The Breakfast Club - Syrita Steib Talks Louisiana Senate Run, Prison Reentry Reform, Women's Incarceration + More

Episode Date: August 24, 2022

Syrita Steib Talks Louisiana Senate Run, Prison Reentry Reform, Women's Incarceration + MoreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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listen to podcasts. Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Angela Yee, Charlamagne the guy we are the breakfast club we got a special guest in the building she's running for US Senate of Louisiana Sarita Stive welcome thank you so much for having me good morning did I say your name right absolutely okay welcome welcome now I actually met Sarita through my my good friend Topeka Sam and the two of you collaborate on a lot of different projects together. Yes, absolutely. So let's talk about your background and I think people need to hear your story. We

were actually in New Orleans and when I tell you we went out to eat at Morrow's and she had people at the table crying just talking about her story and how she's gotten to where she is now. Yeah, so a little bit about me and my story. It starts probably really early on in childhood. I had experiences with abuse throughout my life. And by the age of 19, it kind of led me to a pathway. I felt like I was really angry and upset all of the time. It just really caused me to make a lot of bad decisions, irrespective of like where I was in my life. So I was on a full scholarship to Xavier University in New Orleans in physics and engineering and in the United States Navy.

But by the time I was 19, I found myself in prison. So I was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, 20 years in state prison, $1.9 million in restitution, all for the same crime. What did you do? So my charge was a use of fire to commit a felony. We stole cars from a car dealership and blew the car dealership up. What did you do? So my charge was use of fire to commit a felony. We stole cars from a car dealership and blew the car dealership up. What? Okay so you stole cars from the car dealership. Yes. How many cars? I think we were charged with six.

Six okay and how many of it were you guys? It was four total. Four of you guys? Mm-hmm. And then why did you blow up the car dealership? Because one of my co-defendants thought his face was on the camera, that he could be caught, and that was the first thing that we thought of, you know, to cover your tracks. Smart. You know? Well, I mean, it was smart, but I would have thought the same thing. At the age of 19. And, Envy, I'm going to say this is interesting because we had this debate the other day about when people do things as a youth,

when they're young and they make these huge mistakes in their life and how forgiving people should be of that once they do go to jail or is there some type of rehab that can happen without jail? So I definitely do not think that jail is rehabilitative. How much time did you serve? Nine years and two months. Wow. For a crime that normally would have held about three years,

but because I was sentenced in the federal system and I was sentenced under mandatory minimums, you know, that's a big thing across the country right now. People who are doing obscene amount of time because of mandatory minimums. That was my case. So my judge had no discretion. I didn't have priors, you know, or anything like that,

but that was my mandatory minimum. And then one of the things that I'm working with Topeka now on is that I had restitution as well. So I was sentenced under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, which made it necessary, or like the judge also didn't have any leniency to go either way that it had to impose restitution. So that is how I ended up with the 10 years in the federal system, $1.9 million in restitution. And then the state came in and said, hey, we want to charge you with a part of the crime in the state as well.

And that was how I got the 20 years in the state. So I was going to ask, so for most people don't know, and this is what really irks me when it comes to a lot of this stuff. So when you stole the vehicles, why did you steal them? Money. To sell them? Absolutely. So now, and this is why I say this always bothers me, because you get a lot of kids, and that's yourself, teenagers.

They steal these cars, and they get $2,000, $3,000 a car. How much was you getting a car at that time? About $20,000. $20,000 a car. And you sell it to a guy that's selling it and probably getting $70,000, $80,000 a car. Absolutely. But that person that was selling it for $70,000, $80,000 and shipping them overseas and getting the big dollars, he was never caught. No. And, you know, I was listening to DMX and Rough Riders a lot around that time.

