Brooklyn

End Perpetual Punishment

Atlantic Avenue & Perrey Place

Painted in 2020 by Next100, a progressive think tank, and spearheaded by Next100's Michael "Zaki" Smith, who lost a teaching job over an old record years after completing his sentence. Unveiled with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and other Black elected officials. The mural visualizes how a criminal record follows people into housing and job applications long after a sentence is technically served.

THE RIGHT AT STAKE
A genuine second chance for formerly incarcerated people. This speaks to the belief that the collateral consequences of incarceration are actually a legal form of discrimination against those who have already paid their debt to society.

WHY HERE?
This mural is personal rather than abstract. Michael "Zaki" Smith, who spearheaded it, was born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant and spent more than sixteen years in and out of prison during his adolescence and young adulthood. After turning his life around and spending four years working as a "dream director" with teens in Newark, he received a letter from the New Jersey State Board of Education barring him from working in any school in the state due to his previous criminal record. He was prohibited from working with children despite having completed his sentence and having worked in schools successfully for years. He painted this tragic experience into the mural. The man who is depicted drinking from the "criminal record" fountain is Zaki Smith himself.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION
As Smith asked: "We have paid our debt to society. What more do we owe?"

THEN & NOW
When this mural was painted in 2020, it launched alongside the #EndPerpetualPunishment campaign to build support for New York's "Clean Slate" bill. That bill has since become law. Governor Hochul signed the Clean Slate Act in November 2023, and it took effect on November 16, 2024, automatically sealing conviction records three years after sentencing for misdemeanors, and eight years for felonies. This mural's message didn't just raise awareness. It helped build the coalition behind a law that's now in effect.

TAKE ACTION
Students can learn more through Next100's policy work or look into Clean Slate NY (cleanslateny.org) to understand how the law affects eligibility and what it means for someone with a past conviction.

Movement: #EndPerpetualPunishment · Organizer: Next100