FL Restoration Rights Coalition Nominated For Nobel Prize

ORLANDO, FL — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which worked to pass Amendment 4 in 2018, was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for 2022, according to a news release from the organization.

There are 305 candidates for the prize this year — 212 individuals and 93 organizations — according to the Nobel Peace Prize website. The organization said it doesn’t release the names of nominees or nominators until 50 years have passed.

“It feels just like yesterday we made history with the passage of Amendment 4, now this?” Desmond Meade, the coalition’s executive director, said. “To say we are humbled is an understatement, especially when we are being nominated during Black History Month by the same organization that nominated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — the American Friends Service Committee and Quaker Peace and Social Witness.”

In 1947, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the AFSC and QPSW (formerly Friends Service Council) for their work helping to feed starving children and helping Europe rebuild itself after two world wars, the coalition said. As former Nobel recipients, AFSC and QPSW have the privilege of making Nobel nominations.

“We are nominating FRRC for their work in building democracy, supporting the human right to representation by government, and working towards a better organized and peaceful world,” AFSC said in a statement.

The coalition was nominated because of its efforts “to create a more inclusive democracy” through its work to pass Amendment 4, the organization said. This restored voting rights for more than 1.4 million Floridians with past felony convictions.

“As the first nomination of an organization led by people impacted by the criminal justice system, this serves as a reminder of the power of second chances and an inspiration to justice impacted people throughout the world,” FRRC said.

The coalition’s nomination “serves as a redemptive moment that highlights a deeper story involving the human spirit and people’s ability to triumph over adversity,” the organization’s deputy director, Neil Volz, said. “We’ve always believed in the power of placing people at the center of our work, and how doing that benefits everyone. To be nominated for such a prestigious award is not only humbling and life-affirming but validates our ongoing efforts.”

The organization's current focus is on four policy issues affecting those impacted by the criminal justice system: housing, jobs, education and voting.