Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)’s Post

Today as we celebrate the end of Chattel Slavery (Juneteenth), we must understand that the practice of slavery is still in practice with our jails, prisons, concentrated poverty, racial wealth gaps, etc. As a result, we are still voting to remove slavery from state constitutions with only 7 states being successful thus far: Colorado (2018), Utah (2020), Nebraska (2020), Vermont (2022), Alabama (2022), Tennessee (2022), and Oregon (2022). The measure failed in Louisiana in 2022 but at least it was on the ballot. So as we celebrate today, let’s keep in mind there is much work to be done!!! The best way to celebrate: *Register to Vote *Vote in all Elections *Attend Racial Equity Trainings *Read books by diverse authors to gain multiple perspectives *Spend your money in businesses owned by diverse groups of people *Support financially and at the ballot box candidates seeking to move our nation forward, not backwards to a time of Jim Crow, Slavery, Racial Divisions, etc. Together we can move our nation forward!!! #History #HistoryMatters #CriminalJusticeReform #13thAmendment #EmancipationProclomation #Freedom #Juneteenth #Slavery #JimCrow #Justice #USA #America Equal Justice Initiative Juneteenth Smithsonian Institution Black Enterprise Magazine https://lnkd.in/gtATrTMD

In honor of #blackhistorymonth, let’s take inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s words: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” To that end, I recommend two brilliant African American voices: Angela Davis and Ava DuVernay. Check out the book “Freedom is a Constant Struggle” by Angela Davis and the documentary “13th” by Ava DuVernay. Both works shed light on the systemic racism that drives oppression, mass incarceration, and state-sponsored violence against black and brown people. They also discuss the role of for-profit prisons and racial criminalization as tools of race-based oppression. Notably, the use of security/defense as a cover for racism and white supremacy is also addressed. Let’s educate ourselves and engage in the fight against racism. #racism #dei #diversityandinclusion #inclusion #blacklivesmatter #genderequity

Something to think about

The type of research encapsulated in the Children at the Border Report is essential to fixing a system that everyone across the political spectrum agrees is fundamentally broken, and to giving a voice to the interests of a community that struggles to be heard. Strongly encourage those active in the space to have a read: https://lnkd.in/ejdNU2DS

In my role at the American Institutes for Research [writes Amanda Latimore], I am part of a team conducting an evaluation of NOAB for the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. Under this framework, community elders devise the response to an offense using a restorative process designed to engender accountability between a young person and their community. As a part of the process, young people and their families work with community leaders to develop a customized “individual achievement plan” to connect the young person to community-based programming that can address unmet needs. When participants complete the program, they have no further contact with the justice system for the referring incident. In this way, NOAB circumvents the justice system entirely, and in doing so minimizes compounding trauma and stigma from justice contact, which research indicates may produce inequitable effects for Black males in particular. The decision by 19 states to legalize the sale or possession of marijuana presents a second strategy for improving racial justice equity. By reconceptualizing what constitutes crime, these states offer a framework to restructure societal response to individuals in need that could be leveraged in other contexts, such as for individuals suffering from homelessness and mental health crises. Early evidence shows that adjusting drug policies — such as legalizing marijuana — offers promise for reducing arrest inequities, although disparities remain. (From the opinion piece written by Amanda Latimore and posted below)

"Black people continue to be overrepresented at all levels of the Canadian justice system. According to the Correctional Service of Canada, nine per cent of offenders in custody were Black in 2020-2021, despite only representing about four per cent of Canada’s population. As community activists, we delve into the pressing issue of anti-Black racism in the Canadian justice system and how the implementation of Impact of Race and Culture Assessments (IRCAs) can reduce the over-representation of Black people in the justice system. This is significant as it goes beyond a one-size-fits-all punitive approach that has shown to be ineffective." Read more from GREG N. LESLIE, BSW, RSW, CW, MSW candidate and registered social worker, and Ardavan Eizadirad of Wilfrid Laurier University on how equitable sentencing can mitigate anti-Black racism in Canada’s justice system: https://bit.ly/3Rr2w3b University of Waterloo Renison University College The Conversation Canada #UWaterloo #UWaterlooArts

Clarification to the incorrect information in this article: 1. Internet is NOT barred within MD prison education programs. The colleges use laptops connected back to the college’s servers and students have tablets that are connected to the internet. 2. There are currently five Second Chance Pell colleges behind the fence (not 2) who all use a hybrid model for teaching, with both in-person and virtual classes. 3. There are also 4 more colleges in the Prison Education Program application approval process required by USDOE, which will bring the number to 9 by Fall 2024. 4. BSU is the most recent and the first HBCU behind the fence, but is the 5th Second Chance Pell college to provide degrees to students. There are 4 total providing BA degrees and one providing 2 certifications. 5. BSU and MD DPSCS are working on getting the students connected back to the campus and virtual classes. This is our most recent program, so we are still working on it. However, the 4 other colleges have internet access and virtual classes.

All credit goes to Miracle of Innocence and their Co-Founders, Darryl Burton and Lamont McIntyre. Today is Juneteenth - also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Emancipation Day - a day we commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. Although President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring that all enslaved people in the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free,” the enforcement of the proclamation depended on the advancement of Union troops. Many enslaved people remained in bondage until Union forces could assert control.    Finally, on June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced General Order No. 3. This order informed the people of Texas that all enslaved people were free and that there was an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves. This announcement came more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and finally marked the effective end of slavery in the Confederate states.   Delayed justice is woven into the fabric of our country. Despite the fact that so much has changed related to the treatment of Black people in the United States since 1863, Black people are still highly discriminated against. Consider the following facts: ›Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly 5X the rate of white Americans;  ›In 12 states, more than half the prison population is Black (Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia);  ›Seven states maintain a Black/white disparity larger than 9 to 1: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Wisconsin;  Black people make up 13% of the US populations but 37% of the jailed population; ›48%+ of people serving life, life without parole, or virtual life sentences are Black;  ›On average Black people are arrested at a rate 3X higher than white people; Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, resilience, and African American culture. It serves as a reminder of the long and difficult struggle for freedom and civil rights that African Americans have faced. Juneteenth has been recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in most U.S. states. Texas was the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday in 1980.   On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, making Juneteenth a federal holiday.   Today is a time to reflect on the progress made and the work that still needs to be done to achieve true equality and justice. Today highlights the significance of freedom and the ongoing pursuit of civil rights, serving as both a commemoration of the past and a call to action for the future.   - Now you know - #Juneteenth

Weekend musing Have we operated in a world that has been designed to separate and define value based on differences for so long that we are programmed to see strategies designed to include as if we were looking at it through a prism that separates? I say that after a conversation with Ali Khan. The Anti Racism Ambassadors Network was designed as a mechanism to draw in intersectional perspectives built on black feminist liberation movements that identified that none of us are free until we are all free. As we have community and organizational prisms that separate equity and deal with each as a unique group, the addition of the work racism creates the notion that the focus is solely racism. Which was never the intent, but we are programmed to look at it that way. I have stated that a lone voice in a large room can easily be ignored. A chorus singing together not so much. We are a chorus, however not yet singing together. Imagine the impact on the employers and communities when we gather to sing with one voice and one mandate - remove barriers and become accessible so we include all.