It is Darkest Before the Dawn . . .

Family,

For me, the Ferguson grand jury decision not to charge police officer Darren Wilson with a crime in the shooting of Michael Brown, was not a surprise. I may have been surprised at the ineptitude of the prosecutor, or the clumsy way they announced it, or the attempt to explain away the racist overtones, but I never expected justice.

The killing of Eric Garner was different. Here there was a video of the police choking this man to death . . . of Mr. Garner repeating over and over, "I can't breath." (CAUTION, the video is painful to view. You can view by clicking here.) How in the world can a grand jury not even think the case deserved to go to trial? 

Well, in the midst of my revulsion, as I'm distracted and less productive than I should be, Asha Bandele (Director, Advocacy Grants Program at the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)) sends out a note to the many partners of DPA regarding the decision. She has graciously allowed me to reprint it here:

Dearest Partners,

In May of 1857, having just heard of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott case (for those of us thinking of Travyon Martin today, ironically it was filed as Dred Scott v Sandford), which in effect validated the existence of slavery and seemed to ensure its continuance, the great abolitionist, orator and ex-slave, Frederick Douglass, said: 

In one view the slaveholders have a decided advantage over all opposition. It is well to notice this advantage…(but)  This is one view….there is another, and a brighter view. David, you know, looked small and insignificant when going to meet Goliath, but looked larger when he had slain his foe….Thus hath it ever been. Oppression, organized as ours is, will appear invincible up to the very hour of its fall….Take this fact—for it is a fact—the anti-slavery movement has, from first to last, suffered no abatement. It has gone forth in all directions, and is now felt in the remotest extremities of the Republic. 

It started small, and was without capital either in men or money. The odds were all against it. It literally had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. There was ignorance to be enlightened, error to be combatted, conscience to be awakened, prejudice to be overcome, apathy to be aroused, the right of speech to be secured, mob violence to be subdued, and a deep, radical change to be inwrought in the mind and heart of the whole nation. This great work, under God, has gone on, and gone on gloriously…Our strength is in the growth of [our] conviction, and this has never halted. 

In less than six years after he made that statement, of course, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

And so as the progeny of people who traversed mountains higher and more rocky than ours, and with far fewer resources, we continue.  And we do it with all the care, compassion and strategic brilliance that has defined us every day leading up to this day.  We do it as allies, we do it as colleagues, we do it as organizers and friends.  We do it as partners in this work.

The horrific decisions out of Ferguson and now, New York, have this moment. We acknowledge that. But knitting ourselves together I know this: we will write the final and beautiful chapter in history.

With a powerful belief in justice and in each of you,

asha

We will indeed write the final AND beautiful chapter in history. The fight to end mass incarceration in America, to end this War on Drugs that is stripping resources from our education systems, our health care systems, our infrastructure (spelled JOBS), will be won! Because this is where justice resides. Every injustice like in Ferguson, or in New York, feeds fresh warriors into our campaigns.

For now, let's keep Galatians 6:9 in our thoughts:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."     

 A luta Continua,

Daryle

Harry Belafonte: The Power of Film

Harry Belafonte and Sidney Portier at the Governors Awards

Harry Belafonte was the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Governors Awards (an honorary Oscar, Mr. Belafonte's first).

His acceptance speech was incredibly powerful, insightful, incriminating, and at the same time hopeful.

What a wonderful brother, artist, and of course humanitarian.

The power of film to change minds and hearts was never so eloquently stated. This is the reason that The Next Movement embarked on our (In))Justice for All Film Festival this year, and are committed to screen meaningful social justice focused films on a regular basis, and to hold our festival annually. The 2015 festival will be held April 9-18.

You can view this wonderful acceptance speech by CLICKING HERE. Truly one of the giants of both entertainment and justice. An awesome example for us all.

Daryle Brown

From the Inside: Dre's Story

He’s from a small northern suburb that doesn’t set off alarms in your head, like when you hear
“Englewood.”  It is home to the illustrious campus of Northwestern University, choice lake front real estate and one of the largest high schools in the country… even in the high crime areas, you can step out your front door in the morning and smell the life vibrating beneath the heavy mist of dew that has settled on the grass and trees. Dre trampled over this pulsating scenery like it was the desolate wild west.  Because when he’s gone off the weed and alcohol, he thinks he’s an outlaw.

 

When Dre was four, he was walking down an alley with his seventeen year old uncle, Ty, when gun shots rang out nearby.  “Stay here, Andre,” his uncle told him while pushing him between two garbage cans. 

 

“Don’t move until I come back!”

 

Ty pulled a gun from his waist and disappeared between two buildings. He was caught in a gang-related murder and Dre wouldn’t see him again until twelve years later.

 

It would be like he never left though, because Dre would be confronted by his uncle’s reputation all through his childhood. He would constantly hear from family and people in the neighborhood about his uncle’s phenomenal attributes. 

 

“He was so charismatic, all the ladies loved him.”… “He was so tough, all the guys respected him.”