So Eve had this amazing song called Ride or Die Chick. I really believe that, you know, in my head at the time. And, you know, we didn't cooperate, didn't't talk about it didn't say anything about it because I felt like if you had evidence on the person you could get it you know whatever but not even realizing like the level of praying people do on young kids and you're you know that they're in hard situations or tough situations so like my story was that I was in the military at that time I was making four hundred and ten dollars every two weeks, but I was already, you know had a car had responsibilities I went to my superiors in the Navy. I'm like, hey, I need to get another job they're like no, you know just let everything go and you can get it back and I was like Can't do that. Like how much drive you know at 19?

I can't even comprehend letting my car go, you know You know? And it really bothers me because, you know, especially, I mean, you know now, car thefts are through the roof right now. Yeah, New Orleans is horrible. And mostly what they do is they get these, they prey on these 16-year-olds, 17-year-olds and 18-year-olds, right? And usually because if they get caught, they come out right away and then they can get back and doing it. And they pay these kids

$3,000 to $5,000 a car. These kids are stealing McLarens, Rolls Royces, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Fords, Kias, and then they ship these cars overseas for $30,000, $40,000, $50,000. But these kids are risking their life for $3,000, and not just jail time, because you run into the wrong house or you run into the wrong car and somebody shoots at you and puts them in a bad predicament. And we were just having this conversation on air.

That was like, I understand and I feel bad for these kids because they're looking at it as oh this is a quick three thousand dollar flip somebody left their key fob and I'm gonna take it you know which is really sad so what happened with the restitution because you owed 1.9 did you have to pay that back or you still paying it back how does it work so I paid on the restitution for 20 years um on Trump's last day in office same day that Lil Wayne got his pardon, I got a full presidential pardon as well. So it took away my restitution, the crime, the federal system,

and it was wiped away. But I paid, I mean, the way the federal system is set up, you pay while you're incarcerated as well. So it's really your family paying. So from the time I stepped foot in prison until the time I stepped foot out, I paid for 20 years.

So how do you feel about Donald Trump? Because, you know, a lot of people hate Donald Trump and you look at people like Lil Wayne and you look at people like Kodak and yourself, you can't necessarily hate a man that freed you, right? Absolutely. But, what you was about to say. Oh no, I was saying, but it was a presidential party

and you were already out. Yes, yes, yes. But he freed me from the sentence and the restitution and all that stuff, right? I think that God could use the devil to bless you. I'm going to start there. And then there's a saying that says a broken clock can be right twice a day. The other fallacy is that he gave me something. He did grant me a pardon, but every day since I have been out, I have worked, you know, to change laws, to liberate people, to really give back to a

community that is always forgotten about. So I deserved it, you know. So for me, it was, I just, you know, everything just coming full circle and a culmination, I felt like, of all of the work that I have been putting in over the last few years. I do think that if I'm working for people, it is my job to work with whoever I need to work with in order to get the things that my community needs. Did he ever try to come back out to you and try to use you as a tool because he granted you this? Absolutely not. He does not talk about my part and don't mention it at all.

And, you know, he endorsed Senator Kennedy in Louisiana. So, no, absolutely not. Okay, so let's get into some of why you're running for U.S. Senate because, like you said, since you've been home, you've been working to change these laws. You yourself have experienced things, and so you can understand people in the community in a different way than other people can relate to them. So what made you decide that it was time for you to run for this particular office? Mayor Cantrell in New Orleans very closely and with Reform Alliance and making sure you have these programs that are helping women get back into society, knowing the problems and issues that you had when you first got home. The simple explanation for me is definitely,

I feel like it's a calling, you know, that's been placed on my life. I'm a very, anybody who knows me, I'm real stubborn. I don't make decisions lightly or take things for granted that I have or the experiences that I have. But I remember right before I went to prison, I was having this argument. I felt like with God in the car, I literally walked out of church. It was Mardi Gras. I was 19 and I'm having a conversation with God and I hear him saying, you need to be in church. You need to listen. You need to do this. And in my mind, I'm like, no, I'm 19. I want to party. I want to drink. I want to smoke weed. I want to have fun. And it was like this argument I felt like that I was having, you know, with God on my conscience or, you know, whatever. And that I feel like that disobedience caused me to be in prison for 10 years. So I feel like my disobedience comes at a different cost. So when I got this message about two years ago, it took me a while. You know, I tried to do everything in my power to convince myself that this is what I shouldn't be doing.

