Page 18
December 2006
The AC Phoenix
Our Dttbf fo Society to the Editor
By: William Reed
—Guest Columnist—
Now that Black voters have exercised their electoral franchises, isn’t
it time they demand that the people they elected correct America's sys
tem of racially selective policing, prosecution and mass imprisonment?
The operation of the crime control industry continues to devastate lives
of millions of Black families and the economic and social fabric of their
communities.
The “law and order” priorities of legislation and judicial actions over
recent decades have plagued Black families worse. The nation’s lowest
wages, life expectancy, highest unemployment and number of single
parent households are among Black prisoners, former prisoners and the
ruined communities they come from and are discharged into.
American legislators have run a costly con game on Blacks. Through
“law and order” legislations and judicial processes enacted over the past
two decades, Blacks are 8.2 times more likely to be in prison than
Whites. Their practices have created a situation where nine percent of
Blacks are in prison and jails, and nearly as many more are on proba
tion, parole, bail, house arrest or court supervision.
Blacks, who comprise 13 percent of the national population, are
currently the main fodder of America’s era of incarceration. We are 30
percent of the people arrested, 41 percent of people in jail and 49
percent of those in prison. Building and running prisons is one of the
fastest growing industries in America, supported by a judiciary eager to
keep them filled. Combined, state governments spend $40 billion a year
to operate their prison systems.
The U.S. has a higher percentage of its citizens behind bars than any
other country. The remarkably high and increasing rates of incarceration
since the 1980s have not been driven by increases in violent crime; the
burgeoning prison population is the result of changes in penal policies
and practices and the soaring number of drug offenders given prison
sentences. America’s “War on Drugs” has created a social situation
among young Blacks where more have done prison time than military
service or earned college degrees.
The U.S. spends an average of $7,000 per year to educate each
youth, and over $35,000 to lock up one. Black voters need to ask their
elected officials to answer: “How can lawmakers justify continuing to
spend such money annually per an inmate from neighborhoods where
we spend one-fifth of that per pupil?”
The problem is that public policy in America only moves to address
human needs when under the insistent pressure of mass movements.
When will a mass movement come to change America’s racially
selective policies of incarcerations? Will Blacks demand more from
officeholders on this issue?
We need moratoriums on prosecution of juveniles as adults;
advocates for the extension of health care, job and educational
opportunities, rights of citizenship to the prisoner class; and more ques
tions regarding the economic and social effects of the crime control
industry on Black children, families and communities.
Lawmakers need to do more toward allocating funds toward commu
nity-based crime-prevention programs. Most offenders can be dealt with
through much cheaper community programs—half the cost of
imprisonment. Prevention programs for disadvantaged youths can pay
considerable dividends in the future. For every dollar invested,
taxpayers get from $3 to $5 in return later in terms of crimes prevented,
taxes collected from the youth working, etc.
It’s time for a return on the votes Blacks have invested into the
electoral system. Nothing can excuse policymakers from the
responsibility to end racist criminal justice practices impacting Black
families. More than merely a symptom of the tangled mess of problems
that create, sustain and deepen America’s savage patterns of class and
race inequality, mass incarceration of Blacks has become a central part
of the mess. Thus, it will be an especially worthy target for creative,
democratic protest and policy formation.
Blacks’ current debt to society is to place “law and order” issues at
the forefront of each of our political agendas and address ways to
dismantle a vast prison industrial complex that feeds on our people.
(This column is reprinted from
www.BlackPresslnternational.com.)
Dear Editor,
First, I would like to say hello, and I hope that you are being blessed. My name is
Greg Caldweii and I am a Federal Inmate. I have a desire to start a running dialogue with
the Black Community to help give understanding to the need for community-based support
for those incarcerated, or those who may be released soon or in the future.
I am curious as to what programs are available, if any. I would like to encourage you
to share it with the inmate population. Specifically, are there any organizations that pro
vide re-entry support of other related services to those imprisoned? What is available to
someone like myself that has been away for several years and may be released soon?
These are very important questions to one who has been locked up and has a desire
to return to his/her community to become a productive citizen. Additionally, these programs
or services can be utilized as an intervention or prevention program to slow the flow of our
young brothers and sisters into the prison system. Further, these efforts could lead to a
developmental process that will assist in unifying our communities and bringing about
improvement in social, educational, and economic conditions.
Re-entry programs are vital to the inmates and also to the community. They need to
be established by concerned citizens and organizations, with the understanding that all of
these people are not dangerous. Yes, some may be and need to be monitored. However,
these communities are their homes and therein lays a responsibility to assist and lead
them into living purposeful and productive lives. Of course, the inmate has a responsibil
ity to become a good citizen and a solution to problems in the community. My hope is that
the spiritual community is getting involved to ensure well-structured programs are estab
lished to make the transition from prison to the community a successful one. If the pro
grams have strong mentors and people who have a genuine interest in seeing former
inmates do well, then the inmates has the opportunity to become a good citizen.
Accountability has to be imposed to help with the transition and each and every participant
should know up front that he/she is expected to succeed and not become a detriment to
the community.
i would like to thank you for reading this article and encourage you to respond with
any ideas or information that would lead to further dialogue. I would greatly appreciate any
feedback and there are many here who are looking for solutions.
Thanks to the publisher of this paper and I hope to hear from you soon.
Greg Caldwell 13815-018
Bennettsville - Camp, P.O. Box 52010, Bennettsville, SC 29512
Pinef Grove Baptist Church
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Sunday SctBset 9:3QaflTrf; :■
Morning 'Sssdrap Service 11 ;M am
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E-mail: pgbc2005@bellsouth.net'
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