The President's Call to Support Vick's Turnaround: Political or Visionary?
Well as the year draws to a close I thought that everything that could have happen had happened. Then once again, never say never or don't wait for the fat lady to start singing. In learning that the President of the United States had called the employer of the Philadelphia Eagles professional football team to thank him for giving Michael Vick a second chance and to praise Vick's efforts, quite frankly, caught me by surprise. At the same time I naturally became suspicious because everything that happens within the beltway appears to be about politics that often plays out to screw the constituencies that elected them in the first place.
None the less President Obama shrewd move inadvertently brought much attention to the plight of disproportionate incarceration of black men and the further horrors experienced after they are lucky enough to be release. But for a moment just forget about this singular act of, let's say, politeness as the voices of attention have become louder in the plea to get some attention to a social epidemic that has all but devastated generations of black men and black families. Indeed it is a systemic problem that calls for immediate and dynamic leadership to even tilt the flow magnitude of its effects.
Dr. Boyce Watkins, founder of the Black World Coalition writes: Most of us in the African American community have a relative or friend who has been hit hard by this system. Many of us have even been affected ourselves. What's most interesting about the prison system is that people have convinced us that racial disparities in sentencing, arrests and incarcerations are primarily the result of African Americans choosing to embrace their own demise. This could not be farther from the truth. (Black Men in Prison: What Obama Must Fix Right Now).
He continues to iterate how the consequences inevitably contribute to the our (the black community) demise and the since of urgency is real, right now, where the present Administration is running out of time. Talking at the problem and talking running from the problem do nothing. Our time might be better spent asking political figures why they do things that don't make any sense, such as spending $49,000 per year per inmate (as the state of California does) when they could provide effective education for inner-city children at a much lower cost. We might also ask why inmates have their rights to vote, get jobs or attend college revoked after they are released when we know that marginalizing the ex-convict only increases the likelihood of recidivism.
But as mentioned earlier, advocates like Dr. Watkins have been doing it for a while and the list of concerned citizens (especially blacks) is growing and institutions like the black media are becoming more aggressive. One such Internet based media outlet is the Black Agenda Report lead by Glen Ford, Bruce Dixon, some truly dynamic contributing editors/writers, they are consistently hammering at the root causes of inequality and injustices, and how many of its victims are left lost in places like the industrial prison complex. Hard hitting Senior Columnist Margaret Kimberley gives apiece about how black parents are rotting a way in jail and how the whole black family is adversely effected. From the war on drugs, to welfare “reform,” to child support enforcement which doesn’t send money to needy children, black people have been proponents of legislation which makes their already vulnerable situation all the more tenuous. The war on drugs has created a system of mass incarceration, a new Jim Crow. Welfare reform punishes individuals who are the least able to emerge from poverty and reduces what is an already weak safety net. (Freedom Rider: Parents in Jail).
Managing Editor Bruce Dixon reports on the current Georgia Prisoner Strike: This is a groundbreaking event not only because inmates are standing up for themselves and their own human rights, but because prisoners are setting an example by reaching across racial boundaries which, in prisons, have historically been used to pit oppressed communities against each other. (GA Prison Inmates Stage 1-Day Peaceful Strike Today).
From the Boykins, Sharptons, Jacksons to the Smiths, Kimberleys and from the NAACPS and the Justice Policy Institute, to educators, activists, prisoners, mothers, fathers, children, preachers and teachers many are finding the need to come forward to advocate the stopping the hemorrhaging of the black community brought on by culprits such as the unjust prison system.
Now the President has dropped his hat into the ring (so to speak). Hopefully its not just a continuous of crumb droppings found throughout the landscapes of poor constituents (the ones who got him elected). Instead, people expect but this sign of sensitivity will evolve to Him listening to a community that really can use more than token ramblings. All fronts of the black community need a black President to remember his own. I challenge the black community to persevere and fight until a rightful change has come.
