Transcripts For CSPAN2 Today In Washington 20130808 : vimars

CSPAN2 Today In Washington August 8, 2013

Movement rooted in the h awareness of dignity and humanity of all people. Ic it has to be a multiethnic because of it was born with the black folks in my. Has destroyed the lives ofple and ce people in communities of all colors. Gh nbc this same get tough bietoric that helped to giveive birth trto said drug war . Now leading to another prison building boom aint illei at suspected Illegal Immigrants we have feat dots have to be building to connect the dots to build the mall site issue will ty us. Race movement on behalf of all of us the first great awakening has required fromlindt hee colorblind slumber to to t wie realities of race in america not Justice Harry ofmbre their behavior but theyre human this for their refusal and a failure to recognize anhumanity oand humanity of all people of as a Steady Foundation for every caste system that has ever existed in the United States or anywhere else in the world. Worl. I firmly believe not just mass incarceration or the, war on drugs but to end the itsc history and cycle of caste in america because then and then only then can we say with pride that we are finally catching up with king. Thank you so much for having me tonight. [applause] [cheers and applause]y. Let me take a moment here. We will take some questionsake m the folks want to ask questions we have a microphone over here zero orre and a do y their. Is this on . Okay. You made a believer out of me. Interestingly i hear our incarceration rates are higher than what north korea reports. See we are the world leader in imprisonment. My question is him on nondrugrelated incarceration incarcerations is there still a racial bias . Well, there are right and racial biases to be found at every stage of the criminal justice process and while some of this bias clearly you know is related to conscious and intentional biases that are unstated but nonetheless held, i believe that much of the bias is unconscious bias and stereotyping. Police officer who sees a group of young black man walking down the street with their pants sagging down may think to himself i am going to do my job. Im going to jump out and frisk them and see if they have got anything on them. With good intentions, i am doing what i should do to keep this neighborhood safe. Now, that same officer may see a group of young white kids walking down the street and the thought would never cross his mind to jump out of his car and have those kids spread out on the pavement and frisk them. That officer may not hold any equally intent a evil intent to those young black man that those unconscious biases about who looks like a criminal and who seems like there to no good play out over and over again hundreds of times in one city. I mentioned adding up to these disparities and the same is true with prosecutors. There are studies published in the San Jose Mercury news for example showing prosecutors displaying considerable biases and charging about who seems to be given a good deal. Who is worthy of a Second Chance . Who seems like they are somebody who is just a tough kid who cant be turned around in the book should be thrown at him so these unconscious biases play themselves out in all kinds of crimes and types of offenses but when we talk about Violent Crime it is important to acknowledge that rates of Violent Crime are much higher among black man than among white men. That is a fact. Rates of Violent Crime are much much higher but as William Julius wilson points out in his excellent book when work disappears, Racial Disparities and Violent Crime disappear when you control for joblessness. In other words if you compare white jobless men with white jobless men are Racial Disparity in Violent Crime disappears. That exists to makes all safer, and yet it insures that the norms population will be locked out of employment, locked out of housing, and trapped in a perpetual undercast. We stand back and express surprise that rates of violence and other crimes are higher in those communities. And in fact, i think we have to ask ourselves why on earth would we create the very conditions that we know are likely to create violence . Why are we so willing to invest in building prison rather than job creation and education . The very things that we know are the ingredients of help driving safe and caring communities. So i think thats its important to recognize the ways which bias plays out. All of these discretionary decisions that are made throughout the system. It also plays out in how we as a nation invest our resources. And who we are willing to treat as disposal and who we view as having a future and deserving of the kind of resources that will ensure them, you know, a path of meaningful opportunity. Thank you. That answers me question. Thank you. [applause] good evening, professor alexander. You said we need a revolution. My thing is during the era of jim crow. You noticed the Financial Hardship of create separate but equal help break down the system of jim crow. Started writing laws that we couldnt that america couldnt find separate but equal laws, schools or classroom settings. So would this era of mass incarceration. What are some of the economic kind of things question we can use to kind of break down the system. 