“What if your introduction to the world was a retelling of the worst mistakes you’ve made in your life?”
Emily Baxter, director and founder of We Are All Criminals, posed this question to the audience at her presentation, We Are All Criminals. With her lecture, given at the Campus Y on Tuesday, she aimed to close the empathy gap between those without a criminal record and those who have one.
The Criminal Justice Awareness and Action committee hosted Baxter, whose non-profit tells stories about people who have committed criminal acts, but were not caught. Baxter focuses on how each interviewee’s life would have been altered had they been caught.
“It’s an intentionally provocative title. This project is a commentary on the nation’s policies and prosecution,” Baxter said.
Of the stories told at the presentation, some were light hearted: public urination and petty theft in a drunken walk home. Others involved drug trafficking and assault. All stories came from offenders who never had to check the box found on many employment applications that asks, “Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense?”
Baxter believes that all humans have a criminal history, even though it may not be documented. She hopes to create empathy for those who have a criminal record by showing that everyone could have a criminal record, and how it would follow them around on employment, housing and education applications.
“This year, CJAA’s focus is about the myth of the criminal and perceptions of criminality in culture so we wanted to invite her to kick off the year,” said Luke Beyer.
Beyer is one of the organizers in CJAA who had been inspired by meeting Baxter last semester. Following the presentation, Baxter sat down with the CJAA to discuss the committee’s future events and continue the discussion that the lecture prompted.
“It was surprising to learn that one in four people have a criminal record,” said Carolina Ramsey, an attendee and member of CJAA. “I didn’t realize the full scope of how disproportionately blacks are arrested, convicted and charged. I guess I never really thought about it, but I guess it’s so obvious.”