 

Dre had none of these traits. As he got older and people found out he was Ty’s nephew, you couldn’t help but notice the shadow of disappointment move across their faces.

 

Dre was the shy, timid, soft-spoken type. 

 

“Speak up boy!” His dad would snap at him.  “You talk like you got rocks in your throat!” 

 

Dre’s over-protective parents kept him isolated in the house most of the time, which made him socially awkward, but an avid reader. By the time he got to high school, he had already read the majority of the books on the English curriculum. They had to place him in honors class.

 

Despite his academic potential, Dre wanted nothing more than to shake this lame persona. The characters he looked to emulate were the cats, like Uncle Ty: the dudes standing across the street from the school with their hats broke off; proudly throwing their hands in the air with fingers twisted up in signs to their allies; and embracing each other with secret handshakes. A brotherhood.  Everyone seemed to either love or fear them.

 

It was really this fear that kept him in check. But, when he was fifteen, he discovered a magic potion that would suppress that fear: weed and alcohol. He initially tried them when offered, because he didn’t want to be the square that said, “No.”

 

But, it was the effects that kept him coming back. The weed, by itself, was fun;  but, it made him feel more nervous and more vulnerable than when he wasn’t high. The liquor was another story. He felt like he had been dipped in a vat of radioactive waste and emerged a superhero. He didn’t feel like the same timid, insecure, cowardly guy he was before. Instead, he felt bold, confident, fearless; he felt free.

 

Dre stumbled through the rest of high school in a drunken haze, and just barely graduated. The weed and alcohol took him down a dark road. Under the influence, he chose to be initiated into the “brotherhood.” He so much admired them that, while under the influence, he chose to pick up a gun and shoot at someone he had been convinced was his enemy. 

 

When he woke up sober the next morning, his stomach dropped, as he remembered the things he had done. But, it was too late to think. He was nineteen years old, sitting in the county jail, facing attempted murder charges.

 

While he was on the inside, the thirst only grew. From what he could see around him, drugs and alcohol was the culture. Everyone did something. Even if they didn’t, he wore his addiction like a badge of honor. It was his identity. The only way he knew how to be. There was no reason to believe he had a problem, so despite the Narcotics Anonymous and Alcohol Anonymous programs that were offered on the inside, Dre looked at them as irrelevant to him. He eagerly awaited his parole date and that first drink…

 

Dre is now thirty-four, and serving a sixty-year sentence. He learned that putting on a mask doesn’t change who you are.

Evidence is one thing, Fighting is the right thing

A good friend and mentor, Howard Saffold (a founder of the Negro Patrolman's League and CEO of the Positive Anti-Crime Trust), once forwarded to me a wonderful report, The Adoration of the Question: Reflections on the Failure to Reduce Racial & Ethnic Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System. The actual report deals with challenges to move from theory to action, from minor tinkering to real transformation, in the obvious and clearly unjust racial and ethnic disparities in our juvenile justice system, but the first part of the title, "The Adoration of the Question," has stuck with me through the years as the reams of studies have been developed on the issue of mass incarceration, but the will of our politicians, and our people, seems unmotivated to act.

This editorial in the NYTimes is another high profile call for an end to America's epidemic of mass incarceration. Motivated by a 444 page report from the National Academy of Sciences, The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences - yet another treatise on this issue - they quote the usual statistics (2.2 million incarcerated Americans, disproportional effects on black, brown and poor, nearly 160,000 people serving life sentences) and some new ones ($80 billion a year spent on direct corrections costs). They also mention a report by Human Rights Watch, Nation Behind Bars: A Human Rights Solution, and a particular quote:

. . . while prison should generally be a last resort, in the United States “it has been treated as the medicine that cures all ills,” and that “in its embrace of incarceration, the country seems to have forgotten just how severe a punishment it is.”

With Professor Angela Davis' book, Are Prisons Obsolete?, from 2002, and Professor Michelle Alexander's more recent book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness, and the many other books, research reports, editorials, documentary films, etc., that describe and inform on the subject of prison and mass incarceration, the depth and damage of this humanitarian nightmare is clear.

What is needed now is not more Adoration of the Question, but more action!

There are organizations spouting up in cities across America focused on ending the mass incarceration epidemic, ending the drug war, making sense of our sentencing laws, and reestablishing mental health treatment capacity in this country.  If you are in Chicago, join us, The Next Movement. If you are anywhere else in the country, look for a Campaign to End The New Jim Crow, or contact us to help locate an organization in your area.

Stop adoring and start fighting.

A luta continua,

Daryle Brown

Modern Day Torture Chambers

Even though I have been visiting prisons in Cook County, throughout the State of Illinois, and even Oxford Federal Prison in Wisconsin, for many years, the revelation of excessively poor treatment coming out of Menard Prison was shocking.

