Words Matter: A Call for Responsible Dialogue During the Presidential Race
Sheena Meade, CEO of The Clean Slate Initiative, addresses campaign strategists, the media, and the general public in an open letter, urging careful consideration of the language used in the final few months of the presidential race. Highlighting the impact of dehumanizing language and harmful imagery, she advocates for respectful and informed discourse that acknowledges the humanity of the 70-100 million adults in the U.S. who have been through the legal system.
Note: This letter has been updated to reflect Governor Tim Walz's selection as Vice President Harris’ running mate. The original version of this letter published on July 23, 2024, is available here.
August 20, 2024
To campaign strategists, the media, and the general public,
As we make choices about how to discuss the presidential race that involves a former prosecutor as well as individuals with felony and misdemeanor convictions, we must consider how our words will impact the 70-100 million adults of voting age in the U.S., including me, who have an arrest or conviction record. We must remember that any dehumanizing language we use about people with records will have a long-term impact on the most marginalized people who have gone through the legal system.
With Vice President Harris’ entrance into the race for president against former President Donald Trump, many have been using the “prosecutor versus the felon” framing. However, this language plays on stereotypes and reduces people with records to be defined solely by one thing that has happened in their lives, which is why the Associated Press Stylebook recently recommended newsrooms stop using words like “felon,” “convict” and “ex-con.” We can make judgments about behavior, decision-making, and values that someone’s crimes reflect without resorting to harmful labels. When it helps people make informed decisions in the voting booth, it’s justified to talk about people’s behavior and actions, noting if they “were convicted of a felony,” “broke the law, “violated the public trust,” etc. But let’s be mindful and not reduce someone to ‘a felon,’ ‘a criminal,’ or a ‘convict.’ Voters deserve better.
With Governor Tim Walz joining a presidential ticket, his mugshot from his misdemeanor conviction has gone viral and is being used in attack ads. Just as words matter, imagery does too. We might be tempted to use or reshare visuals that convey that someone with a record is inherently an outcast or a danger, but millions of people — innocent and guilty — move through the legal system every year for crimes big and small. Mugshots, handcuffs, and court sketches should not be used as fear-mongering imagery that automatically casts someone as other. This is why many newsrooms have decided to no longer use mugshots in their reporting. Instead, we can talk about an individual’s specific actions and judgment in ways that don’t play into harmful and outdated stereotypes about crime. Again, voters deserve better.
One in three adults living in the U.S. has a record, and while in some states some of those individuals are barred from participating in elections, a large majority of us are still voters. The Clean Slate Initiative’s Data Dashboard estimates that over 2.9 million adults in Georgia, 2.1 million adults in Ohio, and 6.2 million adults in Florida have an arrest or conviction record. I am one of the estimated 36 percent of adults in Florida with a record, and I can guarantee I will be casting my ballot in November. Political strategies that dehumanize people with a record in an effort to win votes could end up causing damage to the very people whose votes you are trying to win.
People like me face a mind-blowing 42,000 barriers to employment, education, housing, and everyday living when trying to move forward with our lives. These barriers are driven by harmful narratives about people with records that exclude us from our communities long after we have paid our debt to society.
The decisions we make about how to discuss individuals with a conviction will impact me and the millions of people in America like me who struggle every day because of the stigma attached to our records. We must consider the weight of our words during this election cycle and carry that weight responsibly. There are millions of hard-working people throughout America who deserve better than being the collateral damage of efforts to politicize the pain of having a record.
Sincerely,
Sheena Meade
CEO, The Clean Slate Initiative
