Saturday, Ronda and I had the opportunity to participate in a #SayHerName rally in downtown Durham organized by one of my former students, Malaika Mathenge, and others (including Desmera Gatewood). The event brought people together to show their discontent for the injustices that are occurring in our legal system, particularly in regards to black women.
After spending time in the People’s Plaza reflecting on the lives of black women that have been lost while in police custody, we marched to the Durham County Jail to protest the unfair treatment of the prisoners. The concerns regarding the conditions of the prisoners are multifaceted. First of all, there are a number of people sitting in jail that are simply awaiting trial. They haven’t even been convicted of anything. Secondly, a number of prisoners are being held in their cells for 22 hours a day, which could create additional issues of isolation and depression.
As we stood outside the jail, we heard the imprisoned tapping on their windows to let us know they saw us. We shouted to them, “We see you.” I started to reflect on the size of this facility and thought about the fact that there are (at least) 533 individuals passing their days in this building. And, of course, most of them are black males. And, I started to think about the movement towards mass incarceration in America. The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners. We have over half a million more inmates than the country with the 2nd largest prison population in the world - China. We have over half a million more prisoners than China! Process that. China has 1.3 BILLION people. They have 1.6 million incarcerated. We have 319 million people with 2.2 million incarcerated. It just doesn’t add up.
Additionally, the majority of American prisoners are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses. The war on drugs, in particular, is chiefly responsible for the 500% increase in our incarcerated population over the last 40 years. Although people of different races use and sell drugs at the same rates, black people are much more likely to be arrested, tried, and convicted for drugs.
President Obama recently visited a penitentiary in Oklahoma to share his thoughts regarding criminal justice reform. He said, “These are young people who made mistakes that aren’t that different than the mistakes that I made and the mistakes that a lot of you guys made. The difference is they did not have the kinds of support structures, the second chances, the resources, that would allow them to survive those mistakes. I think we have the tendency sometimes to take for granted or think it’s normal that so many young people end up in our criminal justice system. It’s not normal. It’s not what happens in other countries… We’ve got to be able to distinguish between dangerous individuals who need to be… incarcerated versus young people who are in an environment in which they are adapting. But, if given different opportunities, a different vision of life, could be thriving.”
It is beyond time for us to move forward with criminal justice reform and ensuring people are given fair chances at life regardless of their age, color, gender, or creed.
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