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Susan Burton shares personal journey with LMU students

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — For Susan Burton, helping formerly incarcerated women embrace a new way of life is a calling.

Published

7 years ago

March 9, 2019

By Angela N. Parker

WESTCHESTER — For Susan Burton, helping formerly incarcerated women embrace a new way of life is a calling. As a formerly incarcerated woman herself, Burton is committed to giving back a little bit of what was given to her when she received her second chance.

With that commitment comes a desire to reach into the community and to tell her story to those whose time, talent and resources can make all the difference in the lives of the most vulnerable among us. One of those communities is Loyola Marymount University, a catholic university where Burton has formed a partnership with faculty and students.

On Feb. 5, Burton was the featured speaker at a conversation on incarceration, hosted on campus as part of Black History Month, where she challenged the 100 students and faculty members in attendance to rethink how they view incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women.

“We have been trained to think about people who are incarcerated in a certain way,” Burton said. “There is this idea that everyone in jail is a sexual predator (or a monster) when the truth is most people are in prison because we have criminalized mental health, we have criminalized poverty and those are the reasons most people are incarcerated.”

That is a message that Deanne Cooke, assistant clinical professor and director of engaged learning at LMU, wanted to impart to the students in attendance.

“Our university’s mission is to promote social justice and so we enact that mission by helping our communities understand the current system of justice and imagine what it might look like to have a system that is more just,” Cooke said. “The most powerful way I can envision educating students is to let people tell their own stories and connect their humanity to the humanity of our students and community members.”

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in 37 adults, 2.7 percent of the adult population in the United States, is under some form of correctional supervision. African Americans as a whole are incarcerated at a rate five times higher than their white counterparts, while African-American women are twice more likely to go jail than their white counterparts.

“We rarely think about how the individual and their extended families are impacted by incarceration,” Cooke said. “We rarely think about why, by far, America has the largest rate of incarceration in the world; why there has been a large increase in incarceration of women; what happens to people’s children or parents when individuals are incarcerated; how incarcerated people continue to be impacted by various policies well after their release; or how our policies create disproportionate enforcement and convictions for black, brown and poor people.”

The sentiment is shared by Nathan Sessoms, director of the office of black student services at LMU.

“Speaking about the need for justice is one thing; understanding that need and getting involved in the eradication of injustice is something totally different,” Sessoms said. “My hope is that today participants develop a better understanding of this justice-related issue, as well as the various ways they can get involved.”

Burton, who is the author of “Becoming Ms. Burton,” an autobiographical memoir in which she discusses her journey to become who she believes she was born to be, hopes that her speaking out will change how people think and act about the issue of mass incarceration.

“I was out of prison six different times,” said Burton, who became addicted to substances after attempting to self-medicate to cope with the death of her child. “Then somebody helped me, provided me with a safe place to live, provided me with food, showed me compassion and introduced me to Alcoholics Anonymous. That was the magic pill for me. But that help came out of Santa Monica and … I became driven to bring these types of services to my community.”

In 1998, Burton founded A New Way of Life Reentry Project, an organization that offers housing, legal services and leadership training to formally incarcerated women. Through her organization, she has provided a safety net and a chance for reunification for more than 1,000 women and children.

“In addition to the related and long-standing issue of police brutality, mass incarceration represents the critical justice issue of our time,” Sessoms said. “However, people’s knowledge about these issues is often derived from television shows and, perhaps, social media.

“So, the opportunity to hear about Ms. Burton’s experiences, as well as the amazing work that she’s done and continues to do, paints a much clearer picture of the bias and disparities present within the criminal justice system.”

Burton said that from the very beginning her organization was committed to going beyond providing shelter and was determined to eliminate the institutional obstacles that made succeeding post prison nearly impossible.

“According to the American Bar Association, more than 48,000 barriers to reentry have been documented,” Burton said. “These barriers included limited access to employment, inability to get a driver’s license or a student loan, inability to secure permanent housing, and inability to get public assistance.

“We are all human and we have all made mistakes whether we have been convicted of them or not,” Burton added. “It is not fair to continually punish someone for a crime they have already served the time for.”

One of the ways that Burton hopes to convey this message is through the Justice on Trial Film Festival, which features films that speak to the challenges of people navigating the criminal justice system. Held annually at LMU, the event is open to the public.

“It is important that we understand all the struggles that people who are incarcerated face … and that we focus more on restorative justice,” Burton said. “We need to start speaking to each other and working towards creating the type of close communities that look out for each other.”

This article originally appeared in Wave Newspapers.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

2 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

6 days ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.

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Lu Lu’s House is Not Just Toying Around with the Community

Wilson and Lambert will be partnering with Mayor Barbara Lee on a toy giveaway on Dec. 20. Young people, like Dremont Wilkes, age 15, will help give away toys and encourage young people to stay in school and out of trouble. Wilkes wants to go to college and become a specialist in financial aid. Sports agent Aaron Goodwin has committed to giving all eight young people from Lu Lu’s House a fully paid free ride to college, provided they keep a 3.0 grade point average and continue the program. Lu Lu’s House is not toying around.

Published

7 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Tania Fuller Bryant, Zirl Wilson, Dremont Wilkes, Tracy Lambert and Dr. Geoffrey Watson. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry

Special to the Post

Lu Lu’s House is a 501c3 organization based in Oakland, founded by Mr. Zirl Wilson and Mr. Tracy Lambert, both previously incarcerated. After their release from jail, they wanted to change things for the better in the community — and wow, have they done that!

The duo developed housing for previously incarcerated people, calling it “Lu Lu’s House,” after Wilson’s wonderful wife. At a time when many young people were robbing, looting, and involved in shootings, Wilson and Lambert took it upon themselves to risk their lives to engage young gang members and teach them about nonviolence, safety, cleanliness, business, education, and the importance of health and longevity.

Lambert sold hats and T-shirts at the Eastmont Mall and was visited by his friend Wilson. At the mall, they witnessed gangs of young people running into the stores, stealing whatever they could get their hands on and then rushing out. Wilson tried to stop them after numerous robberies and finally called the police, who Wilson said, “did not respond.” Having been incarcerated previously, they realized that if the young people were allowed to continue to rob the stores, they could receive multiple criminal counts, which would take their case from misdemeanors to felonies, resulting in incarceration.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys
for a Dec. 20 giveaway in partnership with Oakland Mayor Barbara
Lee. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry,

Wilson took it upon himself to follow the young people home and when he arrived at their subsidized homes, he realized the importance of trying to save the young people from violence, drug addiction, lack of self-worth, and incarceration — as well as their families from losing subsidized housing. Lambert and Wilson explained to the young men and women, ages 13-17, that there were positive options which might allow them to make money legally and stay out of jail. Wilson and Lambert decided to teach them how to wash cars and they opened a car wash in East Oakland. Oakland’s Initiative, “Keep the town clean,” involved the young people from Lu Lu’s House participating in more than eight cleanup sessions throughout Oakland. To assist with their infrastructure, Lu Lu’s House has partnered with Oakland’s Private Industry Council.

For the Christmas season, Lu Lu’s House and reformed young people (who were previously robbed) will continue to give back.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys.