FW: School to Prison Pipeline

-----Original Message-----
From: David L. Evans [mailto:d...@fas.harvard.edu]
Sent: Tue 6/12/2007 5:15 AM
To: Gregg, Perry
Cc:
Subject: School to Prison Pipeline

Perry,
 
         Regardless of the causes, millions of young African Americans are ensnared in the criminal justice system.  They are inmates, are on parole or they are on probation.  By far, most of them are males, but more and more, females are caught up in the system too.
 
        I am not indifferent to the plight of these young people, but I am more concerned about the psychological "collateral damage" done to black youths who've done nothing wrong.  Especially those who might have witnessed harsh police tactics toward others like themselves and are traumatized by anger or fear.
 
        Bob Herbert, the New York Times columnist, has written extensively about how early in life black youths encounter the police and the criminal justice system.  In his Saturday, June 9, 2007, column he cited a six-year old black girl in Florida who was arrested and taken away in handcuffs for throwing a tantrum in kindergarten.  A twelve-year-old African American girl in Texas was sentenced to up to seven years in prison for shoving a hall monitor.

         Again, I fear that when millions of black youths are swept up by the criminal justice system it can crush the youthful idealism of the most lawful and promising African Americans.  I expressed these thoughts in a letter that is published in today's New York Times and enclosed below. 
 

Best regards,
 
 
 
David
____________________________________

June 12, 2007
 

How to Handle Unruly Students?

To the Editor:

Throughout history, many of the great human rights and social movements have been energized by the unfettered idealism of youth. I am therefore afraid that introducing black children, some not yet in their teens, to the criminal justice system will destroy that idealism and replace it with ugly cynicism or extreme caution.

We can no longer ignore these possibilities because the jails and prisons are teeming with young blacks, especially males. The last thing we need in this country is a generation or two of black youths who see abusive enforcement of the law as legitimate representation of the American people.

Think where our country would be if the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Ruth J. Simmons (the president of Brown University) had been driven off the deep end or were satisfied never to rock the boat.

David L. Evans
Cambridge, Mass., June 9, 2007