I did a poll. I talked to people, all of these things. But I still came to the same conclusion that this was something that I needed to do. Over the last few years, I've definitely been working in the legislative space on a federal level, in a state level. When I got out of prison, I couldn't go to college. I was denied the opportunity to go to college because there's also the box, have you been convicted of a felony on college applications? So I applied. I was denied. Two years later, I used the same exact application. The only change I made was I unchecked the box and I got in. I got scholarships. And,

you know, fundamentally, that just didn't feel good. So after I graduated from college, I have a degree in clinical laboratory science. I work in a hospital prior to opening my nonprofit. We went back in and we were like, something has to change. So we passed legislation in the state of Louisiana in 2017 to remove the box off college applications for purposes of admissions. And we made Louisiana the first state to do that. So since then, we've passed similar legislation in six other states, supporting advocates on the ground in those states to change the laws and advocate for their community. Every year since 2017, I've passed at least one piece of legislation in the state of Louisiana, the Dignity Act. We passed the primary caretaker legislation. A lot of those bills have been copied in places like California. And on a federal level, we work to remove the question off of the Common App for students to apply who have

convictions. We were able to put inside of the COVID omnibus bill, we were able to slide some legislation that gave people who are incarcerated access to Pell Grants. So there's a lot of work that I've been doing to, you know, in the liberation of my people and trying to make sure that people who have made mistakes have access to the things that they need in order to begin to try to change their lives. Because imagine you go to jail all that time, right? Then you come home, you have this restitution that you're supposed to pay back. You can't even get into college. People don't want to hire you because you check that box.

And even finding housing or just getting back into things, Who did help you when you got out? It was other formerly incarcerated women. Like I had one woman who I was incarcerated with. We were roommates. We were in the same institutions for about five years. Like she brought me my first cell phone, you know. Another one of my friends who is now my son's godmother, she was standing outside the gate with my mom and my sister.

She showed me how to you know fill out an application she helped me to apply for a job she helped me to do a FAFSA application one of them gave me three hundred dollars every semester to help buy books so it was really like this informal network of formerly incarcerated women who like showed up and said, we got you, we've walked this path, let's do this together. And then I knew, you know, innately that that is what I had to do for other women, you know, so that is how I started my organization, Operation Restoration. I was going to ask something that stuck with me, something that you said. You said that you were listening to music, you were a heavy DMX fan, and you were listening to

Eve and Ride or Die, and that's what you thought you should do. So how do you look at artists now and their music now? Because, you know, people say, you know, it's just entertainment, but obviously it had a heavy influence on you. In Louisiana, the crime rate is through the roof, like a lot of our urban cities. So how do you look at music and things that the kids hear now? I think music, we cannot deny, has an effect on people. We talk about being creatives and making music and painting has like this healing effect on a person, like getting out the things that they want to get out. But we also have to acknowledge and be

aware and responsible for the messages that we are putting out that have the opposite effect. You know, everything in life has good intentions. Some have bad intentions, but the intentionality is just the same. So I think that as a community, we have to push the narrative that this is entertainment. I think when I was growing up in the nineties, it wasn't being pushed as entertainment. It was being pushed as a way of life. So this was being fed to kids and, you know, teenagers like myself, like this is what you have to do in order to be here. And I think that that is one thing that I'm grateful for is through the evolution of music. We now begin to talk about it as if it's entertainment versus a way of life. But it is so true. You can't snitch, right?

Because that's part of it also. Seriously, though, because people look at you so, if you were to be like, look, this is the person that is in charge. But she was being preyed upon as a young teen. Right. That's very different. But you also know that, too, that you can't tell because now what? After I done told who the real person is, now what happens to me?