02 saying that it was kind of like this is helped this is added to. People are getting paid off of this. And money is getting put in it. How can we hit them in the pocket kind of thing . Yes. Its a good question. I think its important first, though, to emphasize that jim ceo didnt collapse because it was too expense toif provide equal Educational Opportunity for black folks as compared to whites. There was no effort to try to provide equal Educational Opportunity for black folks and separate system as compared to whites. What lead to the collapse of jim crow had a lot to do with how the United States was being viewed in the aftermath of world war ii when black, you know, service men were returning home from fighting for freedom abroad, and returning home to suffer second class status and being hung from trees. These events. Being broadcast around the world. Tarnishing americas image of leader of the free world, and standing up, you know, against tierney. And jim crow collapsed because a Mass Movement that arose that shook the foundation of the system itself. But i agree with you that we can weaken the foundations of any system of control by challenging its economic base. That certainly was one of the strategies that lead to the class of apartheid in south africa. The movement, you know, urging, you know, universities to divest from south africa, corporations to divest from south africa, you know, scare the daylights out of, you know, the south Africa Government as they feared investment being pulled from their country in moral outrage over the apartheid system that existed there. There are young people today who are talking about pursuing divestment strategies in the era of mass incarceration. Meaning divesting from private prisons. The United Methodist church announced they decided to divest from private prisons bhap is a church doing investing in private prisons in the first place . Churches, you know, invest in pensions and mutual funds; right . Very often we dont know what companies our mutual funds are invested in. Private prisons have been become profitable. Many investment port portfolio include private prison of a Profitable Company that any institution ought to invest in. Is this institution were in invest in private prisons . I dont know. What churches are invested and have funds in private prisons . I think a i did i have divestment campaigns directly as well as any mutual funds or pension plan that has even one penny invested in private prisons could be very helpful in crippling the private prison industry. I think it can be a tool for raising consciousness, awareness about the system of mass incarceration as a whole. I believe that fewer one in ten prisoners today are held in private prisons. Even if we got rid of private prisons, we would still have a system of mass incarceration today. I think those kind of divestment campaigns can help to raise consciousness. It can be an important part of movement as well as boycotting companieses that will not hire people with criminal records. You know, there have been a number of companies that courageously said were going hire people who have felony records. Were going give people a fair shot at employment, and if we begin to celebrate and honor those companies while publicizing those companies that wont give people at an interview, of getting in the door. I think that can be Something Else that helps to raise coachness and contribute to movement building. Ultimately, i dont believe that this movement should be about dollars and cents. Ultimately, we have got find a way to build a new moral consensus and build on the work that dr. King was doing, and, you know, force all of us to reckon with what we have done, and inspire genuine care, compassion, and concern for the least advantage in our society. I think what youre describing can be a part of that. We cant reduce the movement at all. Thank you so much. Thank you. In your book, you mention several judges who have given up their courts who have resigned because the harsh sentences they are expected to give for drug offenders. Have any of the judges stepped forward of leaders and said my can lead people to the revolution . Theres a wonderful organization that i would recommend people to check out which is called Law Enforcement against prohibition. This organization is comprised entirely of judges, prosecutors, police officers, Police Chiefs who now believe that the drug war has caused vastly more harm than prohibition itself. These are people who spent their lives, even careers as drug lawyers and come to the conclusion that the harm caused by the drug war is so vastly outweighed that it has to be abandoned in the entirety. You can check out the westbound. I have a lot of resources, videos, you know, and the like that really feature some, you know, important voices within the Law Enforcement Community Calling for changing course. Thank you for pointing to us in leadership. Growing up a poor man, i was sitting here thinking about how less fortune i am not to be in the system. I some acquainted people who i know that in this system sort of by mistakes. You wonder, they are good people. How do we determine now . I know you spoke on you fill out an application. You say yes im a criminal. Yes, ive been to prison, how do we get to a form where we can give them a Second Chance . I cant understand my heart hurts for them. One particular guy who i know is a great guy, made a very serious mistake he didnt make the mistake. He was caught up with the person. The person who made the mistake. He also paid the price. How do we turn this around to give this person a Second Chance . First, im a supporter of ban the box initiative. They are campaigns that have been successful in a number of cities and jurisdictions to remove the box on employment questions asking the question have you ever been convicted of a felony . I believe the city of philadelphia removed the question from all city employment applications. There are a number of jurisdictions around the country, cities, counties that have embraced the ban the box movement, and have removed the box from employment applications. Now of course employers may still consider prior criminal history, once the person had an interview. But what removing the box does is gives people a chance. Gives people a chance to at least get an interview. At least to get share foot in the door. So they can make their case that they deserve a chance and whatever mistakes they may have made in the past did not bear upon the current job they are being asked to perform, or that they are well beyond the type of activity that landed them in jail in the first place. So i think everybody should have that