Universally Speaking
Rahim Islam is a National Speaker and Writer, Convener of Philadelphia Community of Leaders, and President/CEO of Universal Companies, a community development and education management company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Follow Rahim Islam on FaceBook(Rahim Islam) & Twitter (@RahimIslamUC)
Rahim Islam
As I stated in part one of this article, the Black community is at a serious crossroads in our history as Black people in America.
IF we want to change the negative trajectory for hundreds of thousands of future Black children – WE WILL HAVE DO SOMETHING THAT WE HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO DO FOR SOME TIME (COME TOGETHER).
I say “if” knowing that most of us want change but that there are some African Americans who have economically benefited from the destructive and dangerous plight of Black people.
Their short sightedness and greed in many cases, have sold out the Black community – modern day Judas’.
When this isn’t happening, (which I believe is not the majority) Black leadership is being misled by the falsification and the romanticizing of data that portrays Blacks in a positive light. IT’S JUST NOT TRUE AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY IS IN TROUBLE NOW MORE THAN EVER BEFORE.
As an experienced businessman with nearly 40 years of business and organizing experience, I view the conditions facing the Black community differently than what is generally believed and even promoted by Black leadership. “The state of the Black community is improving” – nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it’s just the opposite; the Black community is in A STATE OF UNPARALLELED CRISIS. There is no real and sustained demographic data that we can point to that can refute this statement. The legacy of the enslavement of Black people coupled with structural and institutional racism has created social and economic conditions for Black people that rival slavery.
I, like many of you have a real desire to see our people do better but have come to realize that the problems that we face are real and near permanent.
There is nothing more I want for the Black community than to be “ON THE MOVE” especially given our history in this country.
Brothers and sisters have we quickly forgotten the struggles that Black people have experienced every day of our existence in America (500 years)?
Has America ever treated the Black community as an equal citizen? Has America ever tried to acknowledge and repair the massive injustice it placed on the Black community?
Has there ever been a time in America when the “human” rights of Black people weren’t opposed, challenged, and fought against with the highest level of vigor and determination to deny? NEWS ALERT!!! BLACK PEOPLE HAVE NEVER HAD IT EASY IN AMERICA.
The conditions facing the Black community are “near” permanent and they haven’t positively changed much since emancipation. In fact, they’ve gotten worse – so what data are you looking at that gives you a sense of hope and optimism?
I use the term “near” to signal a sense of urgency and unless we act NOW, the near will disappear and the issues and problems facing the Black community will become forever permanent. We are witnessing the “perfect storm” and the enemies of the Black community are winning because we have taken our foot off the pedal and we have mothballed the movement. It’s been nearly sixty years since the Black community has had any real gain.
Oh I know some will say that we now have a Black President and the election of Barak Obama is a “material” shift in race relations in America – UTTER NONSENSE (there is another word I want to use).
Racism in American is more lethal now than at any time since the emancipation of Black people.
First of all Barak Obama isn’t Black and I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard him describe who he is but one thing is clear – he hasn’t championed and backed with resources any one issue that is facing the majority of Black people living in America.
Asked yourself, what would be better a symbolic gesture for what is owed to Black people other than resources?
How about efforts being waged that can economically bail out our urban cities where the majority of Black people reside?
How about finally addressing the issue of reparations?
How about challenging the failed and abusive institutions that on a daily basis cripple Black people? How about ending the massive incarceration of Black men in America? How about forcing the states to fully fund public school education? I have a million of them and at some point I will write an article that dispels the myths about President
Barak Obama who has been, in many cases, more George Bush than George Bush.
The future of the Black community in America is in real jeopardy not just because of the alarming and very serious demographics it currently faces, which are absolutely startling. That’s only half of the story.
Let’s consider the following: 1) Black men are approximately 1.5 million and 60% of the prison population – if parity was achieved, nearly 1.3 million Black men would be home and making a contribution to Black life, Black family and the Black community; 2) 80% of all Black families are now headed by single parent head of households – if parity was achieved, nearly 4 million Black families would have two parents versus one parent; 3) Black male unemployment, specifically between the ages of 18 – 35 in the urban areas ranges between the low of 30% to the high of 55% – if parity was achieved, nearly 2 million more men would be employed; and 4) Black income is has exceeded $1 Trillion dollars annually and ownership of America’s wealth (est. $110 Trillion) is near zero – if parity was achieved, Black income would be approximately $4 Trillion and Black wealth would increase by nearly $14 Trillion – a recent study estimated that the 40 acres and a mule would be valued at nearly $7 Trillion dollars today.