So I think the streets a long time ago were a lot different. I feel like now people, you know, are being, it's okay to tell. Like that culture has also changed too because like, you know, 20, 30 years ago, a person would tell what happened and they would come up missing or they had some type of repercussions or consequences. Now it is not frowned upon. People are telling all the time. I don't know.

It's just different. Right. But I think that what I had to do and reconcile for myself is like, wow, you know, and they pointed out, yeah, like I was being preyed upon. I was also raised to take responsibility, like for my actions. So I was guilty. I did responsibility, like, for my actions. So I was guilty. I did do what they said that I did, and I was going to serve my time. I pled guilty, you know, even though at the time I didn't even understand what I was pleading guilty to. I pled guilty because I did exactly what they said that I did.

I get that. But, see, you also got to understand there's an adult here, right, that even though you can say snitching and not snitching, I think a lot of it's bullshit, but there's an adult here that finds young teens and says, this kid has no money. This kid is effed up. This kid has no schooling, no education,

doesn't know, and just wants to get out. I can prey on this kid and get him to do what I want him to do, and that's not right. No. People can call that snitching or whatever, but. But it's no different than it's abuse. It's no different than, you know, somebody being molested, somebody being sexually assaulted. Because it takes the same level of person that is preying on an individual.

So in that sense, I, you know, totally. I understand. You're a grown man coercing a kid to do something crazy. Absolutely. That's foul. It's not like y'all all say, all right, we're going to do this crimecing a kid to do something crazy. Absolutely. That's foul. It's not like y'all all say, all right, we're going to do this crime together. We do it. No.

You had an adult that says, hey, because why didn't an adult do it? The adult didn't do it because the adult knew better. But at the time, the person that's being preyed upon looks as the prey. You know, there's all type of like, you know, syndromes that are associated with like a person who is causing you to do, know incorrect things are things that you shouldn't be doing you also see them as a savior in a lot of ways because you know the reason why they can offer kids $3,000 to do a thing and this is not all kids because I didn't come from a socio-economic background associated with people who you think are in prison my mom was a judge when I went to prison you know my dad was a supervisor at an oil refinery. So what led me to prison was trauma. It wasn't poverty. But people who are in poverty and people who don't

own anything other than their Facebook page, and that's in debate whether they own it or not. The only thing that you feel like you have is your self-respect or your self-worth. When somebody tries to take that from you, that is why kids feel like I can take someone's life in the commission of this. Your mom was a judge, though? Absolutely. And your mom, and we can talk about it now, your mom didn't try to turn, make some moves because she's a judge. So she did. My mom, shout out to my mom.

Her birthday's tomorrow. Happy birthday, Mama. She definitely did. She did everything in her power to extricate me from the system. But when she talks about it from her point of view, she felt like they were more harsh on me because of who she was. And then if you also think about it, like we're from the South, you know, there's this air of, you know, people of color shouldn't be doing certain things. So she feels like a lot of what I went through was because of who she was. Right.

You know? They were like, we'll show you. Yeah, like, yeah, you're a judge, but you're not really anything. So we're going to, you know, prosecute your daughter to the fullest. Did you ever talk to the owner of the car shop? Did you ever go back and be like, you know what? Let me have this conversation with him. I was young, dumb, and stupid.

Did you ever have that convo? So let me tell you. Oh, boy. The guy who owned our car dealership at the time, he didn't know. I mean, we didn't know. The dealership was in extreme distress. So they were really investigating him initially for burning down his own car dealership. They thought it was like an insurance scheme or whatever.

