Oct. 17, 2016

18 Examples of Racism in Criminal Legal System
By Bill Quigley

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Louisiana Weekly

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Racism may well be the biggest crime in the criminal legal system. If present trends continue, one of every four African-American males born this decade can expect to go to prison in his lifetime despite the fact that the Census Bureau reports that the U.S. is 13 percent Black, 61 percent white and 17 percent Latino.

When Brown v Board of Education was decided in 1954 about 100,000 African Americans were in prison. Now there are about 800,000 African Americans in jails and prisons: 538,000 in prisons and over 263,000 in local jails. Black men are nearly six times as likely to be incarcerated as white men and Hispanic men are 2.3 times as likely, according to the Sentencing Project.

Why? Because our country has dramatically expanded our jails and prisons and there is deep racism built into every step of the criminal legal system. Some think the criminal legal system has big problems that need to be reformed. Others think the racism in the criminal legal system is helping it operate exactly as it has been designed to incarcerate as many Black and brown people as possible.

Here are 18 examples of racism in parts of different stages of the system. Taken together, the racism in each of these steps accelerates the process of incarceration of African- American and Latino males. Together, they demonstrate that racism may well be the biggest crime in the criminal legal system.

1. Racism in Police Stops
Who is stopped by the police, either in cars or on foot, continues to be highly racialized as proof of racial profiling continues to accumulate. University of Kansas professors found the police conducted investigatory stops of African-American males at twice the rate of Whites. A Black man in Kansas City 25 or younger has a 28 percent chance of being stopped, while a similar white male has only a 12 percent chance. In New York City, police continue to stop Black and Hispanics at rates far higher than whites even though they are stopping many less people due to a successful civil rights federal court challenge by the Center for Constitutional Rights. One of the most illuminating studies is in Connecticut which showed racial disparities in traffic stops during the daytime, when the race of the driver can be seen, but not at night.

2. Racism in Police Searches
Once stopped, during traffic stops, three times as many Black and Hispanic drivers were searched as White drivers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. According to the same U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, White drivers were also given tickets at a slightly lower rate than Black and Hispanic drivers.

3. Racism in Police Use of Force during Arrest
A recent report by Center for Policing Equity found that police are more likely to use force like tasers, dogs, pepper spray and physical force against Black people than White people in making arrests.

4. Racism in Juvenile Arrests
Black youth are twice as likely to be arrested for crimes in school as White kids, over 2.5 times as likely to be arrested for curfew violations as white kids, twice as likely as white kids to be arrested for all crimes, and much more likely to be held in detention than white kids, according to the Sentencing Project.

5. Racism in Transgender Arrests
Hundreds of thousands of gay and transgender youth are arrested or detained every year and more than 60 percent are Black or Latino according to the Center for American Progress.

6. Racism in Arrests for Drugs
Start with the fact that Whites and Blacks use and abuse drugs at about the same rates. This is proven by the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This study found drug and alcohol abuse among Whites and Blacks nearly the same with Blacks reporting one percent higher on drug use than Whites while Whites have three percent higher rates of binge alcohol and one percent higher rates of substance abuse or dependence.

But when it comes to drug arrests, Blacks are arrested at a rate more than twice their percentage in the population. Twenty-nine percent of drug arrests, according to FBI statistics, are of African-American people.

7. Racism in Police Arrests for Marijuana
While marijuana use is similar in Black and White communities, Blacks are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana as Whites.

8. Racism in Pre-trial Release
The National Academy of Sciences found that Blacks are more likely than Whites to be incarcerated while awaiting trial.

9. Racism in Prosecution Charges
Federal prosecutors are almost twice as likely to file charges carrying mandatory minimum sentences for African Americans than Whites accused of the same crimes according to a study published by the University of Michigan Law School.

