Butterscotch has performed on America’s Got Talent and stages all over the world showcasing her skills as the world’s first female beatboxing champion. Butterscotch has also taken her talents to a stage not many have gone before her: San Quentin Prison.
Using her voice to bring light to social issues is nothing new for Butterscotch. She has used her platform to talk and sing about mental health, as she experienced depression as a young girl, and issues facing the LBGTQ individuals, as she is a proud member of this community.
Her latest video, “Everyone Deserves a Second Chance” Butterscotch visits San Quentin for the third time and performs for the second time. She begins the video with a reminder to the viewers: not everyone has the same privileges, so we cannot judge others without knowing what they have gone through.
The video does not show fear, judgment, or disdain towards the inmates. Instead, these men are portrayed as human beings, just like you and me. She says that she is inspired by the way “these men have turned their life around.” Butterscotch never once talks about the crimes these men have committed or if they deserve their jail time; she shares that these men “deserve love.”
Butterscotch then goes on to describe how she got involved with the inmates at San Quentin, through a program called “The Last Mile” founded by Chris Redlitz and Beverly Parenti. This program helps these men who are incarcerated gain the skills necessary for employment after their release from jail. They are able to learn how to code, overcoming the obstacle of not having internet access in prison and are taught how to work with a team which promotes self-confidence, and they develop new skills for when they re-enter the workforce.
This program and others like it are crucial in making a difference in the American prison-industrial complex. The United States holds 5% of the world’s population with 25% of the world’s prisoners. Even more alarming, the recidivism rate is well over 60%. Additionally, a year after release, the unemployment rate for returning citizens is 75%. If these same men and women are returning to jail, it is time to consider what about the prison system is not working.
The Last Mile attempts to do just that; provide these men with the skills to succeed beyond the prison walls. Obtaining a job after release greatly reduces the risk of recidivism. The program brings in many guest lecturers and performers to speak about leadership, opportunity, and business, and this presented the perfect opportunity for Butterscotch to get involved.
In the video, she describes the “new hope and motivation” seen in the eyes of these inmates as they present their ideas. For many, all they needed was someone relate to them as human beings and to believe in them.
“Everyone deserves a second chance” Butterscotch reiterates at the end of the song. No one should be defined by one mistake. If you give someone the tools to succeed and show you have hope in them, they most likely will not disappoint.
Butterscotch embodies the idea of being judgment-free, truly seeing the perfection in every person, and serves as a role model for using her fame to bring issues such as mental health, discrimination, and mass incarceration to the forefront of the conversation. She is a flawless advocate and we are grateful to be working on the same team with her.
To learn more about The Last Mile, click here.
