September 10, 2009 — vol. 45, no 5
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Roving Camera
Why is the African American incarceration rate so high? |
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… Businesses profit from the [prison] commissary, [collect call] phone service, etc. It’s a simple case of structural injustice … black men being singled out as criminals because of who they are. |
Joseph Jones "Future City Council Candidate" Roxbury |
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I believe it’s a direct result of a failed educational system and a fundamental breakdown in the black family structure. [Those are] the primary factors for high incarceration. |
Bruce Bolling Executive Director, MassAlliance Roxbury |
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Lack of knowledge of self and kind, and until we as a people accept our own and be ourselves, we will remain in this trap. We need preparation and opportunity. |
“Brother Carl X” Outreach Counselor Roxbury |
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It’s all about economics. It’s like that CORI thing, where black men can’t get a job. They’re forced into doing “things.” You’ve got to have money. |
Ralph Beach Artist Dorchester |
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[Prisons are] contemporary slave camps. More black men [are] going in for longer periods of time and it’s fragmenting the community. |
Abu Hanif Former Superintendent Dorchester |
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I feel that the lack of resources is the problem. From there, we have to be more pro-active and that’s where it matters. |
Robert Jordan Music Writer Mattapan |