So he was halfway kind of happy. Absolutely. Thanks, y'all thanks thanks but he um he died I want to say not even a year after um we committed the crime and um I never had an opportunity to like talk to him or say anything to him about like why we did what we did um but I think like if I had that opportunity I've thought about like saying why we did it or what was going on but it's really like no explanation other than like I was in a really stupid yeah like tough place you know like I felt like life didn't care about me I didn't care about anybody else at the time so it was just

really like not a decision that really you know sometimes they say you want to go and talk to the person who harmed you and like you don't get the closure that you need because a lot of times people don't even know why they did a thing like he could probably stand up scream say whatever and I would just be like okay because you understand I don't have an explanation there's no explanation now you talk about being incarcerated and how it's not rehabilitative. So what was your time like? So I grew up in the country, in rural Louisiana. No fast food places, no major grocery chains, like nothing. Sugar cane. You walk out our house, sugar cane fields. So we did a lot of fighting growing up. You know, when I graduated

from high school, I was voted the class revolutionist. They said they knew I was always going to fight about something. You know, I used to fight people. Now I fight systems, you know, but I'm still a fighter, you know, by nature. So my first five years were extremely hard because I was 19 when I went in really, really young. One of the youngest people on the compound. They only had, I think, two of us that were teenagers, you know, in the prison. And that came with, you know, constantly being exposed to, like, people preying on you. Whether it was people that were incarcerated, whether it was the guards, you know, whatever. It was not an easy situation.

And I think, like, a lot of times people's family members, they don't understand, like, when you come to visitation or you see people, you know, it's all very superficial. Because if I, like, really had to tell you about the experiences that I'm having while I'm incarcerated, you know, visitation would turn into something different. And that's your happy place, you know. So it's also a very isolating experience. It is meant to isolate you from your family and the world as you know it. And I think that, you know, that is what incarceration is really successful at is making you feel extreme deep, you know, isolation. I remember when September 11th hit, I was actually in lockdown.

I was in a hole. I did a year, you know, no telephone, no commissary, like nothing, no interaction with anybody. And the things that you hear or you see during those times, you know, people losing their minds, like, you know, solitary confinement. You know, there's a big movement around the country right now about stopping the use of solitary confinement because what it does to people's mental health. And I think that, you know, like all of those things are really real. And I've been out of prison. I got out of prison in 2009. And it's still some things that, like, sometimes I'm sitting in my house after kids now.

You know, I'm married. Oh, my son told me to say his name on the radio this morning, Ethan. So I have to say, hey, Ethan. He was like, give me a shout out. You better shout out both the kids. But Sage is not two yet. So she doesn't know what's going on. She don't know what's happening yet.

And my wife, Montrell. But she said, when you're in there and you have like those experiences, I'm like sitting at home and I have, like, a deep craving for, like, extreme isolation. Like, I don't want to be bothered with anybody. I don't want to talk to people. And then I have to, like, gather myself and center myself and be like, Sarita, that's some prison shit.

You got to let that go, you know? And I find myself doing that. And I've been out, you know, since 2009. So it is something that definitely affects you for the rest of your life. So I was going to ask when you become senator, what's the because you got to put it out there, right? Yeah. What's the first thing that you want to do? Is it the flooding? Is it abortion? Is it violence? Is it is it helping more black people get homes? Like what is the first thing that you want to attack when it comes to that? Well, definitely, you know, every day that

I wake up, I wake up as a black woman in America. And I think that our rights as women are like under severe attack. And I think that no matter where you're located, that is true. And I think it's really heightened inside a prison. So, you know, like if you think reproductive health is under attack outside a prison, inside of prison, it is horrible, you know. And I think for me, my focus, you know, on day one, which for me, I am the only person in this race that has experience and that can create policy from day one and get it passed. You know, I have a history of getting legislation passed in hostile conditions. Like Louisiana is almost a super majority of Republicans. Like there is no bipartisan legislation in Louisiana.

It would really be to protect. How do we begin to protect the rights of women? Because, you know, what's next? Right to vote. You know, we are marriage. Marriages are under attack. You? Our marriages are under attack. Abortion is under attack. There's all these different things that are specific to women that are under attack. I think that I would be rem something that is very, very important to me as well. It's like, I want to bring 100 girls, you know, with me on the day that I take office, because when I was working Capitol Hill, I would go to each office and begin to talk to the senators that are there. And there was no one that looked like me that could relate to me, you know, that I could have a great conversation with, like that just didn't exist.

