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"Few people recognize the fact that Jesus got into trouble not so much because he believed in God but because he believed in the sacred worth of the individual soul."
Benjamin Elijah Mays, in Seeking to Be Christian
"Churches must move from a position where people serve the structure of the church to a position where its structure serves people's needs."
C. Gene Wilkes, "Jesus on Leadership" |
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Discipline rate of black students in Del., elsewhere is probed
Federal investigators are in the process of visiting all of Christina's schools and have requested detailed discipline data for at least the last two academic years. Education Secretary Arne Duncan first mentioned districts were being investigated at a conference in late September hosted by the Department of Education's civil rights office and the Department of Justice's civil rights division. Besides Delaware, the school districts under review are in New York, North Carolina, Utah and Minnesota. |
Thursday 10 September 2009
by: Tolu Olorunda | The Black Commentator
(Photo: Palgrave Macmillan)
"In a radical free-market culture, when hope is precarious and bound to commodities and a corrupt financial system, young people are no longer at risk: they are the risk."
- Giroux, Henry. "Youth in a Suspect Society: Democracy or Disposability?" New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, p. x.
"If youth once constituted a social investment in the future and symbolized the promise of a better world, they are now entering another stage in the construction of a global social order in which children are increasingly demonized and criminalized ..."
- Ibid. p. 29.
"As the politics of the social state gives way to the biopolitics of disposability, the prison becomes a preeminently valued institution whose disciplinary practices become a model for dealing with the increasing number of young people who are considered to be the waste products of a market-mediated society."
- Ibid. p. 82.
It need not be said, though I find it necessary to restate, that Henry Giroux is one of the most important public servants the last 100 years have produced. In his expansive three decade plus academic career, Henry has written over 35 books, contributed to countless scholarly journals, and received numerous educational honors.
But perhaps what most makes this former high school basketball star distinct is his tireless advocacy on behalf of the frail, the vulnerable, the disposable. Henry has focused much of his writing over the fragile existence disenfranchised populations are largely relegated to. Giroux's "critical sympathy" to the often forgotten, as Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson once mentioned, is what pushes him time after time to engage issues many of his peers would rather stay far away from - for fear of sanction, resentment, or job loss. Read More
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Gov. O'Malley's Youth Jail: "Black People, What Ya'll Goin' Do?"
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State Comptroller Peter Franchot on O'Malley's Youth Jail: "I'll follow the Governor's lead"
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Councilwoman Rikki Spector on O'Malley's $104 Million Dollar Youth Jail: "It's Terrible!"
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Racial Disparities Remain High in Juvenile Arrests
Drop In Overall Arrests Shows More Direct Approach Needed
Advocates for Children & Youth
Executive Summary
African-American youth in Maryland continue to be arrested at a much higher rate than White youth, according to new data obtained and analyzed by Advocates for Children and Youth. This disparity persists despite an overall drop in youth arrests. To reduce disproportionate arrests of minority youth, state and local agencies, particularly schools and school law enforcement and resource officers, must employ proven strategies that more specifically target the problem.
Read Report
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Data Makes Case to Scrap New Juvenile Jail
July 26, 2010 | by Diana Morris and Tom Wilcox
The following originally appeared in the Maryland Daily Record.
Maryland governor Martin O'Malley is known for his attention to data-driven policy and his focus on good government. As longtime partners in his work in juvenile justice, we know the governor will carefully consider the data that led to the decision to build a new jail for youth charged as adults in Baltimore.
And we believe the data lead to one conclusion: The proposed jail should be scrapped.
Conceived at a time when the number of juvenile defendants was rising and state coffers were full, the $104-million jail now makes little sense from a financial, legal, or policy perspective. State legislators and the criminal courts can do much to address the issue without building an expensive new jail. Read More
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Maryland Correctional Enterprises
According to Maryland Correctional Enterprises, the prison industry arm of the Maryland Division of Correction, "In fiscal year 2010, Maryland Correctional Enterprises had unaudited revenues of $50.4 million ...MCE is currently ranked among the top 10 prison industry programs in the United States; ranking 8th in regards to total revenues generated and 6th in the number of inmates employed."
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O'Malley's Building a $104 Million Dollar Youth Jail: "Black People, What Ya'll Goin' Do?"
Last week, President Obama came to Maryland last week to stump for U.S. Senator, Barbara Mikulski and Governor Martin O'Malley. The plug for O'Malley, which happened on the campus of Bowie State University - a historically Black College/University, was particularly curious because it's still fresh in the minds of many Marylanders that Martin O'Malley was a very vocal supporter of Hilary Clinton during the presidential election of 2008. The irony of hearing O'Malley speak in such glowing terms about President Obama now and to hear Obama reciprocate - identifying O'Malley as a democrat who has always had his back - is quite interesting.
