TED Salon The Macallan
Marcus Bullock: An app that helps incarcerated people stay connected to their families
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Over his eight-year prison sentence, Marcus Bullock was sustained by his mother's love -- and by the daily letters and photos she sent of life on the outside. Years later, as an entrepreneur, Bullock asked himself: How can I make it easier for all families to stay connected during incarceration? Enter FlikShop: an app he developed that lets families send quick postcards to loved ones in prison and help keep open a critical line of support.
Marcus Bullock - Entrepreneur, justice reform advocate
Marcus Bullock builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and communities. Full bio
Marcus Bullock builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and communities. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
One evening,
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after watching the nightly news
with my then five-year-old son,
with my then five-year-old son,
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he asked me a question I thought
I would have a ton of time to answer.
I would have a ton of time to answer.
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I thought the complicated questions
typically came at eight or nine years old,
typically came at eight or nine years old,
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but my son looked me in the eyes
while I was tucking him in,
while I was tucking him in,
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and with a very straight face he asked me,
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"Daddy, why did you go to jail?"
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My wife and I often
thought about this moment.
thought about this moment.
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We knew this question was coming,
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and we wanted to handle it well.
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But that night,
I had a question to answer.
I had a question to answer.
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So I decided to tell my son
how I ended up going to prison
how I ended up going to prison
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when I was just a 15-year-old kid.
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This picture was taken
when I was 14 years old.
when I was 14 years old.
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That's my mom,
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my sister,
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and that cute little baby,
that's my niece.
that's my niece.
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She's 23 now,
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and it drives me crazy every time
I think about how old I'm getting.
I think about how old I'm getting.
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(Laughter)
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This was the last photo that I took
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just a few weeks before I made
the worst decision of my life.
the worst decision of my life.
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A friend of mine and I,
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we approached a man sleeping in his car,
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pulled out a gun,
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demanded the keys to his car
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and sped off.
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That decision landed me
in front of a judge,
in front of a judge,
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with my mom and my sister
standing just a few feet behind me,
standing just a few feet behind me,
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as they listened to me get sentenced
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to eight years in adult
maximum security prison.
maximum security prison.
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This is the next family photo
that I took with my mom.
that I took with my mom.
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But this time, it was taken
in the prison visiting room.
in the prison visiting room.
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Now don't let the waterfalls and the trees
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and all that stuff
in the background fool you.
in the background fool you.
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(Laughter)
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This was one of the hardest
times of my life.
times of my life.
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In fact, for the first two years,
I battled depression
I battled depression
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by living in denial
about my prison sentence.
about my prison sentence.
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I would commonly say things
to my mom like,
to my mom like,
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"I mean, Ma, I know you don't think
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that this judge is really
going to keep us here through Christmas."
going to keep us here through Christmas."
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And then, "... Valentine's Day."
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And then, "... the last day of school."
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And then, "... the first day of school."
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And on and on.
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I promised my mom that one day,
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someone would see
that I was drowning in those cells,
that I was drowning in those cells,
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that someone would tell us
that we could breathe again
that we could breathe again
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because they just wanted
to teach me a hard lesson.
to teach me a hard lesson.
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But one day, as I'm walking around
the prison rec yard
the prison rec yard
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with my friend Danny B,
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I asked him, "How long
have you been here?"
have you been here?"
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He told me that he had
already served 31 years.
already served 31 years.
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My palms immediately got sweaty,
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heart dropped down to my toes,
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and it hit me like a ton of bricks.
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Because that's the moment when I realized
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that I would have to serve
all eight of my years.
all eight of my years.
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Now, the story of going
to prison as a teenager
to prison as a teenager
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is not an uncommon one.
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But for my family,
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this was the most tragic thing
that had happened in our lives.
that had happened in our lives.
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I missed my family terribly.
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And just like every other teenager,
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I just wanted to open up gifts
on Christmas morning
on Christmas morning
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and graduate from high school
with my friends.
with my friends.
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And because of the intense
security in prisons,
security in prisons,
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internet access is limited.
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There's no easy emailing,
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no texting
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and definitely no social media.
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This means that the meaningful moments
like prom night or college graduation
like prom night or college graduation
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or the tons of free content
that you and I digest every day
that you and I digest every day
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very seldom gets shared with the cousin,
sibling or best friend in prison.
sibling or best friend in prison.
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I became very dark.
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My childhood and the dreams of it,
they disappeared.
they disappeared.
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And those slamming steel doors
clanking shut every night
clanking shut every night
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in the prison housing unit,
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they forced me to grow up fast.
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I can tell you firsthand
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that there is something
about the violent cards of prison
about the violent cards of prison
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that completely cripple hope.
