Lead Stories

Interrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline by Judith Browne Dianis

June 23, 2013

Interrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline
By Judith Browne Dianis

salecia_johnson

Salecia Johnson

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from America’s Wire

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Salecia Johnson, age 6, grew frustrated in her Milledgeville, Ga., kindergarten class last year and erupted into a temper tantrum. Unfortunately, it’s something that mothers sometimes must confront with raising young children. But what happened next was not routine, nor should it be happening to Salecia or any other children.

Creekside Elementary school called the police, who said they found Salecia on the floor of the principal's office screaming and crying. Police said she had knocked over furniture that injured the principal. The African American child was handcuffed, arrested and hauled to the local police station. She was held for more than hour before her parents were notified and charged with simple assault and damage to property, but didn’t have to go to court because she is a juvenile.

But the ordeal has severely impacted the child. Her mother, Constance Ruff, says Salecia is traumatized, having difficulty adjusting back to school and may never recover. Salecia, she says, has awoken at night screaming, “They're coming to get me!” Sadly, her case is not an anomaly.

Across the country, young people are being arrested for behavior that used to be solved through a trip to the principal’s office or the intervention of a counselor. In Florida, a 14-year-old was arrested and charged for throwing a pencil at another student and spent 21 days in jail. In New York, a 12-year-old was arrested for doodling, ‘I love Abby and Faith on her desk.’ In Chicago, 25 children, some as young as 11, were arrested for engaging in a food fight.

Supporters of zero tolerance policies say being tough on any infraction creates strong incentives to behave. But the reality belies that myth and cries out for the implementation of common sense discipline polices that ensure that students are put on a pathway to career or college rather than the destructive criminal justice system.

The Advancement Project, a multi-racial civil rights organization based in Washington, DC, tracks the increasing encroachment of law enforcement and the juvenile justice system into American classrooms, particularly impacting students of color. The research has documented racial disparities nationally and in specific school districts. According to a 2005 report by Advancement Project, Education on Lockdown: The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track, Black and Latino students in Denver were 70 percent more likely to be disciplined (suspended, expelled, or given police tickets) than their white peers. There were no states where Black students were not suspended more often than their white peers.

The easy answer is that Black and Latino students misbehave more than other students. However, research consistently shows that this is false. Black and Latino students are punished, even arrested, most often for subjective infractions (i.e. “disorderly conduct,” “disobedience,” “disrespect,” etc.), while White students are more likely to be punished for concrete dangerous activities (e.g., carrying a weapon, using drugs).

During a convening for "America Healing", a racial equity initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a panel discussion this spring focused on examples where different sectors of the community have achieved some success interrupting the school-to-prison pipeline.

Jody Owens, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Mississippi office, which filed a lawsuit against the district, asserted that “we are losing a generation” in Meridian, Miss., because of the way children are needlessly introduced to the criminal justice system. Kids are pushed into police detention directly from the classroom. Students referred to the Police Department for misbehavior are automatically arrested and sent to the juvenile justice system. There, these students are given probation requiring them to serve any school suspensions incarcerated in the juvenile detention center. One student spent 48 days in jail for wearing the wrong color socks. Youth who run afoul of school rules, not criminal law, are routinely handcuffed to a pole outside the school for the entire eight-hour school day.

Data shows that zero tolerance policies result in higher dropout rates, lower academic achievement and young people being pushed into the criminal justice system – hence the name school to prison pipeline.

How have practices like these become common?

After the Columbine tragedy, we saw the emergence of zero tolerance policies extended into the nation’s schools. Proponents argue that safety in schools is the key issue though there is little to no evidence these practices create safer learning environments or change disruptive behavior.

America Healing panelists cited the importance of empowering community groups to achieve victory over these destructive policies.

Developing leaders among both adults and children willing to advocate for common sense school discipline; building the capacity of organizations through training and providing community resources; and broadly connecting the movement across the nation can build a movement that works.

Following this model, parent and youth groups, have successfully fought for change. Denver and Baltimore traded out of school suspensions for minor infractions and adopted a system of positive behavior support, more engaging classrooms, in-school suspensions and restorative justice. Denver reduced the use of police in school discipline. The results are higher academic achievement and graduation rates.

