The Color of Justice: Mass Incarceration In The United States
As a civil rights attorney, I’ve often spoken about disparities in the criminal justice system in the United States—how African Americans are not only unfairly targeted by police, but often receive far longer sentences than white people who commit similar crimes.
That issue was front and center several weeks ago at the 2017 International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Atlanta. As I have often said, justice in America is far from blind, but rather a rigged system in which the scales are heavily tipped in favor of whites.
Legal scholar and keynote speaker Michelle Alexander recently echoed my sentiments at a conference when she asked the audience to imagine if the current opioid crisis was devastating black cities like St. Louis and Detroit, instead of predominantly white communities such as Enid, Oklahoma and Montgomery, Alabama?
Does anyone believe the senate, at this very moment, would be contemplating legislation that allocates billions of dollars toward treatment, while eliminating mandatory sentences for many drug offenses? I think we all know the answer to that question—hell no!
But while attitudes around the country are shifting in regards to lock ‘em up and throw away the key sentences, one person whose thinking hasn’t evolved one bit is Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
In fact Sessions, in a memo to federal prosecutors last May, mandated they pursue the harshest punishments legally allowed—a sweeping reversal of Obama-era policies that gave federal lawyers more leeway to reserve such prosecutions for criminals who had committed the worst of crimes.
Given that black drivers are stopped, searched and arrested at a much higher rate than whites, Session’s mandate will clearly result in an increase of African American men and women landing behind bars for longer sentences.
Even actor/comic Chris Rock recently got pulled over #DrivingWhileBlack 3 times in 7 weeks as detailed in this clip by CNN.
This is very reason why I was so passionate about African Americans turning out en masse in the last election, to prevent Trump from winning and appointing a hate monger like Sessions. Unfortunately, too many of us got complacent and took our eyes off the prize. Now we’re paying a steep price.
In 2018, we must regain our momentum and turn out and vote with a vengeance, because one thing is for sure--as long as Trump and Sessions are in office, blacks are going to face even harsher treatment in the criminal justice system including unduly long sentences for drug-related crimes that will land others in treatment.
CONTRIBUTED BY: AREVA MARTIN
Areva Martin is America's Advocate. She is a TV talk show host and commentator on compelling legal, political, women’s, children’s and celebrity issues. A Los Angeles based civil rights attorney and Founder of the Special Needs Network, Areva is a nationally recognized and out-spoken autism advocate and attorney fighting for the rights of underserved communities.
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