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I even tried to push my mom away,
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because I didn't want her to be subject
to the collect calls
to the collect calls
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or the eight-hour drives
for the one-hour visits,
for the one-hour visits,
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those horrible body cavity searches
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that she would experience
coming into the prison visiting room.
coming into the prison visiting room.
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But as many of you parents
here know tonight,
here know tonight,
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you can't stop a mother's love.
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(Laughter)
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So what did my mom do?
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She made a promise while sitting
in a prison visiting room.
in a prison visiting room.
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She promised she would write me a letter
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or send me a picture
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every day from that day forward
until I came home.
until I came home.
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I had six years left to do on a sentence,
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our lives were completely
crumbling around us,
crumbling around us,
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and here comes this happy-go-lucky lady
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prancing into a prison visiting room
like I'm in summer camp,
like I'm in summer camp,
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with a new plan to send me
a bunch of pictures.
a bunch of pictures.
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(Laughter)
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Such an interesting time.
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Little did I know,
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it would be my mom's letters
that saved my life.
that saved my life.
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My mom would take pictures
of a cheeseburger
of a cheeseburger
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or a mattress at a department store --
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(Laughter)
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and she would send them
to me along with a letter
to me along with a letter
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with a promise that one day
I would enjoy a fat, juicy burger
I would enjoy a fat, juicy burger
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or sleep on a comfortable bed.
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My mom assured me
that there was life after prison.
that there was life after prison.
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In fact, my best friends
began living vicariously
began living vicariously
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through my mom's letters and photos --
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(Laughter)
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giving an entire prison unit a glimpse
into what was happening in the world.
into what was happening in the world.
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After eight years of nightmares
of prison never ending,
of prison never ending,
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being dehumanized,
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strip-searched,
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watching people get wheeled
down the prison walkway in body bags,
down the prison walkway in body bags,
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I was finally released.
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And I bet you can't guess
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who was there to pick me up
that cold morning in February.
that cold morning in February.
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(Laughter)
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OK, you guessed it --
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(Laughter)
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my sister and my mom.
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The years that we prayed for
were finally in front of us,
were finally in front of us,
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and the pain of living
behind bars was behind us.
behind bars was behind us.
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Or so we thought.
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Like me, most people in prison
are coming home one day.
are coming home one day.
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And unlike me,
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many don't have the consistent support
during and after incarceration that I had.
during and after incarceration that I had.
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The struggle is real,
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and even I struggled to find a job
when I came home.
when I came home.
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Each application that I filled out --
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from grocery stores to mortgage companies
to fashion retail --
to fashion retail --
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they all included the same question,
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glowing, pulsating,
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waiting for me to add my check:
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"Have you ever been
convicted of a felony?"
convicted of a felony?"
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Now, to be honest,
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I knew that this moment was coming.
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I knew I would have to face this issue.
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So I leveraged the mental toughness
that I built while going through prison.
that I built while going through prison.
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But after being declined for over 40 jobs,
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even I began to feel deflated.
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I thought that I would get my life back
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and that all those things were behind me
and things would start looking up.
and things would start looking up.
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But that decision that I made
when I was a 15-year-old kid
when I was a 15-year-old kid
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continued to haunt me
even up until that moment.
even up until that moment.
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But while on a job hunt,
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one day, I ran across an application
that asked the question,
that asked the question,
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but this time it was worded
a little differently.
a little differently.
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This time, the question asked:
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"Have you been convicted of a felony
within the last seven years?"
within the last seven years?"
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Now, after doing an eight-year
prison sentence --
prison sentence --
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(Laughter)
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I could honestly say that my conviction
was over seven years ago.
was over seven years ago.
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I was able to answer that question
with an honest "no,"
with an honest "no,"
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and finally, I landed my first job.
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(Applause)
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I was the guy who mixed paint
at the paint store.
at the paint store.
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And eventually, customers
would come into the store,
would come into the store,
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and they would ask me,
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"Hey Marcus, how much do you charge
to paint my kitchen?"
to paint my kitchen?"
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"Well, Ms. Johnson,
we don't paint kitchens,
we don't paint kitchens,
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we sell you the paint
so you can paint your own kitchen."
so you can paint your own kitchen."
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(Laughter)
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A light bulb went off,
and I launched a painting company
and I launched a painting company
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that became the conduit
between the customers in the paint store
between the customers in the paint store
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and the painters
who needed consistent work.
who needed consistent work.
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After a year or so,
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I left that paint store,
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we grew our contracting company,
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and since then, I have hired
tons of other returning citizens.
tons of other returning citizens.
