Marcus Bullock: An app that helps incarcerated people stay connected to their families
ماركوس بولوك: تطبيق يساعد السجناء بإبقائهم على تواصل مع عائلاتهم
Marcus Bullock builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and communities. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
with my then five-year-old son,
مع ولدي ذو الخمس سنوات،
I would have a ton of time to answer.
لدي الكثير من الوقت للإجابة عليه.
typically came at eight or nine years old,
عادةً ما تكون في ال8أو ال9 من العمر،
while I was tucking him in,
thought about this moment.
سؤال للإجابة عليه.
I had a question to answer.
كيف انتهى بي المطاف في السجن،
how I ended up going to prison
when I was 14 years old.
that's my niece.
I think about how old I'm getting.
the worst decision of my life.
in front of a judge,
standing just a few feet behind me,
فقط ببضعة أقدام،
maximum security prison.
ذو تدابير أمنيه صارمة.
التي التقطتها مع أمي.
that I took with my mom.
in the prison visiting room.
في قاعة الزيارة بالسجن.
in the background fool you.
times of my life.
I battled depression
about my prison sentence.
to my mom like,
مثل:
going to keep us here through Christmas."
في تلك الزنازن،
that I was drowning in those cells,
that we could breathe again
to teach me a hard lesson.
the prison rec yard
have you been here?"
already served 31 years.
all eight of my years.
to prison as a teenager
that had happened in our lives.
on Christmas morning
with my friends.
security in prisons,
البريد الإلكتروني
like prom night or college graduation
حفلة راقصة او تخرج جامعي
الذي نهضمه كل يوم، أنا وأنت
that you and I digest every day
مع ابن عم أو أخ أو صديق.
sibling or best friend in prison.
they disappeared.
clanking shut every night
about the violent cards of prison
to the collect calls
for the one-hour visits,
التي تستغرق ساعة واحدة
coming into the prison visiting room.
here know tonight,
in a prison visiting room.
until I came home.
crumbling around us,
like I'm in summer camp,
a bunch of pictures.
that saved my life.
of a cheeseburger
أو مفروشات في متجر..
to me along with a letter
I would enjoy a fat, juicy burger
في يومٍ ما،
that there was life after prison.
began living vicariously
into what was happening in the world.
في العالم.
التي لم تنتهي:
of prison never ending,
down the prison walkway in body bags,
في ذاك الصباج البارد من شباط
that cold morning in February.
were finally in front of us,
behind bars was behind us.
يوم ما.
are coming home one day.
during and after incarceration that I had.
إن كان أثناء أو بعد السجن،
when I came home.
عانيت في العثورعلى عمل.
إلى بيع الأزياء..
to fashion retail --
convicted of a felony?"
that I built while going through prison.
أثناء تواجدي في السجن
بأن الأمور ستتحسن.
and things would start looking up.
when I was a 15-year-old kid
في 15 من عمري
even up until that moment.
that asked the question,
التي طرحت سؤالاً،
a little differently.
within the last seven years?"
في السنوات السبع الماضية؟!"
prison sentence --
was over seven years ago.
كانت قبل اكثر من 7سنين
with an honest "no,"
at the paint store.
would come into the store,
to paint my kitchen?"
we don't paint kitchens,
حتى تتمكني من طلاء مطبخك بنفسك."
so you can paint your own kitchen."
and I launched a painting company
الزبائن في محل الطلاء
between the customers in the paint store
who needed consistent work.
tons of other returning citizens.
المواطنين العائدين من السجن.
around the country
في جميع أنحاء البلاد
that represents felony,
that there was still life after prison.
حياة بعد السجن.
that I was living on a cloud.
I grew up with in those cells,
في تلك الزنازن،
التي أعيشها.
pictures of this new life I was living.
للجلوس وكتابة رسالة.
or the bandwidth to sit and write a letter
my life would be so much easier."
فإن حياتي ستكون أسهل بكثير"
for a solution to this problem
the prison phone business
how to disrupt this space.
كيفية الدخول إلى هذا المجال.
to take a picture, add some quick text,
بأخذ الصور، بما في ذلك نص قصير،
on a real, tangible postcard
حقيقية وملموسة.
بأي زنزانة، وبأي مكان في البلاد.
in any cell, anywhere in the country.
that are becoming torn apart,
the time to write a letter,
a photo from their phone,
a box of envelopes
to go buy stamps.
in my office overflowing my desk
مكتبي لا يسعه!
15 postcards last night
بطاقة الليلة الماضية
and just say thank you."
شكراً".
with so much love ...
مع الكثير من الحب....
of love has come from."
العثور على طفل
للآباء والأمهات من السجن
to their incarcerated parents.
go to the White House
إلى إصلاح العدالة الجنائية
the need for criminal justice reform.
because this wasn't always my life.
لأنها لم تكن دائماً حياتي
في زنزانة مساحتها من 1.80م إلى 2.70 م
in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell
and there to serve life plus 43 years,
وكان سيقضي حياته لمدة 43 عاماً أخرى،
while I'm sitting in that bunk
would die in those cells.
of mass incarceration
dealing with people going to prison
عن الأشخاص الذين يسجنون،
to band together to help solve.
لإيجاد الحل.
about building family connections
they're needed the most,
in the right direction.
I'm standing right now.
في هذه المرحلة؟!
way more fun than me at this stage?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Marcus Bullock - Entrepreneur, justice reform advocateMarcus Bullock builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and communities.
Why you should listen
Following his 2004 release from prison, Marcus Bullock launched a construction business that grew to employ other returning citizens. Bullock is also founder and CEO of Flikshop, Inc., a software company that builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and build community. The Flikshop mobile app enables families and nonprofit organizations to send personalized postcards to any person in any cell in the United States, with the mission of using social connections to decrease recidivism. Forbes calls the app "Instagram for prisons."
Bullock also founded the Flikshop School of Business, a program that teaches returning citizens life skills and entrepreneurship via computer coding and software development. He is an inaugural cohort member of Techstars Anywhere 2018 and John Legend’s
Unlocked Futures business accelerators. He is also a member of the Justice Policy Institute's board of directors and serves as an advisor to the Aspen Institute’s Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund.
Marcus Bullock | Speaker | TED.com