Today we’d like to introduce you to Waleisah Wilson-Menefee.
Hi Waleisah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
First, let me say that I, and others, consider me to be a rebel but I don’t. I am simply a person who loves my community, the people in it, regardless of their race, religion, social class or their gender identities and I do not remain silent about the injustices that impact them. I am who I am today mostly because of the pain, trauma and instability that I experienced as a child and as an despite growing up in poverty and in foster care, oddly enough I owe my strength, resilience and will to overcome obstacles from my mother. My passion to help others and stand in the gap for them? That came from a woman, a white woman, who took me in as her own over 35 years ago and to this day whom I call mom. My voice? My community organizing, and activism? My “good trouble maker” attitude and “tell it how it is” personality? That has nothing to do with me as I owe all of that to a woman I’ve never met. She wasn’t a doctor or lawyer or a woman who society would deem “model” material. Although nothing “ordinary” about her, she was just a regular, poor, black, disabled and overweight woman like me who, even in the midst of adversity, violence and extreme racial oppression, stood boldly as a leader and advocate for civil rights and equality and did it without fear. That woman was Fannie Lou Hamer. She sowed the seed of leadership in me and I am forever grateful to her for that because her advocacy helped me find my voice and strength that also has helped me overcome many challenges.
I grew up in Columbus, Georgia and up until the age of 7, I had a good childhood. We were poor and lived in the projects, but overall we were happy. However, like most children, I had a parent with an addiction which led to a lot of changes in life, from going to different schools, being neglected and molested to ending up in foster care. However, one of the things I found solice in was education. I LOVED learning and going to school and it wasn’t because of the free lunch either but because it not only gave me an “out” but gave me a way “in” to a world that I never knew about, imagined that I could be a part of and a world that I knew that, with hard work, not having a bunch of kids at a young age and getting my education, that I would succeed and not fall prey to the continued cycle of poverty, welfare dependency, single motherhood and addiction that I saw so much of in my community. Despite what was going on at home, I excelled throughout all my years in elementary and high school and college, never bringing home a grade less than a B on my report cards. It paid off as I graduated high school with dozens of offers of academic scholarships and was the first in my family to not only graduate high school but to graduate college and to go on and get not one but 2 master’s degrees.
However, injustices happen and in 2010, I was convicted of a crime I did not commit and despite there being evidence of my innocence that was withheld from the very people that we elect to be just, I was incarcerated and served 11 months. My world was crushed. I became severely depressed and attempted suicide twice while incarcerated but not knowing that this too was all a part of God’s plan for my life. Sure, when I prayed to be freed from an abusive relationship and for a break from life so I could rest from all the work I was doing to keep busy to avoid the realities of the abuse I was dealing with at home, I didn’t expect God to have a sense of humor and give me exactly what I asked for (freedom from an abuser and peace) but only in an 8×8 cell with a thousand other women.
I didn’t know it then but after being transferred from the county jail to a detention center (and briefly to prison), it finally hit me that the lowest point in my life was actually the best thing that had ever happened to me as it was inside of a place surrounded by barbed wire with staff that only saw us as a way to get a check, as slaves and as expendable s*x objects surrounded by women I didn’t know, that it was there in my greatest pain, that I found my purpose and what “community” and sisterhood was. A fire was lit and once I was released, I hit the ground running determined to not only rebuild my life but to call out and bring awareness to the abuse, inequities and injustices that are done behind the walls.
Although I struggled with finding sure housing, resulting in me living with family, at a shelter and even sleeping outside for a short period of time, I later found my footing by finding housing, getting my children back (I was raising my cousin and another child prior to my incarceration), finding a job, getting a van and started a nonprofit that exclusives serves people impacted by a criminal conviction by connecting them to background friendly resources and other critical resources needed to thrive and by providing job readiness and entrepreneurship training to help them be successful in their reentry. Through NewLife-Second Chance Outreach, Inc., the resources that I too had to use, being a part of several national leadership training programs and with the support of my wife, my family, friends and other successful formerly incarcerated people and relocating to Atlanta to work for an organization that sees my life experiences as an asset and not a liability and values my expertise, I have been able to be successful in my reentry and help thousands of others to do the same. This is why it was important for me to contact Governor Deal’s office in 2016 to express my thoughts on the importance of reentry awareness and second chances for justice impacted people and the need for a proclamation to recognize it not just for a day or week but for an entire month. It’s now 9 years later and we have received our 9th proclamation from a Governor to recognize July as reentry awareness month throughout the state and as always, we have free informative virtual and in person events (in Atlanta and Columbus) planned for the community and those we serve that address issues related to reentry and Georgians who are justice involved such as the challenges and barriers put in place that prevent us from having a successful reentry, voter education and voting rights for those with a felony, entrepreneurship, financial wellness and the importance of the faith community’s role in reentry. All events are free and open to the public. There will be free meals and cash giveaways. People can RSVP and register for events at www.nlscoinc.org/our-work/upcoming-events
In 2017, due to what I always knew to be true, I was later exonerated due to prosecutorial misconduct, resentenced and my record was cleared, restoring all of my rights. As a registered voter, I became civically engaged and was even encouraged to run for city council, which I did. Unfortunately, I had to drop out of the race due to moving out of the district but had I won, I would’ve been the first formerly incarcerated person to be elected in the office.
