Written By: Chloe Warshaw, 17, Massachusetts
A commentary on the systematic oppression of POC through the American Prison System
“What if we believed that no lives mattered less than other lives. What if we were to invest in people, rather than just try to incarcerate our way out of problems,” says Father Greg Boyle. He came to my school as a guest speaker one day, alongside two former rival gang members, to speak about his work as the founder and director of Homeboy Industries, “the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.” Before hearing Father Boyle, the criminal justice system was something that crossed my mind, partly due to the fact that as a white person I have the privilege not to have to think about it. I always believed that the police were doing their duty to keep our communities safe and that those who committed acts of violence were simply bad people doing bad things. It was, and is, the narrative being pushed on our society; that incarcerated people of color are dangerous thugs, and drug dealers. Yet the men standing before me were eloquent, loving and driven individuals. With the love from Father Greg and Homeboy Industries, they were able to realize their worth and potential, but that love was absent from just about everywhere else. I learned at this presentation that these people were not in fact thugs and criminals, but victims of a vicious cycle of hate and oppression that is widely accepted, but seldom discussed in American society.
The United States is seen as many things: a forceful world power, a modern trailblazer and a land of opportunity. But what America is not seen as is the world’s leader in incarceration, with 2.2 million people in prison-- an increase of 500% over the past 40 years. This does not mean that we have more criminals than other countries, but rather that we have created a system of discrimination that favors recidivism and lack of toleration. It is undeniable that people of color are disproportionately incarcerated, making up 37% of the United States population and 67% of the prison population. These statistics are daunting, raising a plethora of questions, so I turned to history. Beginning in the 1930s, government surveyors graded cities around the country, color coating them based upon their rank, green being the “best” and red for “hazardous.” Unsurprisingly, wherever people of color went, the color red and its connotations followed them, no matter how “dangerous” the neighborhood actually was. Living in a “hazardous” area meant that microcosms of discriminated people had been flooded with law enforcement, constantly under heavy watch. The puppet masters in an essentially all-white government had succeeded in segregating cities across America and targeting communities of interest. By viewing the statistics alone it is easy to draw the conclusion that because people of color are incarcerated at a higher rate, they are, in the words of Donald Trump, “vicious criminals and animals.” Yet that is simply untrue. These people, like the two men I heard from at school that day, were born into a system of oppression in the makings for centuries.
“It’s an illusion that locking more people up will bring you more safety,” Father Greg Boyle. Yet really the communities who are most at danger are being torn from their families, and lives, and are welcomed into a recurring vision of metal bars and orange jumpsuits. What’s next? How do we take action and confront this issue? Of course, being aware is a large piece of it. Knowing the facts can guide otherwise ill-informed conversations, but what really needs to change is the attitude and sentiment around prisoners and gang members. We must not just learn statistics, but hear those who have been incarcerated and truly listen to their stories. We must discuss the root of the crime because as long as society deems incarcerated people as animals and thugs, we are failing to acknowledge this vicious system of oppression. Talk to your friends about criminal justice reform, research the stories of those who have been in jail, and lobby your officials. It is time to realize that what incarcerated people need is not isolation but love.
Bibliography
Homeboy Industries. http://homeboyindustries.org/our-story/about-homeboy/.
"Redlining was banned 50 years ago. It's still hurting minorities today." The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c1315b30978c.
The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/.