Desmond Meade is a MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow; a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and having been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. He's also’s author of the 2020 book “Let My People Vote: My Battle to Restore the Civil Rights of Returning Citizens.”
Desmond is President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition -- the organization that led the successful effort to restore voting rights to some 1.4 million former felons in FL. The amendment passed with nearly 65% support.
Desmond was born in St. Croix but grew up in Miami, and after a time in the Army, he found himself addicted and homeless in Miami. He served time in jail for felony drug possession, and after a fight with his brother was convicted of aggravated battery, also a felony. Then, in 2001, he was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon and sentenced to 15 years in prison. An appeals court reversed that conviction and he was released, but still a convicted felon with no right to vote in the Sunshine State.
Desmond graduated from Miami-Dade College in 2010 while living in a homeless shelter, enrolled in the FIU College of Law, graduating in 2013, joining the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition while in law school.ppearances on CNN, MSNBC, 60 Minutes, and Fox TV demonstrates his ability to appeal to and inspire people from all walks of life.
SONG 1: "Lose Yourself" by Eminem from the soundtrack to the 2002 movie 8 Mile. https://youtu.be/xFYQQPAOz7Y?si=RFYS3pPTCqZAnVOT
SONG 2: "We Are the World" - the charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones. https://youtu.be/9AjkUyX0rVw?si=jPzSQ23ydm5wl6yN
SONG 3: "Freedom" by King Blackman ft Ronnie VOP, Desmond Meade.
https://youtu.be/95Nc4JF_NpE?si=JcXPdk3muIVwnt2T
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!