"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
Since - August 10, 2005
"A Human Rights & Social Justice Non-For-profit Organization"
Your contribution will enable us to support our employees and continue operations. We are very grateful for your generosity.
This is an introduction to Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc., established in August of 2005 by David Lowery, Jr., as a human rights and social justice not-for-profit organization. The focus of the Foundation is to provide assistance for ex-offenders who strive to reenter mainstream society, their communities, and workplaces. Working in collaboration with social services agencies, community/civic organizations, employment executives and agencies, ex-offender advocacy groups, gang leaders, church organizations, elective officials, and private ventures, Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. designs and implements projects consisting of hundreds of hours that will be a hub for intercity issues affecting juvenile and young adults incarcerated or recidivism in Illinois. All programs are supervised and monitored by David E. Lowery, Jr., in conjunction with his staff and various independents professionals such as social workers, educators, employment specialists, and substance abuse counselors.
The Foundation has formed a working relationship with Executive Business Alliance Chicago (EBAC) to provide business development advice and support. Additionally, EBAC will assist the Foundation in identifying individuals who are qualified and have a desire to enter the entrepreneurship arena and provide small business start-up guidance as warranted. The Foundation is hopeful that all programs will provide additional assistance and insight into the type of supportive services, employment training, leadership development skills, and operational methods significantly necessary to reduce recidivism among both men and women ex-offenders.
Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. was incorporated on August 10, 2005. It is a not-for-profit organization within the State of Illinois for charitable purposes of enhancing the quality of life of individuals.
A driving objective of Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. is to inform residents of African-American communities, particularly men and boys, of the fundamental knowledge about racial profiling, when, how, and by whom it can occur, and that discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality sexual preference or any other particular identity undermines the basic human rights and freedoms to which every person is entitled - the Foundation maintains a strong commitment to addressing these issues.
When issues of racial profiling, discrimination, and harassment are known to the Foundation, there are established policies and procedures that are used to promptly bring thorough and effective actions in an effort to identify the situations and bring about an internal remedy as much as possible. The Foundation is aware that individuals also have the right to contact any proper agency, such as the Illinois Department of Human Rights or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), County Sheriff Departments, State Police, or Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance.
The mission is simple and focuses on restorative justice, healing, and human rights. Fostering, mentoring, and role-modeling behaviors to African-American men and boys help spring-broad the mission throughout the communities served by the Foundation. Focusing on positive influences helps change mindsets as well as promote integrity and pride in men and boys. The Foundation strives to utilize structured criteria with the lawful intent to eliminate adversity.
A program entitled "New Black Man" is introduced by the 'Foundation' to influence positive changes in the image of African-American men and promote pride and integrity through a structured educational environment, relationship building, self-respect, and atonement through faith. Helps the Foundation live the Mission each day.
Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. works with governmental agencies, community organizations, membership, and affiliate groups in order to re-establish resources back into the African-American community through empowering people. Our programs are structured to enhance the growth and development of Black males, which in turn can foster empowerment of the families within the community. The Foundation aims to be a leader in prisoner re-entry for Black males in the communities, as well as implement programs that educate against drug use in our society.
Our platform shall consist of:
Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. provides a cause of action against employers who stereotype disadvantaged African-American men, especially those who are ex-offenders, disproportionately skilled or semi-skilled workers. Since at-will employment in various states rarely requires well-defined qualifications, it is inevitable that employers have more opportunities to discriminate in their hiring and promotion decisions (Harvard Law Review, 1991).
The Foundation is aware that hiring Black men, especially ex-offenders, are disproportionate to other races and has a major negative impact on their culture and communities. In notes concerning Black men by the Harvard Law Review (1991), entitled, "Invisible Man: Black and Male, Under Title VII," educational disadvantage is an inadequate explanation for occupational distributions and the corresponding unemployment, as indicated in the rise of unemployment.
The article states, "According to a government study, black men who are eligible only for positions not requiring a high school diploma had significantly higher unemployment than white men with similar profiles. In addition, Black men who have attended college also have a higher level of unemployment – and earn less – than white high school dropouts." Harvard Law Review (1991).
Incarceration Trends in America
Racial Disparities in Incarceration
Contributing Factors
The The foundation also understands the profile of prisoners released, as reported by the Urban Institute Justice Policy Center (2003), where it states, "The majority of released prisoners were male (90 percent) and black (67 percent). Most prisoners were relatively young at the time of their release, with 48 percent under the age of 31; the average age at release was 32. Over one-third had been serving time for drug offenses".
The Sentence Project (2014) states regarding Racial Disparities, "More than 60% of the people in prison today are people of color. Black men are six times more likely to be incarcerated than white men and 2.5 times more likely than Hispanic men. For black men in their thirties (30), 1 in every 10 is in prison or jail on any given day.
Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. aims to gear programs toward African-American males. Due to the statistical distribution of released prisoners who are more economically and socially disadvantaged than the average In Chicago's communities, our programs will serve this targeted disparate group. The Urban Institute reported that the vast majority (97 percent) of Illinois prisoners released in 2001 returned to Illinois communities; of those, 51 percent returned to Chicago (15,488 released prisoners). Just six (6) of Chicago's 77 communities, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Englewood, West Englewood, and East Garfield Park-accounted for 34 percent of prisoners returning to Chicago in 2001.