And I think it is very important that we begin to stretch the minds of young people and expose them to things that are possible, because if they can see it, then they can believe it and they can start working toward it. So how many black women have had a seat in the Senate in Louisiana? Oh, so there's no black woman who has ever been elected statewide in the state of Louisiana. So it's not even just in the Senate. It's no statewide office ever in the state of Louisiana. Which is ridiculous. Absolutely.

Talk about no representation at all. Zero. Now you're also, and I saw this, right, so it's like three people being endorsed by the Democratic Party in Louisiana, which is unusual. Well, not really. They did it in the Congress race, the same race that Gary was in the last time. They gave three endorsements. So is that a controversial thing for them to do that? Absolutely.

It's not a controversial thing for them to do it because it's precedent. They did it in the last set of endorsements. But the system as a whole is problematic. You know, the way that it is set up in the way that the endorsement process happens needs to be looked at and it needs to be worked on. I think that when you get to endorse in too many people, it's like, you can't make a decision like, Oh, should it be this person, that person? But I am elated to have the, you know, the endorsement simply because even though there are 13 people in the race and they are talking about four of us pretty consistently, I'm in that fourth position right now. And it is really focused on money, finances. You know, we could have a whole nother conversation about viability and how we judge people who are valuable in races based on structural racism. You know, black people are not connected to wealth in the same way that white people are connected to wealth.

We know this. This is a fact. And the idea that we are going to judge candidates not based on their body of work, but how much money that they can raise is something that we really have to look at and begin to talk about. But I went into that endorsement meeting process not expecting to get the endorsement of the party because I knew where I was as it related to the order of how we're running and how other endorsements have been going out. But I use every opportunity to just talk to people and let them know who I am and the things that I want to work on and how, you know, anything that I do, I do in the spirit of collaboration. Like I want to take people with me. I don't want to do anything for anybody. I want us to do it together. And that's how I approach everything that I do. So I was really just looking at it as an opportunity to speak to a larger body of people across the state that I may not have had a chance to speak to otherwise. So when I walked out, you know, with the triple endorsement, you know, I'm moving forward. Because we've had Gary Chambers up here before a couple of times. And, you know, that's also another debate within the Democratic Party is being really progressive, a hindrance, especially in some place like Louisiana. It's a tough one, man, because you and Gary seem like you're for the people so much. Yeah, Gary and I have had a lot of conversations. We've really talked about things because the one thing that I am is always for the people and what's best for the community.

But, again, I go back to I'm the only one with the experience in the race. This is something that I do. You know, I have a resume behind me. I'm not always comfortable, like, talking about it and screaming from the rooftops. That's why a lot of people are like, my God, like, you've done so much, but you fly under the radar. It's like, yeah, because I have my head down and I'm working. I'm not necessarily paying attention to who's watching what I do. So that is something that I am trying to get better at is like being able to talk about the things that we've done to build a platform,

because I know that that's also very powerful in being able to liberate the communities that we are working toward. But, you know, Gary does have experience, you know, running races. That is what he's done. You know, the last congressional race, you know, he talks about he's the person that has a voter base and he's able to get people out and, you know, all of these different things, which is true. Like that has actually happened. But, I mean, the last congressional race that he ran in, it was for a black congressional district. He finished third to two other black candidates. And I think that that is like a narrative that, you know, we don't

talk about. And even with the endorsement meeting, like he didn't have the nomination yet. What they stopped from happening was the actual vote for the larger body of whether or not he would receive the nomination. So it was a recommendation from the executive committee to endorse him, but the larger body had to vote on it. And what they did was they stopped that vote, the larger body from voting on it, because someone introduced a resolution because they said that the bylaws had changed. People hadn't really had a chance to look over them. And the larger body was really unhappy that everybody didn't get an opportunity to address them. So I think that if we're going to talk about, like, there's enough structural racism,

