The news for young black men is not good: they are disproportionately singled out for discipline in school, they are more likely to be stopped and frisked by New York City police officers, and according to Michelle Alexander in her book, “The New Jim Crow,†nearly one-third of black men are likely to spend time in prison at some point in their lives.
Would pulling back on draconian drug laws or legalizing marijuana be enough to fix this imbalance? What else needs to be done?
If we have any hope of healing the deep wounds of race in this country, we've first got to stop the bleeding caused by mass incarceration and the other ill effects of the failed "war on drugs."
Our prohibition policies, and the "us vs. the man" mentality they have caused in our communities, have badly damaged how young black men are perceived -- and not just by white people. As an African-American narcotics cop in Baltimore, even I fell victim to fear and apprehension when I encountered a group of black teenagers on the street. Making drugs like marijuana illegal has made them incredibly lucrative, and it's not hard to see why many teenagers choose to enlist in the dope game and play for the chance at moving up the chain and raking in tax-free money rather than donning a McDonald's uniform.
[quote author=The Chairman link=topic=64374.msg403517#msg403517 date=1331645415]
If we have any hope of healing the deep wounds of race in this country, we've first got to stop the bleeding caused by mass incarceration and the other ill effects of the failed "war on drugs."
Even if our drug policies aren't successful in reducing drug use, they are successful in turning whole communities into criminals. Nearly one in three black men can expect to spend time behind bars. For many black teenagers, getting arrested is a rite of passage.
But it wasn't always this way.
When I was growing up in Baltimore, I could walk down the street of my neighborhood and point to houses where the parents were doctors, lawyers, police officers and teachers. The kids in my community had legitimate hopes of stepping into those professions when they grew up, and many did.
Today, such hope is not in abundance. Thanks to our ramped up "war on drugs," when I walk down the street in my old neighborhood I see houses where one or both parents are behind bars or on probation or parole.
[quote author=The Chairman link=topic=64374.msg403527#msg403527 date=1331647018]
Today, such hope is not in abundance. Thanks to our ramped up "war on drugs," when I walk down the street in my old neighborhood I see houses where one or both parents are behind bars or on probation or parole.
[/quote]
this cant be man. we have a large and growing blac elite, many rich blac people, Oprah is the richest woman in the wurl. russell simmons bathes in money,. Tyler perry makes more movies that Spike Lee. blac actors win oscars now.
I mean Obama, a blac man has the right and feedom to kill even white people now..and get away with it.
what better sign of freedom for nhiggers, and and end to racism is there than a black man free to kill white people?
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Fifty-three percent of black boys never finish high school. Among those who drop out, 60 percent end up spending time behind bars. Even those who stay in school are seemingly being prepared for prison. Many schools treat kids as suspect from the moment they walk in the door, making them pass through metal detectors or administering urine tests as a condition of joining after-school clubs. Cops move about the schools like prison guards. It's like we're conditioning them for a life of incarceration.
