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"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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Greetings!
First I would like to thank Dr. Frank M. Reid for taking time out to spend with us inside of Baltimore City Correctional Center and teaching on Spiritual Development. I also would like to thank Dr. Reid for endorsing Youth Justice Sunday on October 31, 2010. The movement is growing and we are very encouraged. I also want to thank Rev. Heber Brown for his tireless work advocating for our youth. For those who believe the Black Church is Dead there is a resurrection taking place in Baltimore. I am proud to see so many young leaders linking arms and putting feet to their faith. Special thanks to Media Support Services for donating MICs and a sound system. Please support our local businesses that support justice! We are still in need of volunteers and if your church or organization would like to donate transportation services for Youth Justice Sunday please give me a call. I hope to see you at Youth Justice Sunday. Give Yourself Away! In love & service, Jamye Wooten Kinetics info@kineticnet.org www.Kineticnet.org 443.415.7974 
 
TRUCE PHOTO GALLERY If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 |
By Heber Brown, III
FaithinActionOnline.com
From L to R: Senator Catherine Pugh, Delegate Barbara Robinson, Delegate Shawn Tarrant, Delegate Frank Conaway, Jr., City Councilman Carl Stokes
The fight for the destiny of Black Children in Baltimore has intensified as hundreds of city residents, including high school students, college students, clergy, community activists, and many others, are voicing their firm opposition to Governor Martin O'Malley's plan to build a $104 Million Dollar Youth Jail at 600 E. Monument Street in a community already saturated with "correctional" facilities.
In overwhelming fashion, community members agree that this is not the best use of state tax dollars and there are more productive ways to engage issues surrounding youth offenders specifically and public safety generally. The truth of the matter is that 40% of all prison and correctional facilities in the state of Maryland are found in Baltimore City. Given that, outside observers might be led to conclude that Baltimore City has to be one of the safest places in the state given the mountain of resources that have been thrown into building barns with bars for all the "bad guys". Those closer to the situation know differently and even without the statistical data or the political polish, most Black Baltimoreans especially know instinctively that building more jails does not mean increasing public safety. We also know that if resources are invested on the front-end of life; then the need for these types of facilities diminishes greatly.
Despite this common wisdom that permeates many Black communities in Baltimore; there seems to be a disconnect between the will of Black Baltimoreans and the actions of Black politicians. While community members and grassroots activists have been vocal in stating and demonstrating their opposition to Governor Martin O'Malley's $104 Million Dollar Youth Jail; far too many Black Politicians in Baltimore have offered up only muted support or worse. The majority of Black elected officials in Baltimore City have been virtually silent on this issue causing many to believe that they have made a pact with the devil (so to speak) to gain political favor in exchange for their betrayal of their own community. (Delegate Jill Carter from District 41 being the notable and laudable exception. Thank you, Del. Carter!)
In the throes of a contentious gubernatorial election, rumors abound that Governor Martin O'Malley's campaign team has been contacting youth-serving organizations, advocacy groups, and politicians in the city requesting their silence on the issue of the youth jail scheduled to be built in East Baltimore. While these claims have yet to be fully substantiated; one wonders how else it can be explained that persons who are accustomed to being "in the know" and on top of the latest and largest things going on in the city have yet to say much at all about a $100 million dollar-plus project coming to East Baltimore. It is almost as if the project doesn't exist.
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Tough on Crime Policies Not Working for Youth Charged as Adults
Maryland's 20 year experiment with the "tough on crime" approach of automatically sending youth into adult criminal courts, jails and prisons for certain offenses has failed. National studies show that youth who are sent to adult facilities go on to commit more-and more violent-crimes than those who received rehabilitative services in the juvenile system. This costs taxpayers much more in the long run. Automatically charging youth as adults has been politically popular. But the data show that when their cases are individually considered, most cases in Baltimore are dismissed or sent to the juvenile system, raising the question of whether they should have been put in the adult system in the first place.
Why Are So Many Youth Charged as Adults?
Since the 1990s, Maryland legislators have approved laws requiring that a youth charged with any of 33 different offenses will automatically be charged as an adult, and will be held in an adult jail for months or even years while waiting for trial.
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Is the Black Church Dead? Panel Discussion
Thursday, October 21st, 2010, 6:00pm
James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary
3041 Broadway A roundtable discussion on the future of black churches in America with: - Reverend Otis Moss III, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago
- Reverend Eboni K. Marshall, Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York
- Josef Sorett, Assistant Professor of Religion at Columbia University
- Anthea Butler, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
- Eddie Glaude, William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African-American Studies at Princeton University
- Fredrick C. Harris, Professor of Political Science at Columbia University
- Obery Hendricks, Jr., Professor of Biblical Interpretation at New York Theological Seminary and Visiting Scholar at Columbia University.
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5 Die In Violent 15 Hour Period In Baltimore
Community Leaders Work To Break Cycle Of Violence
In all, officers said five people were killed in Baltimore City in less than 24 hours. Dr. Frank Reid, of Bethel AME Church, said he believes Baltimore has long been caught up in an epidemic of violence involving young black men.
"These shootings over the last few days are created by a society and a culture that minimizes the importance of life," Reid said. "We cannot continue the politics of turning on each other. We now need to turn to each other and come up with a solution to this violence."
Reid said his solution is to join forces with other community leaders such as Jamye Wooten, of Kinetics Faith & Justice.
Read More/Watch Video |
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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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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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
Baltimore Racial Justice Action
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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