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(Applause)
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I stand today with a felony,
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and just like millions of others
around the country
around the country
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who also have that "F" on their chest
that represents felony,
that represents felony,
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just as my mom promised me many years ago,
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I wanted to show them
that there was still life after prison.
that there was still life after prison.
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I started living my best life,
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and I couldn't believe
that I was living on a cloud.
that I was living on a cloud.
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But my friends, the same ones
I grew up with in those cells,
I grew up with in those cells,
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they would call me and constantly ask for
pictures of this new life I was living.
pictures of this new life I was living.
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If I traveled, they wanted pictures.
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When I got married, they wanted pictures.
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But I didn't have the time
or the bandwidth to sit and write a letter
or the bandwidth to sit and write a letter
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or print pictures from my phone.
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I would commonly tell them,
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"Dude, if I could just text you,
my life would be so much easier."
my life would be so much easier."
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And after searching the app stores
for a solution to this problem
for a solution to this problem
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and not being able to find one,
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we launched Flikshop.
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(Applause)
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I kid you not --
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did you know that
the prison phone business
the prison phone business
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created a billion-dollar industry?
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Some of these businesses are predatory,
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and so we knew we had to figure out
how to disrupt this space.
how to disrupt this space.
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Flikshop allows our family members
to take a picture, add some quick text,
to take a picture, add some quick text,
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press send, and for 99 cents,
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we print that picture and text
on a real, tangible postcard
on a real, tangible postcard
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and mail it directly to any person,
in any cell, anywhere in the country.
in any cell, anywhere in the country.
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(Applause)
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There are millions of families
that are becoming torn apart,
that are becoming torn apart,
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simply because they don't have
the time to write a letter,
the time to write a letter,
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figure out how to print
a photo from their phone,
a photo from their phone,
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make a store run to go buy
a box of envelopes
a box of envelopes
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and then to the post office
to go buy stamps.
to go buy stamps.
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We started by connecting 50 families.
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And then 100 families.
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And then 500 families.
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And now, today, I am proud to say
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that we've connected over 140,000 families
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around the country.
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(Applause)
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We even commonly receive mail
in my office overflowing my desk
in my office overflowing my desk
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from people in prison
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like Jason.
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Jason says, "I got about
15 postcards last night
15 postcards last night
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of so many words of motivation
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that I had to write to you
and just say thank you."
and just say thank you."
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Or George, who writes,
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"Today I received about six postcards
with so much love ...
with so much love ...
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I do not know where this roof
of love has come from."
of love has come from."
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I cannot believe how blessed I am
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to sometimes be able to meet a child
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who sends Flikshop postcards
to their incarcerated parents.
to their incarcerated parents.
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Sometimes, I'm able to even
go to the White House
go to the White House
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and address the nation and talk about
the need for criminal justice reform.
the need for criminal justice reform.
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And this story is just incredible for me,
because this wasn't always my life.
because this wasn't always my life.
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I remember very vividly living
in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell
in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell
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with a man that was 22 years old
and there to serve life plus 43 years,
and there to serve life plus 43 years,
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and thinking in my head
while I'm sitting in that bunk
while I'm sitting in that bunk
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that together, we probably
would die in those cells.
would die in those cells.
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Well, I know that our era
of mass incarceration
of mass incarceration
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and the things that we see on the news
dealing with people going to prison
dealing with people going to prison
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is a huge societal issue
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that we all have
to band together to help solve.
to band together to help solve.
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But I am confident
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that if we're very intentional
about building family connections
about building family connections
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in environments where
they're needed the most,
they're needed the most,
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then this is a big step
in the right direction.
in the right direction.
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I absolutely love this stage of my life,
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this chapter, where
I'm standing right now.
I'm standing right now.
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But you know who's having
way more fun than me at this stage?
way more fun than me at this stage?
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My mom.
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(Laughter)
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I love you, Ma. Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Marcus Bullock - Entrepreneur, justice reform advocateMarcus Bullock builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and communities.
Why you should listen
Following his 2004 release from prison, Marcus Bullock launched a construction business that grew to employ other returning citizens. Bullock is also founder and CEO of Flikshop, Inc., a software company that builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and build community. The Flikshop mobile app enables families and nonprofit organizations to send personalized postcards to any person in any cell in the United States, with the mission of using social connections to decrease recidivism. Forbes calls the app "Instagram for prisons."
Bullock also founded the Flikshop School of Business, a program that teaches returning citizens life skills and entrepreneurship via computer coding and software development. He is an inaugural cohort member of Techstars Anywhere 2018 and John Legend’s
Unlocked Futures business accelerators. He is also a member of the Justice Policy Institute's board of directors and serves as an advisor to the Aspen Institute’s Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund.
Marcus Bullock | Speaker | TED.com