One of the most poignant comments captured for me from that day didn't come from anyone on the stage. It actually came from Brenda Pridgen. Here's the clip from The Baltimore Sun: Brenda Pridgen, a 59-year-old Baltimore resident, said she is not particularly enthusiastic about O'Malley but came to the Obama rally to "restore my understanding that the whole country has not gone crazy." She said she plans to vote for O'Malley reluctantly. "When you have two devils to choose from, you might as well pick the one who is more progressive," Pridgen said |
Locating the School-to-Prison Pipeline
The "school-to-prison pipeline" refers to the policies and practices that push our nation's schoolchildren, especially our most at-risk children, out of classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This pipeline reflects the prioritization of incarceration over education. For a growing number of students, the path to incarceration includes the following "stops":
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Mapping and Analyzing The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track Action Kit
This Action Kit is intended to help mobilized communities (parents, youth, advocates, and educators) understand and begin to address the schoolhouse to jailhouse track so that they may ultimately create caring learning environments that push students toward colleges and careers rather than prison. It includes information on:
- Collecting information and data about school discipline policies and practices;
- Analyzing and organizing the data; and
- Developing messages that resonate with your audience.
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POLICING IN SCHOOLS:
DEVELOPING A GOVERNANCE DOCUMENT
FOR SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS IN K-12 SCHOOLS
AN ACLU WHITE PAPER
BY CATHERINE Y. KIM AND I. INDIA GERONIMO
PUBLISHED AUGUST 2009
INTRODUCTION
K-12 public schools across the country have begun to deploy law enforcement agents on school grounds in growing numbers. Although there are no current national figures for the number of such officers, in 2004, 60 percent of high school teachers reported armed police officers stationed on school grounds,1 and in 2005, almost 70 percent of public school students ages 12 to 18 reported that police officers or security guards patrol their hallways.
Frequently referred to as "School Resource Officers" or SROs, these agents are often sworn police officers employed by the local police department and assigned to patrol public school hallways full-time. In larger jurisdictions such as Los Angeles and Houston, these officers may be employed directly by the school district.
Without addressing the question of whether police officers should be deployed to schools in the first instance, this White Paper posits that if they are deployed, they must be provided with the tools necessary to ensure a safe school environment while respecting the rights of students and the overall school climate.
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About Us
... You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. (Isaiah. 58:12)
Kinetics mission is to develop new ideas that work to strengthen social movements within the African-American community; providing them with the tools and skills to pursue justice and better address the needs of those whom they serve.
Kinetics is a project of Fusion Partnerships, Inc. | |
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Kinetics and our allies will host Youth Justice Sunday, October 31, 2010 on the site of the proposed $100 Million Youth Jail.
If your church or organization would like to endorse Youth Justice Sunday please contact us @ info@kineticnet.org
You can also connect with us on FACEBOOK @ Stop Martin O'Malley's Youth Jail
Call the governor (410)974-3901. Sign the electronic petition . If you would like to volunteer, contact me @ info@kineticnet.org
Please join us for Prayer, Worship and Justice
Youth Justice Sunday Endorsers
Dr. Karen Bethea, Set the Captives Free Outreach Center
Rev. Heber Brown, III, Pleasant Hope Baptist Church
Rev. Kevin Brooks, Gethsemane African Methodist Episcopal
Pastor Ronald Covington, Hope Community Ministries
Rev. Frances Toni Draper, Freedom Temple AME Zion
Rev. Dr. Al Hathaway, Union Baptist Church of Baltimore
Pastor Danita Abrams, True Redemption Ministries International Church
S. Maxine Johnson, Redeeming Word Praise & Worship Center Church
Min. LeVar A. Jones, City Youth Leaders Network
Rev. Eric King, New Life UMC in Baltimore
Rev. Lester Agyei McCorn, Pennsylvania A.M.E. Zion
Bishop Douglas Miles, Koinonia Baptist Church in Baltimore
Pastor Kinji Scott, My Father's House of Baltimore City
West Baltimore Clergy United
Algebra Project
Baltimore ANSWER Coalition (Act Now To Stop War And End Racism)
Baltimore Citizens for Positive Change
Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle
Sister to Sister, Inc.
T.R.U.C.E. MOVEMENT
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood."
-Martin Luther King Jr., "Strength to Love" |
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