Instagram for Prisons : How a mom s daily pics kept her son alive
If it hadn’t been for his mom’s daily correspondence while he spent eight years in prison, Marcus Bullock may not be the dad and business leader he is today. He created an app that connects families with incarcerated loved ones.
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Posted: Dec 11, 2020 9:29 AM ET | Last Updated: December 21, 2020
Marcus Bullock is excited to have more time at home with his family this year, because he knows the pain of being away from loved ones while he was in prison for a crime he committed at age 15.(Submitted by Marcus Bullock)
i mean, you know, i wouldn t be able to be here today leading the company that i m leading, you know, building the family that i have without the love and the support of the people that were around me while i was in prison. it was so important. my mom, she was there to write me letters and send me pictures, allowed me to be able to see the window of the world before i came home, unlike most people that are in those cells. and i wanted to be able to help give some of that back. we built the technology to make that happen. neil: you have a good sense of humor too, marcus. the president joked the guy should run for office. now i m hearing you just might. [laughter] no, man, you know, i m staying out of the political game. i m enjoying working and helping connect these families. i m excited about it. but it was a great compliment from the president. i m grateful. neil: if you do announce it, announce with me first. the one thing that struck me with your pay it forward remarks about doing
like for people that are coming home from prison. there s tons of brilliance in those cells, and while there s tons of brilliance and talent, the access to opportunity, that window is not as big. neil: you know what s interesting too, you might have brought it up, i don t recall, marcus, but when you hire those who were once incarcerated, they stay. they don t go. the firing or absolutely. neil: the firing or dismissal rate is dramatically lower than it is for the general population. people don t know that. you know, it s interesting research is starting to show this now. we re really excited about it. this is what happens when 20 years of reform efforts are starting to now begin to peak themselves and you re starting to see changes happen around the country. but, you know, these kinds of research reports that show that people that are going to these [inaudible]. not only are they loyal to you
as an employer, not only are they are loyal to you as an employer, but also able to bring things inside your company, bringing diversity that otherwise you wouldn t have had. so many employers are missing out on this. neil: you are very inspiring, the stories about your mom, how she stuck by you and wouldn t give up on you, look at her son now. marcus, thanks very much. i m very grateful. thank you. neil: the back and forth right now over what is happening especially now with our economy and our nation when it comes to the fights on capitol hill to come. talk about divisive, all over impeachment that s being echoed in protests across this nation as we speak. after this. it s not just easy. it s having-a-walrus-in-goal easy!
country and the first step act and what we re doing now with second chances because even once i came home, it was still very challenging for me to get a job. neil: that was then. look at him now. that was marcus bullock in what had to be the feel good story of the week. he s the ceo of something called flick shop. he s someone who knows the importance of the president s first step act which helps promote the hiring of former prisoners. he s one himself. marcus bullock joins us right now. very good to have you. thank you so much for having me. i m excited to be able to be here. neil: the president said it, a lot of people were watching it, we were covering it live, not only the inspirational story you told but the fact this was a bipartisan event that we felt warranted the live coverage we gave it that democrats and republicans united on a reform that gave prisoners another chance. so along you come to remind what that means. what does it mean? yeah.