Brother and sisters these numbers are INSANE and what’s more insane is that these numbers have become ACCEPTABLE BY TOO MANY BLACK PEOPLE ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE SO-CALLED DOING WELL.
The demographics above are only half of the story.
These numbers become further challenging because a “culture” of abnormal social behavior is growing with every generation creating more and more distractions.
In addition, many upwardly economically mobile Blacks have become consumed with a life of assimilation into mainstream American chasing the “illusion of inclusion.” If they were honest with themselves they would be truthful to acknowledge that acceptance is rarely ever achieved and this chase has become a massive distraction.
These distractions, are not only time consuming, but they have become instrumental in reducing many Blacks from participating in any organized efforts for Black self-determination (life has gotten in the way).
These internal and self-destructive behaviors leave the Black community at a serious crossroads and unable to defend itself. If this behavior isn’t corrected, generations of future Black children will be socialized to emulate this behavior.
I must reiterate that the negative demographics we read about are only half of the story, they are just outcomes.
If you want to change these outcomes we must examine the entire continuum (pipeline) which is currently and will continue to produce the negative demographics for the Black community.
When we only focus on the outcomes (back-end) we will never be able to determine whether the outcomes will change (i.e. improve, stay the same, worsen).
The Black community must develop both a front-end (preventive) and back-end (intervention) strategy that is aligned with a serious and organized assault on racist and discriminatory systems.
These systems are negatively influencing every aspect of the continuum.
When we isolate the systems and examine how they are organized to maintain the status quo and/or unjustly cripple the Black community (discrimination), then the Black community can build the capacity to mount a coordinated campaign to correct these injustices. Again, this must be done in conjunction with the implementation of both preventive and intervention strategies.
America is made up of a number of systems (i.e. criminal justice, education, financial, government, economic, health and medical, etc.) that are extremely orchestrated and operate based on existing laws, rules, regulations and the overarching policies that have been crafted by politicians. are These systems are being implemented by bureaucrats and influenced by public opinion – yes, public opinion.
All of these including people’s personal beliefs impact how these systems interact and work for or against Black people at every level.
This is why it’s so important to have equitable representation of Black people within all of these institutions.
Institutional racism and discrimination is extremely silent but extremely lethal and very hard to prove especially when Blacks are not in key positions to address historical and unfair practices.
People influence these systems at every level from when and how you enter the system; how you are treated while in the system; and how you are allow to exit the system. This is how I define the continuum (pipeline). These systems can change for the better if the Black community can win the public opinion battle to ensure equitable participation which requires an organized and coordinated BLACK VOICE.
In part one of this article I took a look at the criminal justice system as an example to demonstrate how the outcome (i.e. nearly 1.5 million Black men in prison representing 1.3 million disparity) will never change unless we understand the institutions that make up the criminal justice system.
The criminal justice is a system that deals with upholding laws, protecting citizens and prosecuting those who break the law and has three (3) main areas: law enforcement, judicial, and corrections. In part one of this article, I primarily focused on both the enforcement and judicial institutions aspects of the criminal justice system and now I will focus more on the correction’s institution.
• Law Enforcement System – Law enforcement involves all levels of the police forces (i.e. local police, sheriffs, state police, specialized criminal task forces, etc.).
The law enforcement function is perhaps the most visible because the police are typically the first contact an individual has with the criminal justice system.
Police patrol communities to help prevent crimes, investigate incidences of crime, and has the power to arrest people that are suspected of committing crimes.
When this aspect of the judicial is flawed and/or challenged, the input into the judicial system becomes skewed.
There are a number of conflicts that exist between the police and the Black community and in many cases many parts of the Black community live in a “police” state. TO CHANGE THE MASS INCARCERATION OF BLACK MALES WILL REQUIRE A CHANGE IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM.
• Court System – The court system involves all levels of the judicial courts (i.e. municipal, appellate, and state supreme courts); the volumes and volumes of laws and precedent that is operated and performed by attorneys (i.e. district attorneys, defense attorneys, judges, etc.); and the use of private citizens in the form of juries (i.e. grand juries, and juries, etc.).
The general position of the courts is that everyone is to be viewed as innocent until the court proves them guilty. In the courts, the guilt or innocence of the suspect is determined.
After the evidence is presented and weighed, and after the suspect, now defendant, is offered the opportunity to confront his accusers, he is either released or is found to have committed the alleged crimes.
TO CHANGE THE MASS INCARCERATION OF BLACK MALES WILL REQUIRE CHANGES IN THE COURT SYSTEM.