Jerry Tello, director of the national Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute, shared how strong culture and families can play a significant role in diminishing the effects of living within these toxic environments. He emphasized how extreme discipline policies harm the spirit of youth and their self-perception. He H

The discussions at America Healing highlighted the power of combining legal and policy strategies, cultural awareness and community activism to reverse zero tolerance.

If quality education is to be a critical factor to the long-term success and independence of all children, there must be a myriad of innovative practices and partnerships between schools, families, communities, government and business to align and strengthen conditions that will break the school-to-pipeline.

Judith Browne Dianis is co-director of the Advancement Project. She is a prominent civil rights litigator and experienced racial justice advocate in the areas of voting, education, housing, and immigrants’ rights. America’s Wire is an independent, nonprofit news service run by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Our stories can be republished free of charge by newspapers, websites and other media sources. For more information, visit www.americaswire.org or contact Michael K. Frisby at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. )

Former U.S. Rep Allen West Blasts Bill Cosby Over Comments Praising Black Muslims by Zenitha Prince

June 17, 2013

Former U.S. Rep Allen West Blasts Bill Cosby Over Comments Praising Black Muslims
By Zenitha Prince

Courtesy Photo

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspaper

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Comedian-activist Bill Cosby is often the outspoken “uncle” whose sometimes-provocative comments, usually on Black parenting, are hotly debated, but eventually forgiven.

But the recently defeated freshman Florida Republican Congressman Allen West seems unwilling to overlook the legendary entertainer’s recent comments on Muslims.

The Tea Party favorite decried a recent opinion piece, titled "A Plague of Apathy" that the comedian wrote for The New York Post.

In his op/ed, Cosby challenged Blacks to eschew apathy in order to better raise their children, and suggested that they look to the example set by Muslims.

“I’m a Christian. But Muslims are misunderstood. Intentionally misunderstood. We should all be more like them,” Cosby wrote. “They make sense, especially with their children. There is no other group like the Black Muslims, who put so much effort into teaching children the right things, they don’t smoke, they don’t drink or overindulge in alcohol, they protect their women, they command respect.”

“We’d be a better world if we emulated them,” he added. “We don’t have to become Black Muslims, but we can embrace the things that work.”

West disagreed.

“2day in NY Post, Bill Cosby said we should b more like Muslims. U mean honor killings, beheadings, suicide bombings? Hope ur kidding sir,” the Fox News contributor tweeted June 10.

He added the next day, “Wonder if Cosby appreciates discipline & family values of Syrians who killed 15 yr old?... just what behavior should we emulate?”

West’s rebuttal ignored the values Cosby highlighted in his piece; however, West’s public comments on Muslims have always been condemned for being skewed, Islamophobic and culturally insensitive.

He once asserted that the Quran, Islam’s holy book, commands Muslims “to carry out attacks against Americans and innocent people.”

In a January 2011 interview on “The Shalom Show,” West said that his then-colleague Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison, a practicing Muslim, represents the “antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established.”

West served one term in Congress before being unseated by newcomer Democrat Patrick Murphy in November.

U.S. Minorities to Become Majority Faster than Predicted by Zenitha Prince

U.S. Minorities to Become Majority Faster than Predicted
By Zenitha Prince

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspaper

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The United States is on pace to become a minority-majority nation even faster than previously predicted, according to Census Bureau statistics on race and ethnicity released June 13.

The percentage of non-Hispanic Whites in the U.S. population reached an all-time low of 63 percent during the year ending July 1. Numerically, that means there are 197.7 million White people out of 313.9 million total Americans.

Though the number of Whites increased by 188,000, mostly due from immigration from abroad, the number of deaths exceeded births—another first—by more than 12,000.

“This is the first time there has ever been an overall non-Hispanic White natural decrease in the U.S.,” demographer Kenneth Johnson told Bloomberg News.

There are other trends that suggest that minorities will outnumber Whites by 2043, as has been predicted. Children of color under age 5 are almost a majority, representing 49.9 percent of that age group. And, according to previous Census analyses, minorities younger than 18 are expected to overtake the number of White children by 2019.