10. Racism in Prison versus Community Service
The National Academy of Sciences stated that Blacks are more likely than whites to received prison terms rather than community service. Black people are imprisoned at twice the rate of white people in the U.S. according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

11. Racism in Length of Incarceration
The National Academy of Sciences stated that, after conviction, Blacks are more likely than Whites to receive longer sentences.

12. Racism in State Drug Incarceration
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports 208,000 people are in state prisons for drug offenses. Of this number, 32 percent are White and 68 percent are African-American or Hispanic.

13. Racism in Federal Drug Convictions
More than half of all federal prisoners are there for drug offenses. The U.S. Sentencing Commission reported 25 percent of all federal drug convictions in 2014 were of African-Americans and 47 percent were Hispanics versus 24 percent of Whites. In federal prisons, 22 percent are white and 76 percent are African-American or Hispanic.

14. Racism in Federal Court Sentencing
African-American men were sentenced to 19 percent longer time periods in federal courts across the U.S. than White men convicted of similar crimes in a four-year study conducted by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

15. Racism in Incarceration of Women
Black women are incarcerated at a rate nearly three times higher than White women.

16. Racism in Sentencing to Life Without Parole
Over 65 percent of prisoners serving life without parole for nonviolent offenses are Black.

17. Racism in Hiring People with Criminal Record
Having a criminal record hurts a person’s ability to get a job. But it hurts Black men worse. In fact, White men with a criminal record have a better chance of getting a positive response in a job search than Black men without a criminal record. This has been confirmed by a study of 6,000 applications in Arizona and an earlier study in Milwaukee and New York City.

18. Racism in Eliminating the Right to Vote
The impact of this is devastating. For example, one of every 13 African-Americans has lost their right to vote due to felony disenfranchisement versus one in every 56 non-Black voters.

Taken together, these facts demonstrate the deep racism embedded in the criminal legal system. None dare call this justice.

Oct. 16, 2016

Blackonomics
The Cost of Living
By James Clingman

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Since our political discussions are now X-Rated, so much so that we must ask the children to leave the room before we watch the news, the speeches, and the debates, we need to add another concern to the X-Rated list:  Social Security.  Silly me, that pales in comparison to what’s really important, doesn’t it?

Hillary’s emails, Bill and Donald’s dalliances and sexual conquests are obviously far more critical (and titillating) than a small issue like our disabled and elderly being able to live out their lives without having to worry about silly things like eating, breathing, and paying for life-saving medicines and treatments.

Yes, the cost of living is increasing every day, but cost of living allowances (COLA) for those on Social Security are non-existent or ridiculously and embarrassingly low.  The latest COLA “increases” for those most in need were cited in an article on CNN Money.

“Checks for 66 million beneficiaries will rise between 0.2% to 0.5% in 2017. That works out to between $2.61 and $6.53 a month more for the typical retiree, according to the American Institute for Economic Research, a nonpartisan think tank.”  Say what?!!

The article continues, “The average retirement benefit check is currently $1,305.30, according to government figures.  This is by far the smallest percentage increase of any year in which benefits did rise.  But it's better than 2016, when Social Security checks didn't increase at all. There have only been three years without any increase at all since Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment was put in place in 1975 -- 2010, 2011 and 2016.”

Someone said a nation is judged by how it treats the least among its citizens.  There is also something that was said by a very special person once: “…what you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.”  (Matthew 25:45)

If this nation does not come to its senses and get its priorities properly aligned, it’s not going to matter in the least who is the next resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  The ethical and moral slide we are on right now is reprehensible and so detrimental to our young people.  Moreover, we are standing by while our elders are dying for lack of essentials, having to make choices between food and rent, oxygen and heat or cooling and life-saving medicine.

The EpiPen controversy, where the cost was raised over 400% to an outrageous $608.00 for two Epinephrine pens that, according to industry experts cost no more than $30.00 (some say $20.00) to make and only $2.00 for the medicine inside the needles, is a prime example of the true cost of living for those with medical issues.   I am told that a drug for debilitating Rheumatoid Arthritis cost as much as $2,000.00 per month for two injections!  This is shameful, and it speaks to our condition in this country, our greed, and our willingness to get as much profit as we can without regard for who it hurts.  Money first and people second, maybe even third or fourth.