In addition, the Safer Foundation (2002) reported, "Far fewer women than men are sentenced to prison, but their rates of incarceration are increasing faster than those of men, and they are reentering communities with unique needs and challenges related to children and family issues, employment, and substance abuse. While men greatly outnumber women in state or federal prisons, since 1990, the annual rate of growth of female inmates has averaged 7.5%, higher than the 5.7% average increase of male inmates. While the number of male prisoners has grown by 80% since 1990, the number of female prisoners has increased by 114%. By midyear 2001, there were almost 95,000 women in state or federal prisons.
Proven practices and research related to ex-offender re-entry are cornerstones to the development of many of the programs implemented by the Foundation. Moreover, programs are geared to encourage and mentor toward success and growth principles that are sustainable by the individuals over time. Programs to address the healing of families, securing housing, preparation and securing employment, counseling for substance abuse and implementing treatments, and understanding and eliminating domestic violence are aimed toward improving the role of disadvantaged Black males in their community.
Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. is a national organization with a corporate hub within Illinois and services focused on the Chicago-land areas. The Foundation concentrates efforts on Black males aged 11–21 years, with or without criminal backgrounds, and in primarily low-income communities throughout the various counties. Programs and services are focused in Cook County due to the approximately 65% African-American, 25% Caucasian, and 10% Hispanic/Latino populations.
The The foundation's civil engagement programs promote productive citizenship, which is free from discrimination, rules of engagement with law enforcement, and understanding of civil rights, protection, and the power of the voting process. The Foundation understands that in order to be successful in reaching its objectives, awareness of issues of the African-American culture must be addressed before healing and respect can be achieved.
To following concepts and key action words are incorporated in the discovery, research, and implementation of future programs:
Program success is measured by various methods, including but not limited to:
Healing Circles – This program reviews the emotional triggers due to volatile behaviors, which create pain among individuals, parents, and other family members. Through our re-entry services/programs, Living & Driving While Black works in conjunction with various agencies in the development of a restorative justice platform encompassing alternatives to current family issues. Through anger management, conflict resolution, and gender-specific support groups, youth discover emotional and mental triggers that contribute to their volatile behaviors and unstable emotions.
Civil Engagement Program – This re-entry program was designed with community-driven strategies of "community engagement." All participants learn how to enhance and sustain civic engagement for the betterment of our communities. The program examines the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional skills of ex-offenders and helps foster a spirit of social consciousness through employment and business ownership.
This program also strives to increase public safety and reduce recidivism among adult and juvenile offenders by addressing their service needs. Client screenings, assessments, family support services, support group/mentorship intervention, as well as a myriad of community services for their re-entry back into society. In affiliation with agencies such as the Safer Foundation's Council of Advisors, we aim to reduce recidivism through employment and work in collaboration to assist ex-offenders to reenter their communities with specialized skills unique to meet job placements and opportunities.
Family Lifestyle Programs – This program is designed to work towards improving the relationship and well-being between children and their parents. We conduct Parenting skill training, such as relationship counseling, support groups for single & stay-at-home fathers, financial literacy, domestic violence prevention & other resources and referrals necessary to empower parents as they create models for change within the lives of their families. These are the keys to this program. The impact that Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. has on the community can be read in letters from individuals involved in this program.
Wrongful Convictions/Innocence Program – Living & Driving While Black Foundation, Inc. offers services of the Innocence Program through its affiliation with Johnnie Savory of the Center of Wrongful Convictions of Northwestern University. The Innocence Project represents clients seeking post-conviction DNA testing to prove their innocence. Gross, Samuel R., & Shaffer, Michael (2012) reported there were "873 individual exoneration from January 1989 through February 2012, and of these exonerated:
93% were men (816/873) and 7% were women (57/873).
We know the race of the defendants in 92% of the cases (802/873):
50% were black (399/802),
38% were white (303/802),
11% were Hispanic (86/802), and
2% were Native American or Asian (14/802)."
8% pled guilty (71/873), and the rest were convicted at trial – 87% by juries and 8% by judges. 37% were cleared, at least in part, with the help of DNA evidence (325/873).
63% were cleared without DNA evidence (548/873).
Almost all had been in prison for years, half for at least 10 years, and more than 75% for at least 5 years. As a group, the defendants had spent more than 10,000 years in prison for crimes for which they should not have been convicted – an average of more than 11 years each (p.7-8).
David Lowery (2011) in affiliation with the Association House of Chicago, was instrumental in contacting many companies for employment pertaining to the ex-offenders re-entry program. David worked toward the placement of over 1000 individuals.
David's work has benefitted many young adults. Attached, you will find letters from individuals to Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois referencing David's work following funding cuts. In addition to his placement services, inmates were reaching out to David for legal assistance as well.
The following is a partial list of many companies he contacted for placement:
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