Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridgette Simpson
Hi Bridgette, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
: From Incarceration to Liberation
I was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the United States as a small child, carrying with me the dreams of my family and the weight of navigating a world that was not built for people like me. Growing up as a dark-skinned Black woman in America, I experienced firsthand the systemic barriers that define the lives of so many in marginalized communities—barriers that dictate access to education, economic mobility, and, ultimately, freedom.
Despite the odds, I had ambitions of success, but like so many others, my life took a turn that led me into the criminal legal system. I was incarcerated for ten years, an experience that changed me in ways I could never have imagined. Prison is designed to break people down—to strip them of identity, dignity, and hope. But in that space of confinement, I found clarity and purpose. I saw how the system was not just about punishment but about control, how it disproportionately targeted Black and Brown people, and how it extended beyond the walls of prison into every aspect of life after release.
I knew that when I got out, I wouldn’t just work to rebuild my own life—I would fight to change the system itself. I wanted to ensure that people like me—people who had been incarcerated—were not forever defined by their worst moments but were given the opportunities, resources, and respect necessary to rebuild and thrive.
When I was released, I thought I had served my time—but what I didn’t realize was that the punishment was far from over. I walked out of prison into a world where 44,000 collateral consequences awaited me. These weren’t just minor inconveniences; they were structural barriers that made reentry nearly impossible. I couldn’t access stable housing. I was denied job opportunities. I faced restrictions on basic rights like voting, obtaining certain professional licenses, and even securing financial assistance for education. Every system—employment, healthcare, housing, civic participation—had been designed to remind me that in the eyes of society, I was still considered a criminal, no matter how much I had changed.
But instead of accepting that reality, I chose to fight. My best friend, Denise Ruben, and I cofound Barred Business, an organization dedicated to dismantling the systemic barriers that formerly incarcerated people face. We fight for policy changes like the Protected Class Campaign, which aims to pass local legislation recognizing the human rights of justice-impacted individuals. We also launched Release the Vote, a campaign that mobilizes thousands of formerly incarcerated people to reclaim their voting rights and political power.
Over the years, I’ve built a network of justice-impacted leaders across the country. I’ve worked with elders and pioneers in this movement, learning from those who have spent decades fighting for our liberation. Together, we’ve organized campaigns, bailed out community members, pushed for legislative change, and empowered people who have been systemically silenced.
But my work isn’t just about policy—it’s about healing. One of the biggest injustices of mass incarceration is that it dehumanizes people, treating them as if they are disposable. I believe that justice-impacted people need radical healing, which is why I am now working on my book, To Harm and Be Harmed: Radical Healing for Justice-Impacted People. In it, I explore not just my own journey but the larger question of how we heal from the trauma of incarceration—how we mend the harm done to us and the harm we may have caused.
I’ve also expanded my work into economic empowerment, creating workforce training programs and trauma-informed workplace training specifically for justice-impacted people. One of my latest projects is a cooperative with Big D’s Hott and Sticky, where we are training formerly incarcerated individuals in food truck operations, providing them with skills that lead to financial independence.
Today, I continue to lead Barred Business, organize nationally, and build pathways for justice-impacted people to heal, grow, and thrive. I do this work because I know that we are not our worst mistakes. We are resilient, powerful, and deserving of a future that is not bound by the past. My mission is to ensure that no one is left behind—and that justice means real liberation for all of us.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
None of this work has been easy. As a Black woman, an immigrant, and a formerly incarcerated person, I have faced exclusion, skepticism, and systemic pushback at every turn. But I also know that real change does not come from seeking permission—it comes from demanding it, from building our own tables when we are not invited to sit at others.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Barred Business?
Barred Business: Breaking Barriers, Building Power
Barred Business is an organization rooted in the belief that justice-impacted people deserve dignity, rights, and opportunities to thrive. We work at the intersection of policy change, economic empowerment, and civic engagement to dismantle the systemic barriers that formerly incarcerated individuals face. Our mission is to create a world where people with past convictions are not permanently punished but are recognized as full members of society with the right to housing, employment, and political participation.
