Journey of Florida’s Returning Citizens: From Amendment 4 to Community Restoration

This event is free and open to the public.

What does it mean to be a fully restored citizen?

Join Hyde Park United Methodist at The Portico as we continue the work of our Justice Team:

•Highlighting the challenges of racial justice and inequality
•Focusing on systemic bias, and
•Illustrating how the criminal justice system perpetuates this unfairness.

Florida was supposed to see hundreds of thousands of formerly banned voters at the polls in 2020.

In 2018 voters in Florida approved the restoring voting rights to people with past felony convictions. There are nearly a 1.5 million of these “returning citizens” who were once powerless in determining the outcomes of the state and federal laws that effect their lives.

A contingent of policy makers in the state legislature thwarted the initiative’s momentum by requiring anyone with a felony conviction to completely pay off their fines before being eligible to vote.

This event specifically focuses on the challenges and barriers facing returning citizens upon reentry.

Hear from a panel of attorneys, state officials and returning citizens about the challenges set before this marginalized population.

Receive next steps and community action we can take to energize a grassroots effort to empower returning citizens to experience the journey of freedom, from Amendment 4 to full community restoration.