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Posted on 06/16/2010 2:05:27 PM PDT by epithermal
Until a few years ago, Jesse Miller’s past kept her from voting, let alone running for office.
But the hip-hop producer from Tacoma is now running for the Legislature, and she’s not hiding the drug conviction that dogged her for years after she had served her time.
“I think I’m an example of what a felon is. It’s a person who made a mistake, and has done the best they can with that stigma, and continued to be a law-abiding and respectable citizen,” Miller said.
Felons running for office could become more common under a state law Miller championed that made it easier for felons to have their voting rights restored.
The law passed in 2009 over the objections of many Republicans, including all of them in the House. Today, though, Miller is running for the House as a Republican.
(Excerpt) Read more at thenewstribune.com ...
Say WA? Evergreen State ping IIRC, this law allowed voting rights to be restored before the legal financial obligations were paid off, but after release from supervision.
Going from street thug to thug-in-business jacket with just a vote!
http://www.tacomaweekly.com/article/1613/
This is an article about her rap record label. Sounds like she is doing well. I hope she can stay clean.
I was hoping for more of “I turned my life around, and RAP doesn’t always have to be about drugs and girls and killing cops”. I didn’t see it in this article - but she may be like that. But, as a business person it sounds like she is marketing to the masses.
Okay - here’s some Christian rap that she linked in her myspace. That might be her behind the rapper? (No music so you can actually understand the guy). I can’t stand rap, even the Christian rap that my son listens to once in awhile. But this guy speaking it is good - and the words ring true.
Oops - link to the christian rap:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=24168498&blogId=494504567
There is another entry in her blog from 2008 where she created a program to have at-risk kids learn and create a rap video:
” Classroom to boardroom- A new Tacoma program gives kids a taste of the professional world....The video production team has all the usual aspects. There’s an executive director, a director, talent managers, camera crews and lighting technicians. The one thing that is a little unusual is the fact that they are all under 17.
The group of music-video-making teenagers is a part of the pilot program for the summer-long experience the students have dubbed “Say No to Guns and Gangs and Yes to the Arts.”
..... That covers everything from positive messaging, effective communication, interview etiquette and professional presentation to how to navigate through social programs, legal rights and the judicial system.
“This is information that I didn’t receive as a kid,” said Felony Entertainment CEO Jesse Miller, commonly referred to as Miss Jessy. She is also the creator of the program that is supported through the Russell Family Foundation. Miller credits her rough upbringing as her inspiration to create the summer program that gets kids engaged, and thinking positively about their futures. “I grew up in Tacoma… I don’t want these kid to go through what I went through.”
“I know how much music means to kids. You got to get them with what they love – and I’m throwing in what they need.”
Thanks for all the information. I would say she is doing good for the community and hope she succeeds. What an interesting life story that provides a perspective few of us will ever have.
“What an interesting life story that provides a perspective few of us will ever have.”
Yep. (Thank goodness!) It does show that in some cases folks can be reformed. And she obviously can reach out to those kids on their level a lot better than I could!
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