there's enough, you know, genderism, there's all of these things that truly exist in Louisiana. And we have to talk about them and we have to begin to fight those systems. But we can't do it in ways I think that are harmful. And I think that what is happening right now in Louisiana is the focus is truly not on Senator Kennedy. And that's where everybody's focus should be is like, how do we get him out? Yeah, because he has Trump's endorsement right he does he was one of the six senators who voted not to impeach you know all of those things so he's one of the holdouts he also believes that mar-a-lago was that raid on the house was wrong absolutely absolutely he the in the fun not funny thing but the crazy thing about him is he has developed this persona over the years that he's this uneducated. You know, they call him Foghorn, Longhorn, all of these things. Like he's really intentional about this character.

But this man is a he has an undergrad degree from Vanderbilt. He has a law degree from UVA. He has another law degree from Oxford. He used to be a Democrat. He's one of the most intelligent, smartest people that you would ever meet. Like if you go back to his earlier days, he said a lot of things like he was so loud when our past governor Jindal didn't want to take money from the federal government about why we needed that to happen to see him from then to now and this persona that he's he has created because he believes that this is what people of

Louisiana want or like or need it is so insulting and it's just it's disgusting we got to go back and look at his past yes he's disgusting and you also I want to talk about this school because like you said you don't really talk about the things that you have implemented and done, but you've also helped other people become, what is it, lab technicians? Yeah. Can you talk about that a little bit? Because I just saw that recently another class graduated. Yes.

So that is something that I'm extremely proud of. So when I started going back to school, I wanted to go to medical school. I don't know if it was naivety or what it was, but I just knew I was going to go to school and be a doctor. But when I got on the path and the journey of doing my undergrad degree and I found out about clinical laboratory science, that's what my degree is in. I kind of fell in love with it. And I was like, OK, I'm going to get a working degree because I'm in my 30s. I got a kid. I need to work and go to school. So I'm going to get this working degree and I'm going to go to med school and I'm going to, you know, raise my three year old son.

Like, you know, that was my goal. So the way that I did it was I became a lab assistant while I was working on my clinical laboratory science degree. And what I found out is like all of the barriers that you have to overcome to enter a profession at a higher level were kind of lessened at a lower level. So when I decided to open the nonprofit, I wanted to create a lab assistant program where women could get certified and licensed as lab assistants. And then that would be their entryway into health care fields. And then from there, they could upgrade their degree. They can go to a two-year MLT degree or a four-year MLS degree. They could go to be midwives, doctors, whatever they wanted to do.

Because once they went through that initial entry point as a lab assistant, then the ceiling, you know, became unreachable. So it didn't happen. You know, worked on it, created 15 other programs before that one actually took off. So we were able to get some funding and support from multiple entities, the Hilton Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Louisiana, just all of these different places because the COVID pandemic definitely showed was that there was a shortage of lab personnel and people to like work in the laboratory setting, which is something we've all known for years, but it really heightened it. So there was an appetite to do a rapid reskilling program and do a program

inside of the prison to get people certified and licensed as lab assistants. So we began working with hospitals to get job placement and just all of these different things. And, um, to date, we have graduated as six months, close to 30 women. Yeah. And they are being placed in hospitals now. We help them. You know, we do everything. We do the teaching. We pay any probation fees that they need in order to maintain their licensure. We pay for the applications, their fingerprints. We will buy uniforms, we help with child care, we help with transportation. Because, you know, people think that when you give somebody an opportunity, that that's

all that they need. But if you're not invested in a person taking advantage of the opportunity, it's like you haven't even given it to them. It's still out of reach because they can't do all of the things that they need in order to grab hold of the opportunity. So all of the programs at the organization, at Operation Restoration, are really holistic and built in a way where if you don't do this thing, it's truly because you're not ready at this time because we try to foresee any barrier and remove it for you.

