JPMorgan Chase just launched a campaign that spotlights the reality behind the state of employment in the United States.
A short spot put out by the banking firm revealed that one in three Americans have a criminal record.
Because of this, they are held back from various work opportunities.
In the video, one admits to being 18 years old, "just smoking weed in the dorms" and facing criminal charges.
While their crimes may be small and their debts have been paid, their sentence continues.
Permanent records have forever stained their credibility as professionals, stripping them of various abilities, such as:
- Voting
- Enjoying the privilege of housing opportunities
- Getting their desired occupations
"Every step costs money, every step takes time" another shares, explaining the rigorous expungement process he had to go through amid his criminal record.
The Waiting Workforce
To bring light to the situation, the banking firm has installed "The Waiting Workforce," an art piece it had commissioned together with agency Droga5.
The installation makes use of 1.2 million pages worth of legal documents to create 38 life-size human figures, driving the point that citizens are often defined by the paperwork they face to clear their records.
These human figures represent the 38 states that haven't enacted the Clean Slate legislation, which helps citizens seal or clear eligible criminal records, opening opportunities for them to join the workforce.
Scott Bell, Droga5's chief creative officer, emphasized the need to ensure the piece was memorable, inspiring, and engaging, being a campaign that brought light to an important cause.
"This is a prime example of how we can use creativity to affect change – even though millions of people are suffering to get back into society, millions more don’t even know about this problem, nor that there is a solution to it," he shared.
The Waiting Workforce installation opened on April 4 in Pennsylvania, Penn, and will be up for viewing for the rest of the month.