As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the question posed in the 2026 State of Black America®, Is the American Dream Dead?, is not theoretical. For millions of Black Americans, the answer is shaped not only by inequality in wages, housing, and healthcare, but by a less visible, deeply entrenched barrier: an arrest or conviction record.

Today, a record can follow someone for years, limiting access to jobs, housing, education, and the ability to move forward.

An estimated 20 to 30 million adults in the U.S. are eligible to have their records sealed, yet fewer than 10% successfully obtain that relief. Not because they haven’t earned it, but because the system makes it nearly impossible. Long waiting periods. Expensive fees. Complicated paperwork. Time off work. Legal assistance many can’t afford.

Clean Slate automated record sealing offers a practical and scalable solution. By automating the sealing of eligible arrest and conviction records after someone has completed their sentence and remained crime-free, Clean Slate shifts the burden from the person who made the mistake to the system trying to trap them in it. 

The need for this reform is especially urgent in the South, where the legacy of over-policing, harsh sentencing, and systemic racial disparities has left a disproportionate number of Black residents with records. In many Southern states, an arrest or conviction record continues to function as a long-term economic barrier, reinforcing cycles of poverty that span generations.

The data reflects what so many already know. Nearly half (46%) of Black adults have an arrest or conviction record. For Black women, one of the fastest-growing groups impacted by the system, the consequences can be especially severe. Women’s incarceration rates have grown at nearly twice the pace of men’s over the past several decades, and Black women remain disproportionately represented in the system.

New research from The Clean Slate Initiative, to be released later this year, shows that those with an arrest or conviction record experience a combined $440 billion in annual income loss, economic activity that could otherwise strengthen communities and drive growth.

In the South, where Black workers make up a significant share of the labor force, the economic toll is even greater. The region accounts for nearly 40 percent of national annual lost earnings tied to arrest and conviction records, totaling more than $171 billion each year. For many Black workers, a record can continue limiting access to stable employment and financial security long after a sentence is complete. Clean Slate laws are designed to help change that.

To date, we have helped pass Clean Slate laws in 13 states and Washington, D.C., putting 18 million people on a path to having their records sealed and restoring access to jobs, housing, and opportunity. More than 3 million Black adults are now eligible for full or partial sealing under these laws. 

This progress has been driven by bipartisan coalitions of advocates, lawmakers, business leaders, and directly impacted people. Because second chances are not partisan. They are practical and necessary.

I know this not just from the data, but from lived experience of the people I meet across the country.

I think about Miss Smith, a Clean Slate beneficiary I met at a press conference celebrating the law’s implementation in Connecticut. She told me her record had prevented her from accessing meaningful job opportunities. When she shared her frustration with her community, an advocate told her, “Just wait. Clean Slate is on the way.”

But what they didn’t understand is the weight of the wait.

I understand that weight.

In 2004, I was a single mother trying to make ends meet. One afternoon, my home was filled with the sounds of cartoons and my kids running around, what felt like a normal, joyful moment. Then came a knock at the door.

“Mommy, the police are here.”

Two months earlier, I had written a check for $87.26 for groceries—and it bounced. Prosecutors didn’t have to pursue me, but they did. And in front of my children, I was handcuffed and taken to jail.

I came home quickly. It was my first offense. I paid the money back and covered the fees. I thought that chapter of my life was over.

But it wasn’t.

That arrest stayed on my record. And I realized my true sentence had just begun. I could no longer volunteer at my children’s school. I struggled to rent housing. Certain colleges and occupational licenses were out of reach.

If your crime was being poor, like mine, second chances can feel out of reach. That’s why this work matters.

In states where Clean Slate has passed, people are finding jobs, securing housing, and building more stable futures for their families.

This is especially important for Black Americans, whose economic mobility has long been constrained by both historical and ongoing inequities. As technology, especially with the rise of AI, continues to reshape the workforce, we have to ask ourselves: who will have access to opportunity? If millions remain locked out because of a record, the future will not be equitable.

There is still more work to do. Millions of people are still waiting. Many Southern states have yet to adopt these policies. But I remain hopeful.

I’ve seen what’s possible. I’ve watched people like Miss Smith step into a new chapter of their lives with confidence after their record has been sealed. She’s able to walk into job interviews with her shoulders back and head held high, no longer defined by her past, but by her qualifications, capabilities, and potential.

As we reflect on the future of this country, the American Dream will only be real if it is accessible.

Because second chances don’t just change individual lives. They strengthen families. They grow our workforce. They build our economy. 

Clean Slate policies recognize a simple but powerful truth: that no one should be forever defined by a past mistake, and that redemption is not a partisan value, but an American one.