And when is the election? November 8th. November 8th. Yes. So everybody listening and they love your story and they want to support. And when is the election? November 8th. November 8th. Yes. So everybody listening and they love your story and they want to support, how can they support you? Yeah, campaigns need money, people. Okay.

Kennedy has a whole lot of money in his campaign right now. So we got to make sure Sarita is competitive in that way also. Absolutely. I think that our community doesn't really understand in the same way that other communities know. That like people tell me, Sarita, I'm going to vote for you.

And I'm like, thank you so much. I appreciate it. But if we don't get some money, you won't be able to vote for me. Even if you could do $10 guys, everything helps. So every,

on all social medias, um, my handles are support Sarita side. So that's on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. It's support Sarita side. S Y R I T A S T E I Twitter. It's support Sarita Syb. S-Y-R-I-T-A

S-T-E-I-B. There you go. Support Sarita. And that's the website as well? And the website is just www.saritasyb.com Yeah, I'm glad that you came up here because I did want you to just, your story to me is so fascinating and the work that you do also is like very

organic and I just feel like you'll be doing this regardless. It the work that you do also is like very organic. And I just feel like you'll be doing this regardless. It's not because you're doing this because you're running for office. This is the work that you've been putting in prior to this. And voices like this, we need. And so just for Louisiana to hopefully get some diversity and representation for a black woman to finally have this type of position would be really important. Yeah. And I'm the only woman in the race and I am also pro-choice and all of the things that I think that I know how to, you know, fight for as it relates to women. But protecting marriage rights.

Absolutely. I mean, my wife, I mean, if they take away, you know, marriage protection rights, like it affects me. Like my wife and myself, we met when we were 19 and she's formerly incarcerated as well. She does amazing work in the bail industry, the Safety and Freedom Fund in New Orleans, because that's one of the programs that we bond people out who are unable to pay their bond. But I mean, it's like this is what we do all day, every day. This is who we are. And people say, people say Sarita like why are you running?

It is not just because I feel like I have to It is also like this is the next iteration of the places that we have been locked out of And that it is my responsibility to do everything in my power to grant access To spaces for people to begin to say what their needs are and say, hey, this is what we want. This is the type of policy that we need to see to bring relief to our communities. I don't think that, you know, my place in life is to do things for our people. It is to support and do things with people so that they can get the things that they need. So that is my driving force. I've done a lot of work on the federal

level. But what I also understood is like people don't even know what senators do, you know, like what they're responsible for. And we've seen some of them blocking bills. And man, listen, the U.S. Senate is the long game. Like, you know, for real, like the things that we are fighting for today will affect your children and your grandchildren. Like what we're seeing today in the world is from the Clinton administration. You know, the Bush administration is not from Biden and Trump. We haven't even seen those effects yet. And I think that people just really, really don't understand that.

And they don't grasp all of the things that the U.S. senators are responsible for. Well, I just donated. So you go out there and you donate right now. Please. Please. It doesn't. You can start off with $10. I mean, on the tab, it's a little more than that, but you can donate whatever you want, alright? Federal elections, the maximum is $2,900.

You can't donate more than $2,900. I'm going to have to send it back to you. So you can donate up to, you know, anyone you want, $10, $100, $255,000, $1,500, $2,900, like she said. Yee, did you donate yet? No, but I'm going to. All right.

We'll put you on the spot. I just did. Make sure you donate. Again, it's Sarita Stibb, S-Y-R-I-T-A-S-T-E-I-B.com. And we appreciate you for joining us this morning. Yes. Thank y'all so much for having me. You just don't know how much I appreciate it.

Thank you. All right. It's The Breakfast Club. Good morning. Hey, guys. I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more.

After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine.

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Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions,

but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace with yourself.

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I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was called a moment. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records.

Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get real and dive straight into todo lo actual y viral. We're talking música, los premios, el chisme, and all things trending in my cultura. I'm bringing you all the latest happening in our entertainment world and some fun and impactful interviews

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