The preliminary report from Alan Mills, the Legal Director of The Law Center, is an indictment on our very humanity. Our government would close down a puppy breeder for less negligent behavior. Our prison officials, and elected representatives by extension, are so callous, cruel and indifferent to incarcerated citizens, leaving them to be subject to disease and suffering that is totally unnecessary. When these men return to their community, what will be left of their humanity!

Please check out this article by clicking here.

As your anger rises, as your empathy kicks in, consider joining with your Prison Ministry or The Next Movement committee (of the Prison Ministry) to fight for justice, for humane treatment of prisoners, for an end to America's love affair with incarceration.

Daryle Brown

Free Entrepreneurship Program Exclusively for Ex-Offenders

Sent to us by friend of the cause, Prof. Randolph Stone:

Free Entrepreneurship Program Exclusively for Ex-Offenders Starts June 9, 2014 Greetings!  Greetings from the IL-SBDC/Duman Entrepreneurship Center at JVS Chicago. We are pleased to announce that the Basic Entrepreneurship Support and Training Program (B.E.S.T.) is accepting participants for its first session of 2014. B.E.S.T. is a six week course of entrepreneurial training exclusively for ex-offenders. The next session will start on June 9th, 2014. In 2013, sixty seven (67) ex-offenders completed the B.E.S.T. Program achieving nine new business starts or expansions and 14 new jobs were created. In addition, five of these businesses were funded through our B.E.S.T. micro-loan program, which is earmarked exclusively for ex-offenders. We are looking to create many new success stories for 2014. We are reaching out to all of our partners to assist us in identifying qualified individuals who would benefit from this program. Thank you for your continuing support of this program. The Duman Entrepreneurship Center Team

We need 30 Ex-Offenders looking to start or expand a small business and to become one of our many success stories. There have been many successful business start-ups and expansions since the inception of the program. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to: Plan for the start-up or expansion of a successful small business Create and write a successful business plan Design an industry specific marketing plan Address financial planning and credit issues Understand business structure and risk management Examine options for funding a small business Apply for funding through the B.E.S.T. Loan Program  Microloans are Available! Eligible program participants can receive microloans up to $5,000 to start or expand their business. May be the last opportunity to participate in this program for 2014. Classes fill fast!    Important Information and Registration Registration and Additional Information All classes will be held at: JVS Chicago 216 W. Jackson, 2nd Floor Chicago, IL 60606    To register, and for more information, contact: JVS Chicago Duman Microenterprise Center info@JVSChicago.org 855-INFO-JVS (855-463-6587)       Register Today Space is Limited!    City of Chicago Residency Required This program is funded by the City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services

From the Inside: Chris' Story

Previously we  we introduced Andre "Dre" Patterson, a resident in Stateville Correctional Center, and a volunteer writer for The Next Movement's blog. His first series of articles will be focusing on various crossroads . . . intersection points where a better decision could have led to an entirely different future. This is the third installment . . .

Chris' Story

The middle-class suburb of Mundelein (where the employment rate is high, and violent crimes were minimal to non-existent) has a greasy underbelly.  This mostly White and Hispanic town is home to an affluent drug culture.  The notorious Mexican Mafia has a strong hold on the cocaine trade, and kids can get ahold of any drug on the spectrum; from prescription pills to acid.  With such easy access, you can become an addict, a dealer, or both early on--the user and the used.

This was the breeding ground for Chris; a lanky, pale-skinned, anti-social kid, with natural leadership skills.  He stayed in a one story, five-bedroom house with his mother, younger sister and older brother, who was in and out of jail.  His brother was deeply entrenched in Mundelein’s drug scene, a user and one of the used.  This is where Chris took his example from; with a father in Tennessee, and mother that worked days and went to school at night, he was left to figure things out on his own. 

He was also left to deal with the memory of something horrible he had done when he was ten.  “It jarred me awake every morning, like the annoying beep of an alarm clock.  The same nightmare from something that I did when I was too young to know better.  At least that’s what family told me.  But I had a different narrative of the events.  What I did, chased my conscience, so I chased it away with vodka and cocaine.” 

When he was eleven, Chris started down a dark road that he mistook for an escape route, when he began smoking marijuana.  At thirteen, he added alcohol to an everyday weed habit.  He began a rapid plunge to the bottom when at fourteen, he was introduced to cocaine.  This would be the ultimate escape from his conscience that he was looking for.

At fifteen, Chris checked into a thirty-day rehab to avoid jail time for a series of under-age drinking and possession arrests.  While in the facility, he had a brief moment of clarity and attempted to get clean.  But the moment passed when he couldn’t envision the future sober.  Chris continued to get high in rehab.

Throughout all of this, Chris tried to stay in school, while residing in his chemically altered universe.  But, in his fourth year of high school, totally disengaged with education, he dropped out.  Around this time, Chris and some friends started burglarizing known drug houses. 

Usually, nobody was home.  But one day, someone surprised Chris and his crew and things got out of hand.  Chris was only eighteen when he came to jail charged with a home invasion & murder.