“It’s the younger, rapidly growing minority population that will be driving economic and demographic growth this century,” William H. Frey, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based policy research group, told Bloomberg.

Overall, people of color grew in number by 1.9 percent, now composing about 37 percent of the total population.

Specific trends show that Asian Americans were the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in America, surging by 2.9 percent to almost 19 million people. The growth was mostly fueled by international migration.

Hispanics were the second fastest growing group, increasing by 2.2 percent, or more than 1.1 million, to just over 53 million in 2012. Their growth was primarily propelled by “natural increase” (births minus deaths), the Census said. Latinos also remain the nation’s second largest ethnic group, behind Whites, representing 17 percent of the population.

“Asians and Hispanics have long been among our nation's fastest-growing race or ethnic groups,” Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's acting director, said in a statement.

By comparison, African-Americans increased by a mere 1.3 percent to 44.5 million last year.

U. S. Senate Could Craft New Protection if High Court Kills Section 5 by Hazel Trice Edney

June 17, 2013

U. S. Senate Could Craft New Protection if High Court Guts Section 5
By Hazel Trice Edney

In a "meet the press" type setting, U. S. senators - between votes - fielded questions from reporters
during a Black media roundtable.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - If the U. S. Supreme Court strikes down or alters the Section 5 Preclearance Clause of the Voting Rights Act, Congress should be prepared with a remedy to protect against discrimination, according to members of the U. S. Senate in a roundtable with Black media last week.

“This supreme court is more and more skeptical of the root causes of, the evidence of and the consequences of discrimination,” said Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), “And I think We need to be prepared to act legislatively to deal with the likely consequences of a federal government that may be more reigned in in terms of its ability to proactively reach out.”

Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was speaking during a June 13 roundtable during which 12 Senators met with 19 Black reporters to discuss issues of importance to their readers.

Issues of race and public policy dominated the 80-minute discussion held in the Mansfield Room of the U. S. Capitol. Anticipating a ruling this month, reporters, policy makers and civil rights leaders alike are bracing themselves, already contemplating the next move in the case of an adverse ruling given racial discrimination that still exists.

Coons continued, “Discrimination absolutely is still a problem in housing, in employment and in voting. And in my view, we’ve got to be vigilant and attentive” of the opinions handed down by the Supreme Court “because I think we may see restrictions in the ability of government to act…And to deal directly and proactively with discrimination.”

Among key items on which the court is set to rule is Shelby v. Holder, which challenges Section 5, which requires states and territories with a history of discrimination to clear any changes in voting laws with the U. S. Department of Justice. Striking down this provision - which was just reauthorized by an overwhelming, bi-partisan majority of the Senate seven years ago - would effectively gut the Act, opening the door for gerrymandering of congressional districts and other political lines as well as the creation of voter ID laws that discriminate against African-Americans and other people of color.

Two other race equality cases before the court are also viewed as endangering racial justice. They are Fisher v. University of Texas and a Michigan law which has banned affirmative action in public college admissions. An adverse ruling in either of these cases could either end the consideration of race in college admission policies or cause what lawyers call a “chilling effect". The "chilling effect" is when a ruling is so damaging that it causes universities to end or severely alter policies on their own in order to avoide future law suits.

The roundtable was organized by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, chaired by Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska). Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader, did not attend, apparently due to votes. The meeting was moderated by Sen. William “Mo” Cowan (D-Mass.), currently one of only two Black members of the U. S. Senate.

Responding to a question about the historic void of Blacks in the Senate, Cowan acknowledged, “We have a long way to go” and said Americans have an obligation to "encourage people of all races to get involved in this political process.”

He said when the Senate is not representative of its constituents, it does a “great disservice”. But he added for clarity, “You don’t have to look like your constituents in order to represent the interests of your constituents.”

He agreed, “If Section 5 Pre-clearance is reversed by the Supreme court,” Congress would have to take “prompt and vigorous action” to preserve it.

Despite partisan bickering between Republicans and Democrats over the budget and other issues, Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.) expressed optimism that if the court strikes down the Pre-clearance Clause of Section 5, it could be either rebuilt in a bi-partisan spirit “or a comparable preventive measure could be crafted swiftly” in consultation with legal organizations that regularly litigate such issues. “I think it affects all of us.”

