The Color of Money: Giving Ex-Offenders the Chance to Work

Michelle Singletary, writer for the Washington Post, writes this story about Kelly Brown.  Kelly Brown is a hair stylist who lost her job at a Salon in Baltimore, after working as a stylist for seven months.  Although Kelly was upfront about her past at the time her hiring, when she asked permission to be photographed for a profile in the Post, it triggered renewed scrutiny by the company.  The result, she was fired for having a criminal record.  It's an ironic tragedy like only Shakespeare could invent, but it's true.  The effects of the Washington Post to celebrate her success, actually caused her demise.  And, the company that was seemingly the life line to a new opportunity turned out to be the villain.  But this is a larger story about a system that is broken.  While the local manager and clientele had no problem with Kelly or her past, the larger company stuck fast to its rules that proscribed hiring ex-offenders as a matter of public safety.  Despite an outpouring of emails complaining about this decision, the company remains steadfast in its firing of Kelly Brown, solely for her criminal past.  There's more.  You can read the whole story here.  This item is brought to our attention by Jim Cavenaugh.