What We Do & What Sets Us Apart
At Barred Business, we take a direct action approach to advocacy, working with and for justice-impacted people. We’re not just talking about change—we’re making it happen in real time. Our work focuses on three key areas:
1. Policy Change & Legal Protections
• Protected Class Campaign: We fight for local legislation that makes justice-impacted people a protected class, preventing discrimination in employment, housing, and civic participation.
• Rights Restoration: We advocate for policies that remove barriers to reentry, such as ending cash bail, expanding expungement opportunities, and eliminating barriers to occupational licensing.
2. Civic Engagement & Voter Rights
• Release the Vote: We mobilize justice-impacted people to reclaim their political power, ensuring they know their voting rights and participate in elections.
• Community Organizing: We train and support formerly incarcerated leaders to advocate for systemic change in their own communities.
3. Economic Empowerment & Workforce Development
• Trauma-Informed Workplace Training: We equip employers and justice-impacted employees with tools to create sustainable, inclusive workplaces.
• Workforce Training Programs: We partner with businesses like Big D’s Hott and Sticky to provide hands-on job training for formerly incarcerated individuals, helping them gain financial independence.
What We Are Most Proud Of
Barred Business is not just an organization—it’s a movement. We are justice-impacted people leading the fight for our own liberation. What sets us apart is that we don’t operate from a place of charity; we operate from a place of power-building. We believe that those closest to the problem are also closest to the solution.
One of our biggest accomplishments is expanding the Protected Class Campaign into multiple counties in Georgia and laying the groundwork for a national strategy. We are also proud of our bailout actions, where we directly intervene to free people stuck in jail simply because they can’t afford bail.
What Readers Should Know About Barred Business
If you take anything away from our work, let it be this: justice-impacted people are not disposable. We are not statistics, we are not second-class citizens, and we are not to be silenced. At Barred Business, we are actively reshaping what justice, equity, and opportunity look like for those impacted by incarceration.
For readers who want to support our mission, we encourage you to:
• Stay informed about the barriers justice-impacted people face.
• Advocate for policy changes that remove those barriers.
• Donate to support direct actions like bailouts, voter mobilization, and workforce development.
• Hire justice-impacted people and support businesses that do the same.
Barred Business is more than a brand—it’s a commitment to breaking barriers and building power for our communities.
What were you like growing up?
Who I Was Growing Up
Growing up, I was curious, outspoken, and fiercely independent. I’ve always had a strong sense of justice and a deep desire to understand the world around me. I questioned everything—why things were the way they were, why some people had access to resources while others struggled, and why systems seemed built to keep certain people down. That questioning nature made me a natural problem solver and advocate, even before I had the words to articulate it.
I was also deeply empathetic. I felt things intensely—not just for myself but for others. Whether it was a friend going through something hard or witnessing injustice in my community, I carried those emotions with me. I didn’t always know what to do with them, but looking back, I realize that sense of empathy was what would later drive me to fight for justice-impacted people.
As a child, I was drawn to storytelling and leadership. I loved to read and write, and I was always the one coming up with big ideas, organizing people, and pushing boundaries. I was the kid who spoke up when something wasn’t fair, who stood up for others even when it got me in trouble.
I was also ambitious and creative. I had dreams of doing something big, something meaningful. I wanted to make an impact, even if I didn’t yet know how. I was always brainstorming ways to build, create, and grow—whether that was a small hustle as a kid or a bigger vision of success.
However, growing up as a dark-skinned Black immigrant girl in America came with challenges. I had to navigate racism, colorism, and the feeling of not quite belonging in certain spaces. That shaped me in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. It made me resilient, but it also made me hyper-aware of how society viewed people like me.
That combination of curiosity, empathy, leadership, and resilience stayed with me into adulthood. It’s what made me an organizer, a leader, and an advocate. It’s what led me to create Barred Business and push for systemic change. And it’s what drives me to keep fighting today—not just for myself, but for every justice-impacted person who deserves the opportunity to heal, rebuild, and thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.barredbusiness.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barredbusiness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialbarredbusiness
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barred-business-2976a6263/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarredBusiness
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@barredbusiness
Image Credits
Mayweather Image
Instagram: @mayweatherimage
