This is a blog supported by students in Dr. Andre E Johnson's African and African American Studies classes at the University of Memphis. It is open to anyone wanting to comment.
Growing up in the hood, a lot of the boys in my neighborhood went to juvenile, then later on jail for having weed on them, or selling it. They all had public defenders, and they all pled guilty to the crime. I don't think they realized then, the effects of being labeled a convicted FELON. For some I know for a fact that it was a way to get out of jail, and not serve time. Fast forward 15 years, these same convicted FELONS do not have jobs, and have been in and out of jail too many times to count. The couple of ones that have a good job, have lied to their jobs about their convictions. How do I know? They are some of my own friends and family memebers. It's so sad, but everything Michelle Alexander said is true. Some of the things I have thought about, but others I have not. Once you are labeled a felon all of your rights are taken away. How can you get out of jail and expect to find a job when no one will hire you? Employment applications say that they do not discriminate, but that is a DAMN LIE! I remember at the age of 16, working at Burger King, and hearing and seeing a previous boss throwing away applications and saying that "they don't want felons working for them." I always thought that it took a lot of courage to mark the box and tell what happened to them. I always thought that telling the TRUTH would at least get some credit points. But most jobs just don't want FELONS working for them. Convicted felons=1 in 7 mn can't vote, 70% of jobs won't consider hiring a felon, Housing discrimination-no public housing, Denied the right to vote, No jury duty, No benefits--food stamps. What are felons expected to do? Without a job, money, a place to live, many will continue to do the same things that got them in jail in the first place. 70% of released prisoners will return back to prison within 3 years! This is a sad reality, and I do not see anything changing anytime soon.
I thought that when a person was sentenced they were "paying your debt to society." It seems as if that debt will never be paid off. More money is spent on building prisons than on educating our children. Once you are in the "SYSTEM" it is hard to get out. In some families going to prison is like a badge of honor, but no one tells them the implications of how being a CONVICTED FELON will impact the rest of their lives. I know so many black men that have fallen victim to the drug life and are paying the price today. Not being able to vote, not be able to qualify for financial aid to attend a school of higher learning, no food stamps, public housing and if they have children, NO VOLUNTEERING at their school. This is a serious issue that affects black families everyday. I wish that we would learn from example and not follow in the footsteps of those who have traveled down this road.
I think it's just insane how more people are under the control of some kind of prison/jail or probation or patrol than were inslaved in 1850! I just can't get over this single fact that she states. Does that not take you for a loop or make you step back and think about our judicial system? I completely agree that racial discrimination has just taken a different form instead of diminished. We can clearly see that it has taken a different form by looking at the prison system.
Ms. Alexander has some vaild points. I grew up with three younger brothers and my mother in urban hoods and we never really had a positive male figure in our household. I am older than my brothers so until they hit they're teens, I was overprotective of them because I didn't want them to end up like their dad. Often times in single parent households where the father isn't present, it becomes the mother's sole responsibility to raise boys to be men, which can be hard, especially if you're not finicially stable. I tried to explain to my brothers that the system is especially hard on them because they young black men, and they are usually juvenile deliquent targets. I think its pitiful that they can raise eyebrows in suspicion simply because they are young black males. Every since the death of one of his friends due to heart compications, my brother has ran into trouble with the system. Never anything serious, mostly fighting. However, just for fighting with one of his friends without any actual harm being done, they tried to put him away for a year. I thought this was ridiculous when I have a white girlfriend whose brother went to jail for shooting someone and was out in a week. Not to mention, there is more concern of conviction rate downtown, so half the teenagers who spend the night in jail commit small violations that don't even call for handcuffs. I find it rather odd that they are trying to build more prisons when schools' budgets are being cut and some are being taken over by the state.
The inequalities between the punishments for White offenders and Black offenders is reprehensible. Ms. Alexander has made strong correlations between the prison system and the discrimination seen from the Jim Crow Laws. The statistics she presents are astounding and are a motivation to action. What I appreciate so much from Ms. Alexander's lecture was that she presents the problems, and presents various ways to attempt to solve them. I did object to one thing she appears to think might possibly see as a way to decrease the incarceration of all races, that being the legalization of drugs. I understand that drug violence can be correlated with the drug market being destabilized by arrests, but I will never be in favor of legally allowing people to fall deeper into addictions that destroy lives. Overall, I believe this lecture to be a an eye opening example to the dire need to eradicate discrimination.
Wow, Ms. Alexander has raised the bar when it comes to providing strong stastics and correlations on racial inequalities within our prison systems. To think that you would entertain the idea of comparing the prison systems with Jim Crow laws would be a slap in the face to many. It appears that jail is another form of slavery. Think about it. When you are in jail, you are able to work to reduce your sentence. The labor that they provide is free. Cleaning the side of highways, for some there is work release where you work and pay for your stay at the facility. What she states has really futher open my eyes to the state that our soiciety is going in. To be honest it is a cycle. Slavery is just being presented differently. This was a really good lecture as well.