...Forget your political allegiances or feelings about Michael Vick and take a step back to think about this. The sitting president of the United States went out of his way to publicly praise a man who, 3 1/2 years ago, many thought would never play again in the NFL. Even the most ardent believers in Vick couldn't have fathomed a turn-around like this. Chris Chase, Yahoo News, 12/27/2010
None the less President Obama shrewd move inadvertently brought much attention to the plight of disproportionate incarceration of black men and the further horrors experienced after they are lucky enough to be release. But for a moment just forget about this singular act of, let's say, politeness as the voices of attention have become louder in the plea to get some attention to a social epidemic that has all but devastated generations of black men and black families. Indeed it is a systemic problem that calls for immediate and dynamic leadership to even tilt the flow magnitude of its effects.
Dr. Boyce Watkins, founder of the Black World Coalition writes: Most of us in the African American community have a relative or friend who has been hit hard by this system. Many of us have even been affected ourselves. What's most interesting about the prison system is that people have convinced us that racial disparities in sentencing, arrests and incarcerations are primarily the result of African Americans choosing to embrace their own demise. This could not be farther from the truth. (Black Men in Prison: What Obama Must Fix Right Now).
He continues to iterate how the consequences inevitably contribute to the our (the black community) demise and the since of urgency is real, right now, where the present Administration is running out of time. Talking at the problem and talking running from the problem do nothing. Our time might be better spent asking political figures why they do things that don't make any sense, such as spending $49,000 per year per inmate (as the state of California does) when they could provide effective education for inner-city children at a much lower cost. We might also ask why inmates have their rights to vote, get jobs or attend college revoked after they are released when we know that marginalizing the ex-convict only increases the likelihood of recidivism.
Why is it that more than half of all black men in America don't finish high school? Why is the unemployment rate in powerful cities like New York at 50 percent for Black men? Why did Congress abolish Pell grants for prisoners in 1994 that virtually eliminated all 350-incarceration college programs across the country? Rev. Sharpton
But as mentioned earlier, advocates like Dr. Watkins have been doing it for a while and the list of concerned citizens (especially blacks) is growing and institutions like the black media are becoming more aggressive. One such Internet based media outlet is the Black Agenda Report lead by Glen Ford, Bruce Dixon, some truly dynamic contributing editors/writers, they are consistently hammering at the root causes of inequality and injustices, and how many of its victims are left lost in places like the industrial prison complex. Hard hitting Senior Columnist Margaret Kimberley gives apiece about how black parents are rotting a way in jail and how the whole black family is adversely effected. From the war on drugs, to welfare “reform,” to child support enforcement which doesn’t send money to needy children, black people have been proponents of legislation which makes their already vulnerable situation all the more tenuous. The war on drugs has created a system of mass incarceration, a new Jim Crow. Welfare reform punishes individuals who are the least able to emerge from poverty and reduces what is an already weak safety net. (Freedom Rider: Parents in Jail).
Managing Editor Bruce Dixon reports on the current Georgia Prisoner Strike: This is a groundbreaking event not only because inmates are standing up for themselves and their own human rights, but because prisoners are setting an example by reaching across racial boundaries which, in prisons, have historically been used to pit oppressed communities against each other. (GA Prison Inmates Stage 1-Day Peaceful Strike Today).
From the Boykins, Sharptons, Jacksons to the Smiths, Kimberleys and from the NAACPS and the Justice Policy Institute, to educators, activists, prisoners, mothers, fathers, children, preachers and teachers many are finding the need to come forward to advocate the stopping the hemorrhaging of the black community brought on by culprits such as the unjust prison system.
Now the President has dropped his hat into the ring (so to speak). Hopefully its not just a continuous of crumb droppings found throughout the landscapes of poor constituents (the ones who got him elected). Instead, people expect but this sign of sensitivity will evolve to Him listening to a community that really can use more than token ramblings. All fronts of the black community need a black President to remember his own. I challenge the black community to persevere and fight until a rightful change has come.
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