We should be outraged and appalled at this situation as we watch our parents and grandparents struggle to pay the ridiculous cost to maintain their lives.  The cost of living for them is beyond their reach, and many are dying because of it.  So what will we do about it?  Will we continue to be entertained, mesmerized, and embarrassed by the politicians and their operatives who are too busy trying to find more dirt on one another, or will we turn our attention to the much more important problem of our disabled and elderly and the day-to-day problems they face.  Our politics should go from X-Rated to Rx-Rated.

I believe we can do much better by the least among us.  Do you?  If so, get involved and make their cost of living decrease and their Cost of Living Allowances increase.

Oct. 16, 2016

What's Going On?
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Every woman and every Black person in this country must be asking, "What's Going On?"  Forty-three times, white men have held dominance in consideration and representation for the position of President of the United States.  With two elections, President Barack Obama has shattered that stereotypical image of the "elderly, white male president" and, as we stand on the verge of electing the first female President of the United States, he’s opened the door to diversity in the Presidency.  This fact has driven some people out of their collective minds!

We find that haters of Black people (even a few self-haters) and haters of women (of which, more than a few are women) have gone over-the-cliff with their self-induced madness.  Their vitriol against a well-qualified woman who has torn down, and continues to tear down, traditional barriers to women's equality is absurd.  First Lady Michelle Obama laid it out more clearly than anyone in the campaign has yet done, but were any of the haters listening?  If so, will they allow themselves rational judgment for the remainder of the campaign or even a moment?

Of Secretary Clinton, the double-standards are obvious.  I don't recall anyone questioning whether the first 43 white males were qualified, healthy or were enablers/responsible parties for actions or statements of their wives.  Nor have I seen any criticized for not smiling enough, for being overly-prepared for debates or threatened with imprisonment for matters already settled.  As with President Obama, none spent years having his citizenship and legitimacy questioned, nor did their opposition make their number one goal the failure of their President's administrations.  The haters didn't succeed against President Obama, who will be regarded as one of history's most successful Presidents; and they will not succeed against Secretary Clinton.

Her resume is more than exceptional.  She has been a successful attorney, First Lady of Arkansas and the United States, a successful leader of a healthcare movement for children, a U.S. Senator, a Secretary of State and more.  What does it take for a woman or a Black person to be qualified?  As both a woman and a Black person, I have asked myself this question many times.  For years, this same question has been asked by highly-qualified, highly-regarded members of our society.  There is no rational answer.  Most recognize and agree that ruling-out a person based upon their color or gender is plain and simple ignorance, jealousy, insanity and hatred without just cause.

The so-called patriots, who deny the continuing "greatness" of America because a Black man is President and a woman may soon be President, need to ask themselves, "Other than someone who appeals to my basic bigotry, who can I reasonably expect to manage the affairs of government as effectively as Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton?" If there is someone, line up their accomplishments with President Obama's or Secretary Clinton's.  The comparisons would be illuminating.

With the many obstacles thrown in his path, President Obama is most qualified to evaluate Secretary Clinton as "the most qualified candidate ever to run for President."  With record high popularity, President Obama is leading the way for his successor.  His endorsement of Hillary is good enough for me.  Even in these crazy times, both have shown that you can't keep a good man or woman down.

As we move closer to Election Day, we must remind people that, in the words of our First Lady, “When they go low, we go high!”  We can save our GREAT nation with our votes. We must vote in numbers matching or exceeding the past two elections.  Let there be no doubt who was most responsible for electing the first Black President or who’ll be most responsible for electing the first woman President.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President and CEO of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc.  www.nationalcongressbw.org. 202/678-6788)