MSNBC Guest: People with Criminal Records Are Discriminated Against

Southern Coalition for Social Justice senior staff attorney Daryl Atkinson appeared Saturday as a guest on MSNBC’s “Melissa Harris-Perry” to talk President Obama’s executive order to “ban the box,” which refers to the section on a job application for criminal history.

According to Atkinson, people with a criminal background “face legal discrimination in many areas of life”

“The president’s action on Monday really affirms values that we hold dear in this country. Values like inclusion and equal opportunity for all people because people with records face legal discrimination in many areas of life. The 65 million Americans, one in three adult Americans, that have criminal record history, face barriers in employment, housing, education; even volunteering in their children’s school.”

“Because African-Americans and Latinos are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, it results in the social and economic exclusion similar to the Jim Crow South,” he added