I’m a woman first | Tiffany Williams | TEDxMuncyStatePrison

Tiffany Williams sings about humanizing inmates, reminding everyone that she has a name as well as a number and besides her crime and shame, she is a woman first. Words and music by Ms. Williams and Diamond Dallas.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

You don't know me,

but to many I'm known as an inmate

or just a number.

So today,

I would like to express to you all

through word and song

that I am a woman first.

I'm a woman first

before I'm an inmate.

I'm a daughter

who was supposed to make
her parents proud.

I never thought my life choices
would cause them to count me out.

I'm a woman first

before I'm an inmate.

I'm a sister of 17,

but I only know

and have a relationship with six.

Even though I know they love me,

I'm out of sight, out of mind

during this prison bid.

I'm a woman first

before I'm an inmate.

I'm a mother of five beautiful children

who has made some poor choices.

I'm a mother of five beautiful children

whose bad decisions

not only affect me

but also my lineage.

I'm a woman first

before I'm an inmate.

I'm a friend to many.

I'm an aunt of 14.

I'm a cosmetologist.

I'm a wife-to-be.

(Laughs)

I'm a diva when I walk on the scene.

I am a child of God.

I am Tiffany Simone Williams.

I have walked some very long roads,

and I have followed some wrong paths,

but as I accept my faults

and I make some changes,

all my mistakes will soon
be a story of my past.

I am currently

OV4643,

but when the dust settles

and the smoke clears,

I am a woman first.

♪ Many stories written ♪

♪ On miles that hide ♪

♪ Under the soles of my feet ♪

♪ Stretch my shoulders ♪

♪ Wide as the sky ♪

♪ I've cried much as the ocean is deep ♪

♪ My walk has been 1,000 miles ♪

♪ I could talk 'til eternity from now ♪

♪ And tell you why
I've done what I've done ♪

♪ And how I am ♪

♪ What I've become ♪

♪ I'm your daughter ♪

♪ I'm a mother ♪

♪ I'm your best friend ♪

♪ I'm a lover ♪

♪ I feel, I laugh ♪

♪ I hurt ♪

♪ I've tried some things
that didn't work ♪

♪ Before my number, I had a name ♪

♪ Above my pride ♪

♪ Aside from my shame ♪

♪ Doesn't change ♪

♪ One cent of my worth ♪

♪ Before anything ♪

♪ I'm a woman first ♪

♪ There's just one thing ♪

♪ I hope you'll remember ♪

♪ Just this one thing ♪

♪ I need you to know ♪

♪ When you see me ♪

♪ I've had my highs and my lows ♪

♪ There's just one thing ♪

♪ I hope you'll remember ♪

♪ Just this one thing ♪

♪ I need you to know ♪

♪ When you see me ♪

♪ I've had my highs and my lows ♪

♪ There's just one thing ♪

♪ I hope you'll remember ♪

♪ Just this one thing ♪

♪ I need you to know ♪

♪ When you see me ♪

♪ I've had my highs and my lows ♪

♪ Before my number I had a name ♪

♪ Above my pride ♪

♪ Aside from my shame ♪

♪ Doesn't change ♪

♪ One cent of my worth ♪

♪ Please believe me ♪

♪ I'm a woman ♪

♪ first ♪

(Applause) (Cheers)

John Wetzel: How about that?

Tiffany, another round for Tiffany.

(Applause) (Cheers)

I want to especially thank Tiffany

for putting a face on something

that our department
has really been talking about

and trying to express

to policy-makers and others
who think about this issue,

and that's that the children are impacted
by our response to crime.

So in the Pennsylvania
Department of Corrections alone,

where we have 51,000 people incarcerated,

they have at least 81,000 children.

So we don't have
51,000 inmates, just inmates,

we have 51,000 mothers

and children

and fathers.

So when we look at
how we should use incarceration,

I hope we, as policy-makers,
keep that in our mind

and understand that this tool
needs to be used with precision,

specifically for that reason:

because of the impact
it could potentially have on the back end.

So Tiffany, thank you so much
for bringing that to our attention.