RA’JIVA THA RULAA
At just 19, Ra’Jiva’s life changed when police pulled over her and her then-boyfriend on a road trip. When police found drugs in the vehicle, Ra’Jiva was sentenced to ten years in prison for trafficking cocaine.
As ESSENCE Magazine puts it best, “Today the 31-year-old is thriving. Known by thousands on YouTube as Ra’Jiva Tha Rulaa, she uses her platform to shed light on the everyday issues offenders often encounter.”
Today, Ra’Jiva shares a glimpse into the state of hygiene behind bars, struggles for a second chance, and how resilience has enabled her to become tha rulaa she is today.
THE PROCESS
“When I first got out, there were a lot of things that I had to do. I didn't have anything. I didn't have a dollar to my name and I moved to a new city because I wanted a fresh start. One of the things they talk about in prison is changing your people, places, and things. And I didn't want to return to where I was from, so I moved to Jacksonville. I didn't have anything. So my focus was the necessities finding me a place to stay, getting me a car, and finding me stable, a stable job. And I went to a transition house. So the housing part was taken care of, but when it came down to getting a car and getting a good job, those things I struggled with a little bit more. So when I first came home, my focus was just rebuilding my life.
I didn't have much time for social media. I was working three jobs at one point and I was really overextending myself, so I didn't really have time to jump into the social media thing.
And I remember getting on TikTok one day, and it was around the time when I was struggling really badly trying to find an apartment. No one would accept me. I had to save up so much money. First they were telling me it was my credit. So then I'm like, okay, let me work on my credit. And then after I started working on my credit, then they're like, oh no, you don't have enough rental history or you don't have this. They were picking so many different reasons. And I just remember getting on TikTok on my lunch break and I just got on, I made a video and I just started venting.
I was like, can we normalize it where convicted felons can find housing? And I was talking about how hard it was for me to find housing, and I went to work and I came and that video went crazy. And I was like, okay. And there were so many people asking me questions. They were like, what's going on? They're like, you don't look like you've been to prison. But I had to keep working, so I wasn't really into social media. And I ended up, probably about a year later, I posted another video and it was talking about something else and that video blew up again. And I had so many people asking me questions. And it was really the overwhelming positive aspect of it because when I think about being incarcerated, I always felt like I would be judged. There would be people who would have so many things to say negatively. So that's not really a part of my life I would've ever put on social media. But the positive and the support, it was overwhelming. And still, to this day, when it comes to the people who support me, it's like 99%. There's a little small percentage, but the support is really what encourages me to get my story out there and talk about it.”
HYGIENE BEHIND BARS
“The beginning of my sentence was a lot harder than the end of my sentence. I was new. So there were a lot of things that I didn't understand. I did do eight and a half years in prison, so I didn't have money, I didn't have support. I didn't have someone who was out there sending me money. So there would be times where I had to make things stretch or there would be times I would have to go without things. And the thing about hygiene is it's a basic necessity. So when you don't have the basic necessities, it takes a toll on you. It makes you feel like, how can I put it?
It makes you feel like you have no value. If I can't even have toilet paper, if I can't have deodorant, if I don't have lotion, if I don't have shampoo, it really makes you feel like you have no value because it's like if I as a person can't even have the basic necessities, it makes you feel like you have no value because in prison, like you shouldn't. But it's like the things that you have make you who you are or who you're not in prison. And if you don't have anything, if you don't have any support, it's kind of being homeless in the street. People walk past you. It's like you're not a person, you don't have a voice. So for me, it was a very hard time because there's nothing you can do if someone doesn't support you in prison out here. If you don't have it, maybe you can go ask your mom like, Hey, can I hold it? Can I do this? Or you'll stretch it like, okay, I just have this much money, so I only buy this now, I'll buy that in prison. That's not an option if you don't have it, you just don't have it. There isn't a way to get it. There isn't a way for you to work. There isn't a way for you to get it yourself. It's like you 100% rely on the support of the people who are supposed to care about you. And when you go without the basic necessities, you feel like you have no value.
It was a very, very tough, very tough thing.”
DEFINING BEAUTY
“My personal definition of beauty is something that you can't see. So I'm very big on how you make people feel because feelings are what people take everywhere they go. When I was incarcerated, I remember how people made me feel. I remembered the things that people said to me. I didn't remember the days I got up and did my hair. I didn't remember people telling me beautiful, telling me I was beautiful. I remember how things made me feel. So I feel like beauty starts from within. And I do feel like we live in a society that's kind of steering us towards ignoring how we feel on the inside and the things that we need to deal with with ourselves. And it's more of the appearance. And the appearance is important because if you look good, you feel good, but it's not just about looking good on the outside. I feel like we don't concentrate enough on mental health and the things that we go through internally. I do think beauty is important, especially as a woman, it makes you feel like a completely different person. When I get my hair done, I feel like a completely different person. It gives me so much more confidence. But I do feel like beauty is something that should start within because anyone can change the outer. Anyone can put on makeup, but there's so many people who look good on the outside but are really hurting on the inside.”