Today, I am an activist, organizer, nonprofit founder, trainer, speaker, filmmaker and multipreneur who can best be described as an overcomer, go-getter and agitator working to do my small part to be a good human because I believe what we put out, we get back tenfold and because I want people to see in me what is possible when people are invested in, given second chances, have the support and love they need to survive and thrive.
You can see all I’m involved in and my work at linktr.ee/waleisahwilson
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not! One of the greatest challenges for me has been being a WOMAN, an outspoken, educated, black and formerly incarcerated woman, and being respected and recognized as an expert in what I do. This has been particularly challenging in advocacy spaces filled with people who have never been oppressed or who have benefitted from privilege all their lives or being a black woman in a white male dominated society that doesn’t prioritize the health and wellness of the most vulnerable, puts people over profit, and violates women and our rights at every turn,
As a woman who has been poor, has experienced s*xual trauma and homelessness as a child and as an adult, been in foster care, experienced domestic violence, incarceration, unemployment, discrimination, societal stigmas, including being rejected by 3 churches in Columbus due to me serving time, combined with living in a southern, capitalistic, oppressive and ableist society that prioritizes profit over people, it is hard for more than just me but challenges, struggles and ignorance will always be present so it’s best to not focus on what is inevitable but to focus on and put your energy into effectively navigating and overcoming those challenges is what matters. I’ve been knocked down many times, but I’ve never stayed down. Why? Because failure is not final and even flowers grow back after being stepped on.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a reentry case manager, peer specialist and mentor all rolled into one by day but I wear many hats. In my professional day capacity, I work at a badass law firm that works for equality, dignity, and justice for people impacted by the criminal legal system in the Deep South. The staff works to advocate and liberate currently incarcerated people who have been subjected to unrealistic, harsh and and often racially driven long sentences and prioritize public policy in the areas of the criminalization of poverty, the death penalty and mass incarceration. My role is to work with those who are released to support them in their reentry by connecting them to the resources they need to survive, succeed and thrive. I absolutely love what I do because it doesn’t feel like a “job”.
In the evenings and weekends, I lead a nonprofit that serves as a resource and training hub for justice impacted Georgians, I lead the Georgia chapter of All of Us or None, a national organization composed mostly of formerly incarcerated people fighting for the civil and human rights of currently and formerly incarcerated people and our families and I have 3 businesses: a social advocacy apparel store (Beautiful Pride), a business consulting company (Taking Charge Consulting, LLC.) and I sell Legal Shield memberships.
What sets me apart from others is that I will work hard to get what I need and what the people I love need. I am a straight shooter who could care less about being popular and will not sacrifice my faith, my love for my community and my sanity just to fit in or get money. I can’t be bought or bossed and that often makes people uncomfortable but that is their problem. I am not here to be liked. I am here to agitate and abolish and make people who are comfortable with oppression, uncomfortable.
What I am most proud of is that I did a lot of what people said I wouldn’t or couldn’t.
What were you like growing up?
I was a bookworm, nerd, geek and avid learner. Still am. I was a very sociable child who was the oldest so I was more mature beyond my years due to having to take care of my baby sisters in the absence of my mom. I never got in trouble or sent to the principal’s office so I was a good child overall. Very analytical though. Not mean, but serious but I guess there wasn’t too much to smile about in my childhood. I used to love going to summer camps, swimming, fishing, playing hopscotch with neighborhood kids, and watching Knight Rider.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/waleisahwilson
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamwaleisah
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waleisah.wilson1/
- Twitter: https://x.com/iamwaleisah
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NewLife-SecondChanceOutreachGA/videos
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamwaleisah
Image Credits
Fist up & “What I am Not” t shirt photos ONLY- Justin Blaine Miller of Atlanta