• Corrections System – The corrections system incorporates all forms of sentencing and punishment. It includes incarceration, probation, and parole.
A convicted criminal is the responsibility of corrections until his full sentence is served or commuted. Corrections institution includes prisons, jails and probation and community control officers.
The American corrections system is the largest in the world and also imprisons the largest minority (Blacks) in the world. Since 1971, America’s prison population has surged 700 percent.
Prisoners have become part of the economy, manufacturing and assembling products for major corporations, while private prisons have emerged as multi-billion dollar operations.
The likelihood that these staggering numbers will change is nearly impossible because under America’s correction system recidivism is nearly 75% which is directly tied to a punishment approach versus a rehabilitation approach by most prison systems.
In addition to the high number of incidents being drug related, there are practically no drug addiction programs being successfully operated in prison.
If any other institutions in America were as unsuccessful in achieving their ostensible purpose as our prisons are, we would shut them down tomorrow. Two-thirds of prisoners re-offend within three years of leaving prison, often with a more serious and violent offense.
More than 90 percent of prisoners return to the community within a few years (otherwise our prisons would be even more overcrowded than they already are).
That is why it is vitally important how we treat them while they are incarcerated.
There is a ton a research that has shown that the more severely prisoners are punished, the more violent they become. So, the only rational purpose for a prison is to restrain those who are violent from inflicting harm on themselves or others.
At the same time help them to change their behavior from that pattern to one that is nonviolent and even constructive. Then allowing them to return to the community. Therefore, instead of “hard time” and “punishment”, prisoners should be afforded every form of therapy needed (substance abuse treatment, psychotherapy, medical and dental care) in addition to every form of education needed (from elementary school to college and graduate school).
Getting a college degree while in prison is the only program that has ever been shown to be 100 percent effective for years or decades at a time in preventing recidivism. Prisoners should be treated with exactly the same degree of respect and kindness as we would hope they would show to others after they return to the community.
The punishment strategy is an extremely flawed approach to fixing the problem of the need for more and more prisons. Consider the following:
There are about 2.4 million people that are incarcerated in America. In 2012, there were 707 persons incarcerated per 100,000 populations compared to Russia its closes with 627 prisoners,
England’s rate at 151; Germany’s at 88; and Japan’s is 63 for every 100,000 people.
The United States with less than 5 percent of the world’s population has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.
Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners. China, which is four times more people (1.3 Billion) than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison.
America, the country that holds itself out as the “land of freedom” incarcerates a higher percentage of its people than any other country.
The human costs – wasted lives, wrecked families, troubled children – are incalculable, as are the adverse social, economic and political consequences of weakened communities, diminished opportunities for economic mobility, and extensive disenfranchisement.
Contrary to popular perception, violent crime is not responsible for the quadrupling of the incarcerated population in the United States since1980. In fact, violent crime rates have been relatively constant or declining over the past two decades.
The exploding prison population has been propelled by PUBLIC POLICY changes that have increased the use of prison sentences as well as the length of time served, e.g. through mandatory minimum sentencing, “three strikes” laws, and reductions in the availability of parole or early release.
Although these policies were championed as protecting the public from serious and violent offenders, they have instead yielded high rates of confinement of nonviolent offenders. Nearly three quarters of new admissions to state prison were convicted of nonviolent crimes.
Only 49 percent of sentenced state inmates are held for violent offenses. Perhaps the single greatest force behind the growth of the prison population has been the national “war on drugs.”
The number of incarcerated drug offenders has increased twelve-fold since 1980.
In 2000, 22 percent of those in federal and state prisons were convicted on drug charges.
Even more troubling than the absolute number of persons in jail or prison is the extent to which those men and women are African-American.
Although blacks account for only 12 percent of the U.S. population, nearly 50 percent of all prisoners in the United States are black (even this number has been skewed because when you measure only Black males between 18-35 the acceptable percentage should be more like 4% versus 50%).
Recent census data reveals the dramatic racial disproportion of the incarcerated population in each state: the proportion of blacks in prison populations exceeds the proportion among state residents in every single state.
In twenty states, the percent of blacks incarcerated is at least 5-10 times greater than their share of resident population.
The official figures confirm what those who live in Black communities know full well – too many Blacks men are behind bars. Indeed, nearly ten percent of all black men, compared to 0.6 percent of white men, are incarcerated. In many states the rate is far worse. TO CHANGE THE MASS INCARCERATION OF BLACK MALES WILL REQUIRE CHANGES IN THE CORRECTION SYSTEM.
