Why John Legend is backing startups launched by these former inmates 

Amanda Alexander, one of two entrepreneurs in the group who did not go to prison, wants to transform Detroit into a “Just City” through the Detroit Justice Center, which seeks to make Detroit more equitable by improving transitional housing, reducing fines and ticketing, and more. One of her peers in the cohort is Topeka K. Sam, who just launched the Bronx-based Hope House, which will house women for up to a year after incarceration to help them get back on their feet. During a roundtable the next day, the entrepreneurs had a wide-ranging conversation with John Legend, collector of Grammys and founder of criminal justice reform initiative FreeAmerica. Alexander talked about her own hopes for Sam’s venture. “I can’t wait for Hope House to get off the ground in the Bronx so it can go to Detroit,” she mused. 

Photo by Unlocked Futures