a cloud.

0:10:30.036,0:10:33.564
But my friends, the same ones[br]I grew up with in those cells,

0:10:33.588,0:10:39.474
they would call me and constantly ask for[br]pictures of this new life I was living.

0:10:40.361,0:10:42.384
If I traveled, they wanted pictures.

0:10:42.907,0:10:45.609
When I got married, they wanted pictures.

0:10:46.381,0:10:51.142
But I didn't have the time[br]or the bandwidth to sit and write a letter

0:10:51.166,0:10:52.975
or print pictures from my phone.

0:10:53.748,0:10:55.652
I would commonly tell them,

0:10:55.676,0:11:00.495
"Dude, if I could just text you,[br]my life would be so much easier."

0:11:01.744,0:11:05.864
And after searching the app stores[br]for a solution to this problem

0:11:05.888,0:11:08.093
and not being able to find one,

0:11:08.117,0:11:10.004
we launched Flikshop.

0:11:12.410,0:11:16.071
(Applause)

0:11:18.098,0:11:19.862
I kid you not --

0:11:19.886,0:11:24.700
did you know that[br]the prison phone business

0:11:24.724,0:11:27.520
created a billion-dollar industry?

0:11:28.593,0:11:31.374
Some of these businesses are predatory,

0:11:31.398,0:11:35.558
and so we knew we had to figure out[br]how to disrupt this space.

0:11:37.417,0:11:42.665
Flikshop allows our family members[br]to take a picture, add some quick text,

0:11:43.630,0:11:46.326
press send, and for 99 cents,

0:11:46.350,0:11:49.489
we print that picture and text[br]on a real, tangible postcard

0:11:49.513,0:11:55.414
and mail it directly to any person,[br]in any cell, anywhere in the country.

0:11:56.340,0:12:01.528
(Applause)

0:12:03.037,0:12:06.508
There are millions of families[br]that are becoming torn apart,

0:12:06.532,0:12:10.780
simply because they don't have[br]the time to write a letter,

0:12:11.565,0:12:14.396
figure out how to print[br]a photo from their phone,

0:12:14.420,0:12:18.026
make a store run to go buy[br]a box of envelopes

0:12:18.050,0:12:20.989
and then to the post office[br]to go buy stamps.

0:12:21.477,0:12:24.151
We started by connecting 50 families.

0:12:24.815,0:12:27.299
And then 100 families.

0:12:27.863,0:12:30.508
And then 500 families.

0:12:31.338,0:12:34.370
And now, today, I am proud to say

0:12:34.394,0:12:38.966
that we've connected over 140,000 families

0:12:38.990,0:12:40.195
around the country.

0:12:40.219,0:12:44.883
(Applause)

0:12:46.735,0:12:51.387
We even commonly receive mail[br]in my office overflowing my desk

0:12:51.411,0:12:52.715
from people in prison

0:12:53.533,0:12:54.776
like Jason.

0:12:56.296,0:12:59.780
Jason says, "I got about[br]15 postcards last night

0:12:59.804,0:13:01.975
of so many words of motivation

0:13:01.999,0:13:04.747
that I had to write to you[br]and just say thank you."

0:13:05.918,0:13:07.836
Or George, who writes,

0:13:07.860,0:13:11.900
"Today I received about six postcards[br]with so much love ...

0:13:11.924,0:13:15.139
I do not know where this roof[br]of love has come from."

0:13:15.854,0:13:18.497
I cannot believe how blessed I am

0:13:18.521,0:13:21.490
to sometimes be able to meet a child

0:13:21.514,0:13:25.273
who sends Flikshop postcards[br]to their incarcerated parents.

0:13:26.491,0:13:31.108
Sometimes, I'm able to even[br]go to the White House

0:13:31.132,0:13:35.747
and address the nation and talk about[br]the need for criminal justice reform.

0:13:36.797,0:13:42.384
And this story is just incredible for me,[br]because this wasn't always my life.

0:13:43.530,0:13:50.286
I remember very vividly living[br]in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell

0:13:50.310,0:13:56.992
with a man that was 22 years old[br]and there to serve life plus 43 years,

0:13:57.016,0:14:00.458
and thinking in my head[br]while I'm sitting in that bunk

0:14:00.482,0:14:03.875
that together, we probably[br]would die in those cells.

0:14:05.462,0:14:09.992
Well, I know that our era[br]of mass incarceration

0:14:10.016,0:14:13.517
and the things that we see on the news[br]dealing with people going to prison

0:14:13.541,0:14:15.504
is a huge societal issue

0:14:15.528,0:14:18.571
that we all have[br]to band together to help solve.

0:14:19.224,0:14:21.394
But I am confident

0:14:21.418,0:14:26.738
that if we're very intentional[br]about building family connections

0:14:26.762,0:14:29.453
in environments where[br]they're needed the most,

0:14:29.477,0:14:32.719
then this is a big step[br]in the right direction.

0:14:34.154,0:14:37.322
I absolutely love this stage of my life,

0:14:37.346,0:14:40.269
this chapter, where[br]I'm standing right now.

0:14:41.031,0:14:44.868
But you know who's having[br]way more fun than me at this stage?

0:14:45.662,0:14:46.832
My mom.

0:14:46.856,0:14:47.963
(Laughter)

0:14:47.987,0:14:49.777
I love you, Ma. Thank you.

0:14:49.801,0:14:53.030
(Applause)