shot, and i also think that, you know, the reality is that, you know, for people convicted of drug offenses, you know, they are in a position that i think is unfair be it be those who drink alcohol regularly or alcoholics. You have people who have alcohol problems, who struggle with alcohol. They dont check any boxes. Theres no background checks that reveal their history unless they have been caught in a guy dui or Something Like that. My own view is people who, you know, have some kind of drugremitted conviction. They are the type of things that shouldnt be held against people because they happen to be caught. As opposed to someone on a College Campus caging that kind of activity and everybody thinks they are being kids. And theyll grow out of it. I think that we really have to be very careful about the extent to which we view criminal convictions as even relevant to the particular type of jobs that people are applying for today. I support very strong kind of antidiscrimination position against people who have prior criminal records, unless its directly relevant to the type of job they are applying for. Thank you. How you doing . Hi. I want to thank you for coming. My question is for a student or anybody else out here in the crowd who want to be more involved actively in the profession of the movement, what can we do other than informing other people of what is actually going on and doing more research ours . What can i do to get active in the movement . Excellent question. One thing you can do is think about forming a student against mass incourse ration organization on campus. These groups have been forming on numerous colleges and universities around the country. Theres one at howard theres rowing. You go on my website new jim crow. Com and get Contact Information about who to contact kind of joining that effort and linking up with other student groups around the country who are wrestling with the same question how can young people begin to play a meaningful role and take leadership in the building the movement to end mass incarceration. On the website i list a bunch of resources and organizations you can consider contacting, you know, you can begin to work with if you choose, if they are doing work locally. I think the priorities consciousness raising, working toward supporting people as they are released from prison. So finding out in your community what are the reentry centers, what form of support can be provided. Also getting to work with organizations like the Drug Policy Alliance and many other organizations that are operating nationally to repeal harsh drug laws that exist, you know, here in this state like other states to get involved in ban the box initiative. Repeal bans on food stamps. All of the things i described there are people undoubtly that have begun the work locally. If they havent, to really think seriously about forming your own organization. One of the things that worries me most about, you know, this point we are in in building the movement. Theres really no grassroots organizations that exist today on a National Level that have as its primary mission ending the system of mass incarceration. And so some of the work that needs to be done may not have begun in your community. Who is going to do the work if not you . If not us . We have got begin somewhere, and i so encourage you to check out my website for the list of organizations and resources. Think about forming your own Student Organization here, also, get together with likeminded souls and think seriously about what kind of organizations need to be built, perhaps. You know, in your own community to go do the work that lies ahead. Thank you for your question. Thank you. I would like that thank you for your presentation. It was very insightful. The question i would like to ask you that overall typically when many young people are arrested for drugs, they tend to level a lot of charges against them. One such charge, which is very difficult to beat is conspiracy. Conspiracy yes. Host conspiracy to sell drugs. Someone who was deported told me that conspiracy is one of the hardest charges to beat. What thought or solutions do you propose i dont know if to remove such a charge from the book because conspiracy can applied in such a broadway. Thank you so much for raising that question. And, you know, many people dont realize until you are charged as being part of conspiracy that something as simple as passing messages to someone. So and so called. He wants do you meet him there. You need a ride . Ill give you a lift. You may have some vague sense what is going on or maybe you dont really know what is going on. But the prosecution sure thinks you do and it takes one overact in support of the the conspiracy and the overact could be giving someone a ride. It could be passing metsz ankle messages. You know, it could be something extremely minor. Many women find themselves charged as cospiritters because the prosecutors are after their boyfriend or husband or some man they know who they think is involved in drug conspiracy. They will charge them as a cospirit unfortunately many women who either dont actually have the knowledge to be able to snitch or because of their own conscious wont allow themselves to snitch on someone they care about. Find themselves do far more time than the person charged as the principle in the crime. These conspiracy laws are very dangerous and unjust. And ought to be changed and conspiracy laws just like drug laws themselves can be changed. Requires a demand, it requires organizations. It requires us to become educate about the nature of the law. And insist that legislators do what it takes to ensure that people are not en . Arked by them in the way you described. Ensnared by them in the bay you you described. Thank you. We have time for three more questions. Well take the first question starting here and go back and forth. Hello. Thank you for coming. Thank you. I think your message ne

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