Posted on 12/26/2014 2:14:40 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
In the wake of a grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, many people are asking a heart-wrenching question: "Why don't black lives matter?"
The answer can be found in our nation's long history of criminalizing youth of color - particularly African-American boys. They have long been demonized as predators to be feared. And this fear of black boys remains woven within the American fabric. We are reminded of it every time there is a headline reporting the death of yet another unarmed black youth.
But the path that ends with a young black man dead in the street begins long before an officer stops a youth. It's the tragic end of a long process that funnels children of color out of school and into the justice system.
It's a process found in schools across the country.
It can be seen in statistics that show black children are expelled at three times the rate of white children for similar instances of misconduct. Even in preschool, black children make up 18 percent of preschool enrollment, but are 42 percent of preschool students suspended once. They are almost half (48 percent) of preschoolers suspended more than once.
Suspensions do not help these children.
Studies show that these children are more likely to drop out of school and enter the justice system. The practice of stationing police officers in schools only brings the justice system into the school with tragic results. Black children are arrested at school and subjected to excessive force at alarming rates.
The lesson black children learn from this experience is clear: They are feared by others. They are predisposed to be criminals. They are worthy of suspicion and excessive force, but little else. It's a lesson that's been taught in Birmingham, Alabama, where police officers stationed in the schools frequently use pepper spray on students.
The students in this predominately African-American school district aren't engaging in criminal behavior, but typical teenage misbehavior: yelling, throwing temper tantrums and getting into school yard fights. These are all things that at one time simply resulted in a trip to the principal's office.
Today, Birmingham school officials say such behavior is criminal. They say the pepper spray is the only recourse these officers, also known as school resource officers, have at their disposal. So they discipline these students with a chemical weapon used on violent criminals. Even students who have done nothing wrong get a taste of it as officers spray the chemical in hallways and lunchrooms, stinging the eyes of bystanders.
This is no way to treat children. It is why the Southern Poverty Law Center will take the Birmingham Police Department to federal court early next year for a trial over these practices.
But this is about much more than the practices in one school district. If we care about the death of Michael Brown and others, we must stop this school-to-prison pipeline that needlessly pushes these children into the justice system. We must stop this system that reinforces for teachers and police officers the myth that black children are inherently dangerous.
Teachers, school resource officers and even the cop on the beat should make every effort to keep young lives on track. This isn't to say children shouldn't be disciplined, only that we shouldn't derail young lives at every opportunity.
Until we end this system that grooms our children for the criminal justice system, we should not be shocked by the increasingly long roll call of black youths killed in encounters with police. We should not be shocked by our bloated prison system filled with young black men. And we should not be shocked by the growing chorus of voices asking why black lives don't seem to matter.
“The liberal’s solution to any crime problem is to legalize whatever the criminals are doing.”
That and also to rationalize EVERYTHING of service to the agenda.
Just like the illegal aliens, a certain segment of the black population wants their criminality to be above the law? Are we starting to see a pattern here of minorities telling us that we should all just turn a blind eye to lawlessness? Meanwhile,more and more black on black crime occurs along with more black on white crime and
this segment paints itself as the victim.
I’m so tired of this.
People need to be taught respect. It isn’t innate. But there are certain demographics that just aren’t raised that way anymore. And we need to change that.
I frankly don’t care whether black children respect black adults - that’s their business. But by God they need to be taught to respect white people! Once upon a time that wasn’t even in question, and we didn’t have knockout games and white girls being set on fire. We need to go back to the customs of respect that kept this country safe.
This. article. is. horse. sh*t.
This Ebony Howard?
http://www.centralmaine.com/2013/03/16/2-from-nyc-arrested-in-drug-trafficking_2013-03-16/
Were in the article does the author hold the black youths at least partially responsible for their behavior?
Rhetorical question...I know he doesn't
Splc, they hide behind frivolous lawsuits and the private army of thugs of theirs.
It’s time to have a talk about the liberal premise that ANY racial inequality is just more proof that whites are racist.
History will prove that Charles Murray was right.
I was one of only two white kids at the school I went to in Boston (post bus riots), and we were surrounded by a few of the older kids and had a gun pointed to our heads and told not to return next year. When the school admin were told about what happened they did nothing except to say accept the advice and go somewhere else next year.
Too bad, it looked like something that the gang at “Protest Warrior” would do.
Black racists want young black thugs given a pass on account of their skin color not their character.
What’s missing from Ebony Howard’s overheated diatribe? Any discussion of the “c” word.
Without that we’re breeding feral savages, not young men.
Just wait until Obama’s Justice Department demands that local and state law enforcement “equalize” arrest and conviction rates for blacks and non-blacks similar to the demand they have already made that schools “equalize” rates of disciplinary action for blacks and non-blacks.
Simple problem, simple recipe...
Many more whites need to perform criminal acts so that the percentages average out. Seems that is the only solution for these racist comments by Sharpton and others.
As said earlier - can’t we just all get along...ha. Fat chance with today’s racist leaders. Hello Al Sharpton!
With Garner in NYC there was a bit of a case for the anti-police forces. But Ferguson was a no brainer.
SPLC opposes the disciplinary actions that are necessary to create an atmosphere where at least some kids will have a chance. Oh well, at least if you get complete chaos no one’s civil rights will have been violated...
Powerful Jag... thanks for sharing.
That's an excellent description. Thanks.
90% of the time a black youth is killed, that youth is killed by another black person. How does the SPLC plan to address that problem?
At least they named him Ebony instead of Eboniqua.
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