Growing up in the hood, a lot of the boys in my neighborhood went to juvenile, then later on jail for having weed on them, or selling it. They all had public defenders, and they all pled guilty to the crime. I don't think they realized then, the effects of being labeled a convicted FELON. For some I know for a fact that it was a way to get out of jail, and not serve time.
ReplyDeleteFast forward 15 years, these same convicted FELONS do not have jobs, and have been in and out of jail too many times to count. The couple of ones that have a good job, have lied to their jobs about their convictions. How do I know? They are some of my own friends and family memebers.
It's so sad, but everything Michelle Alexander said is true. Some of the things I have thought about, but others I have not. Once you are labeled a felon all of your rights are taken away. How can you get out of jail and expect to find a job when no one will hire you? Employment applications say that they do not discriminate, but that is a DAMN LIE! I remember at the age of 16, working at Burger King, and hearing and seeing a previous boss throwing away applications and saying that "they don't want felons working for them."
I always thought that it took a lot of courage to mark the box and tell what happened to them. I always thought that telling the TRUTH would at least get some credit points. But most jobs just don't want FELONS working for them.
Convicted felons=1 in 7 mn can't vote, 70% of jobs won't consider hiring a felon, Housing discrimination-no public housing, Denied the right to vote, No jury duty, No benefits--food stamps. What are felons expected to do? Without a job, money, a place to live, many will continue to do the same things that got them in jail in the first place. 70% of released prisoners will return back to prison within 3 years! This is a sad reality, and I do not see anything changing anytime soon.
I thought that when a person was sentenced they were "paying your debt to society." It seems as if that debt will never be paid off. More money is spent on building prisons than on educating our children. Once you are in the "SYSTEM" it is hard to get out. In some families going to prison is like a badge of honor, but no one tells them the implications of how being a CONVICTED FELON will impact the rest of their lives. I know so many black men that have fallen victim to the drug life and are paying the price today. Not being able to vote, not be able to qualify for financial aid to attend a school of higher learning, no food stamps, public housing and if they have children, NO VOLUNTEERING at their school. This is a serious issue that affects black families everyday. I wish that we would learn from example and not follow in the footsteps of those who have traveled down this road.
ReplyDeleteI think it's just insane how more people are under the control of some kind of prison/jail or probation or patrol than were inslaved in 1850! I just can't get over this single fact that she states. Does that not take you for a loop or make you step back and think about our judicial system? I completely agree that racial discrimination has just taken a different form instead of diminished. We can clearly see that it has taken a different form by looking at the prison system.
ReplyDeleteMs. Alexander has some vaild points. I grew up with three younger brothers and my mother in urban hoods and we never really had a positive male figure in our household. I am older than my brothers so until they hit they're teens, I was overprotective of them because I didn't want them to end up like their dad. Often times in single parent households where the father isn't present, it becomes the mother's sole responsibility to raise boys to be men, which can be hard, especially if you're not finicially stable. I tried to explain to my brothers that the system is especially hard on them because they young black men, and they are usually juvenile deliquent targets. I think its pitiful that they can raise eyebrows in suspicion simply because they are young black males. Every since the death of one of his friends due to heart compications, my brother has ran into trouble with the system. Never anything serious, mostly fighting. However, just for fighting with one of his friends without any actual harm being done, they tried to put him away for a year. I thought this was ridiculous when I have a white girlfriend whose brother went to jail for shooting someone and was out in a week. Not to mention, there is more concern of conviction rate downtown, so half the teenagers who spend the night in jail commit small violations that don't even call for handcuffs. I find it rather odd that they are trying to build more prisons when schools' budgets are being cut and some are being taken over by the state.
ReplyDeleteThe inequalities between the punishments for White offenders and Black offenders is reprehensible. Ms. Alexander has made strong correlations between the prison system and the discrimination seen from the Jim Crow Laws. The statistics she presents are astounding and are a motivation to action. What I appreciate so much from Ms. Alexander's lecture was that she presents the problems, and presents various ways to attempt to solve them. I did object to one thing she appears to think might possibly see as a way to decrease the incarceration of all races, that being the legalization of drugs. I understand that drug violence can be correlated with the drug market being destabilized by arrests, but I will never be in favor of legally allowing people to fall deeper into addictions that destroy lives. Overall, I believe this lecture to be a an eye opening example to the dire need to eradicate discrimination.
ReplyDeleteWow, Ms. Alexander has raised the bar when it comes to providing strong stastics and correlations on racial inequalities within our prison systems. To think that you would entertain the idea of comparing the prison systems with Jim Crow laws would be a slap in the face to many. It appears that jail is another form of slavery. Think about it. When you are in jail, you are able to work to reduce your sentence. The labor that they provide is free. Cleaning the side of highways, for some there is work release where you work and pay for your stay at the facility. What she states has really futher open my eyes to the state that our soiciety is going in. To be honest it is a cycle. Slavery is just being presented differently. This was a really good lecture as well.
ReplyDelete