My Vote Matters Too

Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow Gives Felons back their right to Vote in the U.S.

On Tuesday afternoon, April 2, 2019, Alabama State University has hosted an event in sponsoring the ex-felons to earn their right to vote in the United States. Many people who are or have been incarcerated do not know their eligibility to vote. In particular, Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow was determined to restore their rights to vote as citizens.

Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow was a former felon, who strived to make a difference in someone's life. He has manage to not only to be a mentor to others but has registered several prisoners to vote. He explains that many prisoners do not know their rights as citizens of the United States.

If a person is not convicted of a crime that he or she has been charged for, they still can exercise their right to vote. During the process of getting the prisoners registered, Glasgow was still incarcerated at time.

At the start of the discussion, Glasgow began to tell his story to the audience about the negative and positive things he experience during his lifetime. Before going into detail about his life, he asked the group of ASU students a question.

" How many of you know someone who is or has been incarcerated in jail or federal prison?" - Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow

The responses were very stereotypical among the African American race. Majority of the entire room raised their hands by responding yes to the question. When being interviewed, a student explain how she felt about her father's circumstances in prison.

" My father is a former felon of the prison system. I felt like my father wasn't given the chance to be represented properly before the court of law and was overcharged for the crime he committed. Til this day, his rights as a citizen have been taken away from him because of his record." - ASU Student

Glasgow furthers the discussion by mentioning his organization, The Ordinary People Society (T.O.P.S.). This organization is an innovative, faith-based community program that was founded in 1999 by Kenneth Glasgow.

T.O.P.S. offers hope and creates an environment that provides a continuum of unconditional acceptance and care to individuals and their families who suffer the effects of drug addiction, mass-incarceration, homelessness, poverty, unemployment, hunger and illness-without regard to race, sex, creed, color, religion or social status.

While telling the audience his story with the court system, the audience reaction had sympathy for him but there was still hope for people who are of have been incarcerated in prison.

He mentioned how he never expected to be released from prison with his criminal record. Due to all of the good duties he did to help people in prison with their voting rights, his case was dismissed.

“Being incarcerated lead me to the missionaries to become a pastor and be a mentor to the younger generations.” -Kenneth Glasgow

Everyone’s vote matters in this country, but we can not forget those who are or have previously been incarcerated vote matters too. At the end of discussion, ASU students learned more about the Alabama Voting Rights.

Based on the Alabama Constitution, people who commit "crimes of moral turpitude" lose their right to vote. Some may be eligible to restore their voting rights. A new law passed in 2017 defined a list of 46 crimes that result in loss of voting rights. - ALCU-AL

The purpose of restoring ex-felons voting rights because as citizens it’s their right to be apart of the decisions that involve the United States. Glasgow reminds us how society tends to forget that former felons are still citizens of this country.