The School-to-Prison Pipeline

    The documentary, 13th, reveals the harsh torture that Blacks and Browns have endured for decades upon decades.  Sadly, politics and economics continue to be a motivating factor behind influential White supremacists and leaders to this very day.  The sobering statistics, images, and innocent names and faces of POC who were killed unjustly serve as a painful reminder of the decades of trauma we have knowingly inflicted upon fellow humans.  The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and it continues to grow at an exponential rate.  With the demise of slavery, which once served as our economic system, four million former slaves were suddenly free, as they were no longer someone's property.  What do you do with these former slaves?  How do you rebuild the economy?  These were just some of the questions posed during the documentary.  Well, as the document reminds us, there are loopholes in the 13th amendment- loopholes that do not protect criminals.  The solution?  Mass incarceration.  Blacks and Browns were suddenly thrown into prison for punitive reasons.  From the "Mandatory Minimum" to the "Three Strikes Bill" to the way corporations worked in tandem with politicians and leaders, Blacks never had a chance.  Looking at recent events, it is evident that there is so much more that has to be done to fix this unjust justice system.  Additionally, one male reminded us that after you have been convicted of a felony, it's as if "The Scarlett Letter follows you for the rest of your life" as you can't find a job, housing, and so much more; "You're denied citizenship and there's no closure even when you do get out of prison."   

    So, how do we fix this?  In "Law and Order in School and Society:  How Discipline and Policing Policies Harm Students of Color, and What We Can Do About It", Scott, J., et al make several recommendations at both the local and state levels.  We need to begin to leverage the playing field.  Collaboration must happen amongst agencies to ensure adequate opportunities for high-poverty communities of color.  As Anyon stated in "What Counts as Educational Policy," "educational accountability would be conceived as a public undertaking centrally involving families, communities, and students in consultation with district and government officials."  Clearly, we aren't there yet- it's time to involve families and communities so that the REAL stakeholders finally have a say in the matter.  Additionally, Anyon reminded us that "given the plethora of federal state, and local education policies aimed at urban schools and the current widely acknowledged necessity of high-quality education for all, why have most urban schools and districts not been able to provide such an education for their students?"  Unfortunately, while Anyon refers to a plethora of education policies that are aimed at urban schools, it is beyond evident that something is still lacking.  Students are not receiving the education they deserve.  While Scott, J., et al admit that the issues extend far beyond school, we can start in the schools- students deserve to feel safe and they deserve a quality education.  At the local level, funds should be redirected from SROs, who often intimidate students who have endured trauma, while allocating those funds to resources and programs that will directly impact these vulnerable students.  At the state level, we must require teachers, school leaders, and staff to receive intensive trauma-informed professional development.  This is something that I am proud to say that I have been a part of and I look at things from a different perspective now- even if you think you "know it all", you really don't.

    During her TED Talk, "How we're priming some kids for college and others for prison", Goffman reiterates the effects that school systems have on students of color.  She paints a beautiful picture of Whites and the opportunities they are afforded as a result of college to then juxtapose that idea with the types of institutions POC often have.  Goffman says, "There is a second institution overseeing the journey from childhood to adulthood in the United States and that institution is prison."  Kids are getting a cold prison cell with a permanent mark that remains with them for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, "Prison stands firmly between the young children trying to make it and The American Dream".  We are saddling kids with fees and no job opportunities or chances of employment.  They live in constant fear of being "stopped, searched, and seized".  

    People talk about the School-to-Prison Pipeline all the time.  After watching the documentary, TED Talk, and reading Scott's recommendations, it is beyond evident that this situation is very real and very present.  It is not going to get better until we do something to create real change.  We are setting Black and Brown children up for a lifetime of failure, harassment, torment, and poverty.  After decades of systemic racism, and, after decades of allowing politics and economics to treat our fellow humans like beasts, how do we create this much-needed change?  How do we get everyone to truly believe that when Black Lives Matter, ALL Lives Will Matter?