a man with a short beard wearing a white shirt with a tie under a coat.

Title/Position

Community Engagement Restorative Justice Fellow

Department

Community Engagement

E-mail address

Iyaun DeMore Bell, Sr., joined the ACLU of Missouri as the Community Engagement Restorative Justice Fellow in July 2022. Bell founded and leads the community-based outreach group Man-Time which aims to help men looking to transform themselves and their communities through positive impact using communication, preparation, and restoration.  

Shortly after moving to Hayti, MO, Iyaun and his family suffered a tragic loss when his aunt was gunned down in Hayti Heights. His high school experiences compounded the pain of loss with uncertainty when faculty told him that he was not college material and treated him differently than the other students. Bell went on to earn his diploma, but the isolation instilled in him from school led him down a self-destructive path. Rather than pursuing education, Bell turned to the streets for community. He developed a substance use disorder that began a twenty-year cycle of recidivism. 

While incarcerated, Bell found that rehabilitation was a choice that he had rather than an obligation of state or federal agencies. Through his reading of books like Standing at the Scratch Line (Gus Johnson) and Never Die Alone (Donald Goines) he discovered his drive for knowledge to help others who have been affected by crime, prison, and the inequities that plague the education system. Bell began taking classes, earned a culinary arts degree, and focused on public speaking and outreach with incarcerated individuals. He won an award from Toastmasters International for his outreach accomplishments while at Ozark Correctional Facility. 

After his release, Bell moved back to his hometown to build community and provide positive pathways and guidance for the youth of Hayti and Hayti Heights.