A Nation Prays for 'Tata' While Another Mandela Passes

June 11, 2013

A Nation Prays for 'Tata' While Another Mandela Passes

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from GIN

mandela poster

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – News of the recurring illness of South Africa’s much loved leader, informally known as Madiba (Nelson Mandela), set off a new round of prayers for his recovery in the nation and around the world.

But in Qunu in the Eastern Cape, residents there were already grieving the passing of a Mandela – Florence Mandela - a close relative to the country’s former statesman and wife of one of the sons of Madiba’s uncle Solomon. She died last week at the age of 96.

Qunu, the home village of the former President, is now the home of the Nelson Mandela Museum and villagers there are foreseeing a heavy influx of tourists and visitors. Some residents have begun turning their homes into B&Bs, as there might not be enough place in the village should the ailing icon die, according to a report in The Sowetan newspaper.

But the talk of the town centered on the place of Mandela in their lives.

Nomishini Krexa, a villager, wondered: “Where will we be when he’s not around? What would we do here in Qunu, how would our lives be?

“Because of him we can feed our children. We have toilets, we have electricity. We would like to let him go but we’re scared. He has done so much for us.” Mandela, she said, brought her family together at a time when men lived in hostels at the mines where they worked.

The women were not allowed to live with their husbands and had to stay behind in the villages to look after the children.

An elderly woman, who asked not to be identified, echoed Krexa’s sentiments that people feared that without Mandela, their rights wouldn’t be upheld.

“If he’s not here (not alive), it won’t be good. We are pained to see him in pain. It’s not nice seeing your loved one like that, but what are we saying he must stay for?” she asked.

Noamen Qhola, from Mvezo, the village where Mr. Mandela was born, echoed her neighbor’s remarks: “…the day Tata is gone, things may change,” Qhola said.

Mandela’s grandson, who is the chief in Mvezo, said only: “I can’t comment on things related to uTat’omkhulu (grandfather)”.

Secrecy appears to be concealing a battle to save Mr. Mandela’s life. A report by CBS News, citing an unnamed source, said Mr. Mandela was in a medical “crisis” and had to be resuscitated by a medical team at his home last Friday night, shortly before he was rushed to hospital at about 1:30 a.m.

None of these details have been confirmed by the office of President Jacob Zuma, the only official channel for information on the health of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

But citizens are drawing their own conclusions from the stream of family members visiting him at the Pretoria hospital and holding vigil at his bedside. His wife, Graca Machel, cancelled a trip to London and has remained with him since Friday. His daughter Zenani, the South African ambassador to Argentina, has flown home to be with him. Other children and grandchildren have been visiting him all week, along with his ex-wife, Winnie.

President Zuma’s office has been widely criticized for releasing misleading sound bites on Mandela’s health.

Just a few weeks ago, President Zuma and other members of his ruling African National Congress visited Mr. Mandela at his home in a Johannesburg suburb, and President Zuma later claimed that the former president was “up and about” and “looking very good.” In fact, video footage from the visit showed Mr. Mandela obviously frail, frozen-faced, unable to smile, and almost unresponsive. It was the only video image of Mr. Mandela to be released in the past 10 months.

Mr. Mandela’s fragile health is not unexpected for a man of his age, especially since he suffered tuberculosis during his 27 years of imprisonment in the apartheid era. In some ways, his latest hospital admission has been a bigger story globally than it has in South Africa, where people have become accustomed to his health problems over the years. Though he is beloved by the country, many people now say they are prepared to hear the worst.

A friend of the elder leader, Andrew Mlangeni, spoke frankly of the state of the internationally-admired statesman. “The family must release him so that God may have his own way,” said Mlangeni, a former ANC activist who served years of imprisonment with Mr. Mandela on Robben Island.

“Once the family releases him, the people of South Africa will follow,” he told a South African newspaper. “We will say, ‘Thank you, God, you have given us this man, and we will release him too.’ ”

Nelson Mandela’s birthday, on July 18, was recognized by the U.N. in 2009 after his speech in Hyde Park, London, for his 90^th birthday. He said at that occasion: “It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now.”