Transcriber: Delia Cohen Reviewer: Peter Van de Ven
You don't know me,
but to many I'm known as an inmate
or just a number.
So today,
I would like to express to you all
through word and song
that I am a woman first.
I'm a woman first
before I'm an inmate.
I'm a daughter
who was supposed to make her parents proud.
I never thought my life choices would cause them to count me out.
I'm a woman first
before I'm an inmate.
I'm a sister of 17,
but I only know
and have a relationship with six.
Even though I know they love me,
I'm out of sight, out of mind
during this prison bid.
I'm a woman first
before I'm an inmate.
I'm a mother of five beautiful children
who has made some poor choices.
I'm a mother of five beautiful children
whose bad decisions
not only affect me
but also my lineage.
I'm a woman first
before I'm an inmate.
I'm a friend to many.
I'm an aunt of 14.
I'm a cosmetologist.
I'm a wife-to-be.
(Laughs)
I'm a diva when I walk on the scene.
I am a child of God.
I am Tiffany Simone Williams.
I have walked some very long roads,
and I have followed some wrong paths,
but as I accept my faults
and I make some changes,
all my mistakes will soon be a story of my past.
I am currently
OV4643,
but when the dust settles
and the smoke clears,
I am a woman first.
♪ Many stories written ♪
♪ On miles that hide ♪
♪ Under the soles of my feet ♪
♪ Stretch my shoulders ♪
♪ Wide as the sky ♪
♪ I've cried much as the ocean is deep ♪
♪ My walk has been 1,000 miles ♪
♪ I could talk 'til eternity from now ♪
♪ And tell you why I've done what I've done ♪
♪ And how I am ♪
♪ What I've become ♪
♪ I'm your daughter ♪
♪ I'm a mother ♪
♪ I'm your best friend ♪
♪ I'm a lover ♪
♪ I feel, I laugh ♪
♪ I hurt ♪
♪ I've tried some things that didn't work ♪
♪ Before my number, I had a name ♪
♪ Above my pride ♪
♪ Aside from my shame ♪
♪ Doesn't change ♪
♪ One cent of my worth ♪
♪ Before anything ♪
♪ I'm a woman first ♪
♪ There's just one thing ♪
♪ I hope you'll remember ♪
♪ Just this one thing ♪
♪ I need you to know ♪
♪ When you see me ♪
♪ I've had my highs and my lows ♪
♪ There's just one thing ♪
♪ I hope you'll remember ♪
♪ Just this one thing ♪
♪ I need you to know ♪
♪ When you see me ♪
♪ I've had my highs and my lows ♪
♪ There's just one thing ♪
♪ I hope you'll remember ♪
♪ Just this one thing ♪
♪ I need you to know ♪
♪ When you see me ♪
♪ I've had my highs and my lows ♪
♪ Before my number I had a name ♪
♪ Above my pride ♪
♪ Aside from my shame ♪
♪ Doesn't change ♪
♪ One cent of my worth ♪
♪ Please believe me ♪
♪ I'm a woman ♪
♪ first ♪
(Applause) (Cheers)
John Wetzel: How about that?
Tiffany, another round for Tiffany.
(Applause) (Cheers)
I want to especially thank Tiffany
for putting a face on something
that our department has really been talking about
and trying to express
to policy-makers and others who think about this issue,
and that's that the children are impacted by our response to crime.
So in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections alone,
where we have 51,000 people incarcerated,
they have at least 81,000 children.
So we don't have 51,000 inmates, just inmates,
we have 51,000 mothers
and children
and fathers.
So when we look at how we should use incarceration,
I hope we, as policy-makers, keep that in our mind
and understand that this tool needs to be used with precision,
specifically for that reason:
because of the impact it could potentially have on the back end.
So Tiffany, thank you so much for bringing that to our attention.