'Ban the box' passage shows importance of citizen engagement

When Spartanburg City Council voted unanimously to "ban the box" at a meeting in June, it was the culmination of a lot of groundwork from an involved local citizen, Meghan Smith The measure, which eliminates the criminal history question from City job applications, was a move councilmembers agreed was about fairness, removing the stigma some applicants may face in the hiring process and encouraging an evaluation of all applicants based on qualifications rather than having prior convictions automatically cloud the process.  Under the changes, applicants will still have their backgrounds checked during the hiring process, but potential hires with a criminal record could have a better chance to earn a position with the City if they aren’t asked about their past from the beginning of the process. For Meghan Smith, seeing "ban the box" pass was evidence that well-intentioned regular citizens, working with their local officials, can affect real change and solve problems in their communities. Today on the podcast, we're talking with her about the details of "ban the box" and the work she did to bring the issue to Council's attention and ultimately win its passage.