www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, August-September 2004Prisoners say 'all of us or none of us'Oakland, Cal.--We hear that once again in 2004, Florida voter rolls have been "cleansed" of the names of African Americans on the suspicion they may be former prisoners. This practice, of course, was critical in the outcome of the 2000 elections. However, being deprived of the right to vote, in many states for the rest of their lives, does not begin to scratch the surface of the ongoing punishment former prisoners continue to suffer long after they "paid their debt" to society. Last year, 50 former California prisoners decided to start shining a spotlight on the issue. They formed the organization All of Us or None. On July 31 they held a public meeting announcing their efforts in a Community Peace and Justice Summit. Several hundred former prisoners, prisoner families, community activists, and even some local politicians filled the church to hear former prisoners testify about the discrimination they face because of felony convictions. Dorsey Nunn opened the meeting by talking about the problems of getting out of prison and not being allowed to integrate back into one’s own community, being denied housing, food stamps, jobs, and so on. Tony Coleman, the co-founder of the youth organization Third Eye Movement and Books Not Bars, told how he came to realize that it’s not just about him beating the system on his own, but that he can help himself by helping others. Getting arrested can become a culture, in and out of prison. He stressed how important it is to work on principles, to eliminate life-long punishment after conviction, to effectively advocate for alternatives to incarceration, and other issues. Emani Davis, an advocate for the rights of children of prisoners, stressed that visitation should not be a privilege. Children have a right to survive and develop. Even if there is a question about the incarcerated parents’ rights to their children, there should be no question about the children’s rights to their parents. Harriette Davis, founding member of Network on Women in Prison and Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, told how she was denied custody of her granddaughter because of a conviction for which she finished her sentence 20 years ago. She spoke against Child Protective Services, who place light-skinned African-American children up for adoption and dark-skinned ones in group homes and orphanages. She compared it to the system of slavery, which also separated families even when they wanted to stay together. Elder Freeman, an organizer for homeless people, said when he was released in 1978 he got $200, a bus ticket back to the town and an order to report to a parole officer. Today, prisoners get the same $200 upon release. Housing programs do not accept people with convictions or who have had a drug problem. So former prisoners are forced to be homeless, which is often seen as a violation of their parole. Starr Smith had a drug conviction on her record. After she got out, she got pregnant and her boyfriend abandoned her. After her son was born, she could get welfare for him, but it’s impossible to live in San Francisco on $325 a month. Yet she managed. She pleaded with the audience to not take her success as a "proof" that there is no need for the social safety net. The most stirring were the speakers talking about youth in prison. Ise Lyfe asked us to imagine what it does to a young person’s mind to be driven to the prison by his mother every week, and go home again for the weekend. How messed up the society is that we are afraid of our youth! Yolanda Vega described the ordeal of her daughter in California Youth Authority. She was on drugs and pregnant. Yet besides vitamin pills, she received no medical care, no pre-natal visits. When at five months she started bleeding, she was told she could not be seen because "the infirmary was too busy." A doctor finally saw her after another 24 hours, took her to the hospital where she gave birth to a baby who had no chance to survive. He died within 30 minutes. Despite her mental anguish and grief, they put her right back in her unit as though nothing had happened. The summit deliberated on what actions we should take. There are laws that can be enacted, but above all, more organizing is needed to bring into public discourse that a "tough on crime" stance, which translates into life-long punishment of felons, is hurting all of us. --Urszula Wislanka |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
