ETBlack.com

The "EveryBody" Insider
Communicating the Concerns of Black People

Stop the Million Man Crash
By Bahati Osayimwese

Black men and women find themselves incarcerated at rates multiple times that of White or Hispanic men and women. The numbers of Black men in jail or prison exceeds the number of Black men in colleges and universities ( yes - this includes
the student athletes).

The Black male college enrollment for 2001 was upwards of 600,000.

However, let's take it one step further and acknowledge that the NCAA, NBA, and NFL have fewer Black men within their combined ranks than the prisons and jails of this country. Those very VISIBLE black men on TV dunking and spiking balls or making commercials are miniscule electron-microscopic in number compared to the INVISIBLE number of brothers behind bars.

The NCAA, NFL, NBA games are pressed on our minds while many brothers in need of greater attention and concern are left out of sight out of mind.

We must be CRAZY. For every game we watch we should watch at least one brother struggle to get out of jail if we expect to make a difference here instead of drinking a darn beer ( excuse me - it's malt liquor).

I digress.

The Black woman is incarcerated at a much lower rate than the male counterpart but she constitutes about the same population as the White women population in incarceration.

(For those who want to review more statistics refer to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.)

One out of EVERY eight 25-29 year old Black men was incarcerated in 2002.And, a total of 818,900 Black men were incarcerated as of June 2002.

But, the impact is greater than the numbers suggest given that these men have parents, siblings, children, friends and neighbors who bear the emotional, psychological, sociological, economical, and spiritual burdens which these incarcerations bestow.

It is not just one individual who gets locked up and messed up when one is incarcerated. It is a network of people who suffer from just one incarceration. It is a network of tears and despair, heartbreak, confusion, anger, humiliation, sorrow, and prayer which appear.

If you multiply this network of socioeconomic and psycho-spiritual response to an individual incarceration of a single person by
818,900 you can see that the entire Black population in this country is touched in ways big and small by this problem.

The solution to the problem is the question and challenge of this day.

How do we stop this "Million Man Crash"? We have to recognize that we're already beyond 80% of the way to having a million Black men behind bars.

In this writing we will discuss but a few ideas recognizing that the real test is in implementing change and not in theorizing and intellectualizing about it. Let's read up, study up, pray up, cry up, shut up and do something.

We are proud religious people or at least try to be so. How can we save our brothers?

Love them enough to confront their wrongs when they are small. This means that we detect what they do early on in their lives that may lead them one day to the jailhouse. And, upon recognition of that error we must correct it and keep watching. Further, we have to steer and stimulate our brothers to understand who they are.

This has to be a collective work because young folks as well as old tend to be influenced by their peer group. We have to get the attention of groups of young folks in order to help a young person.

We must be an example for the young by trying to continue to improve ourselves.

The young are observant and will pick up only some of our good habits and ALL of our bad ones.

If we want the young to appreciate education we should read some books ourselves in their presence. We should let them see us struggle with balancing checkbooks and paying bills or at least make them aware of it. We must set examples both large and small for the young.

We must show love but firmness.

We cannot allow error which may lead to the jailhouse. And, we must make sure they know the difference between an error on a school assignment (which also should be explained and corrected for their learning) and a criminal error.

When we let things slide, they slide our folks right into the jailhouse.

Maybe we figure we can get away with speeding or running a red light or changing lanes/turning without signaling. Maybe a child figures he/she can lie to parents and teachers. Someone figures they can daydream in class. Someone else figures they can skip class. Then somebody figures they can smoke a joint.

This dude figures he can steal a piece of candy. This person figures that she can write a hot check. This one decides to break in someone's house. That one tries to sell some dope. This one sells her body for a few bucks. That one jacks somebody's car. This one snatches a purse. And, all of this began when they got away with making an obscene phone call one day.

I bring up the call because I once had what sounded like someone's teenage daughter (with friends audible in the background) call my home making an obscene call. I traced the call and reported it to the police whom I figured would probably do little to nothing about it. After thirty days the police officer called me. I explained what was said and asked for follow up. The officer stated that this was not considered harassment because it did not happen multiple times or whatever. My response was that these girls were probably calling multiple numbers and getting away with it. He agreed to call the number and have a talk. That was actually what I wished for.

This was not about my harm. This was about the girl's harm to herself if someone did not correct her error immediately.

What hurts is what the kid does to himself/herself.

We must learn to be less selfish and recognize that a kid making errors like this is in need of help, guidance, correction, and loving punishment.

But, the young must see within themselves a mission.

Kids go to school to get an education and to socialize with their peers. They may see education as a part of the maturation or growing up process. Therefore, they equate school with childhood and youth. Graduation from school is the rite of passage to adulthood. Many Black men and women perhaps think that once they have attained their adulthood then their "mission" has been achieved.

Now in this microwave fast food environment which we call modern American society we may extend our expectations to wishing that everything we desire to be presented quickly. We want quick money, fast food, rapid transportation, swift wars and short childhoods. Both the parent and child wants the kid to grow up quickly in some cases. Thus, the child tries to grow up as fast as he/she can.

The child disassociates with school because school is for kids. The child finds alternate ways to get money because obtaining what you want is what being an adult affords you. The kid smokes and tries to talk big and live big. He builds up his reputation by tearing down everyone else's. He tries to stand tall by knocking others down. He gets some "adult" relationship going. He makes error upon error trying to achieve his "mission" to be a man right here and now by any means necessary. And, it should be noticed that the desire for a certain SAT score has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with this "mission". He may show his stuff on the court because that's a macho thing. He may play some gridiron before he gets kicked off the team for bad behavior - ( go figure?). He may be able to outrun Jesus in the 100m dash or jump further and higher than Superman and the Mighty Hulk combined.

The problem is there is no mission other than the desire to be an adult and "have it your way". The lack of true mission
combined with poor and illegal choices leads straight to the gates of the penitentiary.

We have to help our brothers see their higher mission in life. There is a bigger calling for them.

What if 818,900 Black men were doctors, lawyers, CEOs, managers, business owners, etc.? What if the 818,900 were ALL congressmen, ambassadors, governors, senators, mayors, county commissioners, sheriffs, constables, etc.? What if they ALL could even vote or be a mentor for their children and others? What if they wrote books or got PhD's? What if they found or kept the perfect women and lived happily ever after?

I know, I know, I know ... for the kids we speak of fairy tales but for grown Black males we speak of prisons and jails.