Criminal Justice Reform with Michael Deegan-McCree on #TheHBCUNationRadioShow

Anthony Ray talks with Michael Deegan-McCree, criminal justice reform advocate. McCree talks about his experiences passing federal and state legislation, his transition to working in pretrial justice and how all of this impacts the African American community. Michael Deegan-McCree is a Legislative Advocate concentrated on reforming the criminal legal system, protecting voting rights for all citizens and ensuring access to quality mental health treatment. He currently serves as the Partnerships Coordinator at The Bail Project. Michael plays a pivotal role in developing grassroots and grasstops partnerships to enable The Bail Project to best serve their clients. Michael is a native Californian born and raised in the Bay Area. Before working for The Bail Project Michael worked at The Dream Corps, where he served as the Policy Associate for the #cut50 initiative, helping to lead their state and federal legislative efforts. While at #cut50, Michael played a policy role in helping pass the First Step Act, in 2018, landmark legislation that the New York Times said would "deliver the most significant changes to our criminal justice system in a generation." Michael's concentration on racial and economic inequality within the criminal justice system stems from his progressive ideology especially on issues of Criminal Legal and Mental Health reform. It is his belief that it takes coalitions of directly impacted people, along with unlikely allies from different political-ideological beliefs to deliver lasting structural change that will benefit our communities. Michael has also served as a District Advisor to California State Senator, Majority Whip Nancy Skinner, and an Assistant to Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California's 13th Congressional District.