Cynthia's Interests


The world as it unfolds - told from an African American woman's perspective...

Thursday, March 02, 2006

The Black & White of America...

I will start by saying anyone who thinks America is the land of the free should ask themselves, free for whom?

This morning on the Cliff Kelly show Rev. Patricia Walkins said that black men are incarcerated 57 times more than white men for the same offense. She said white men are being diverted for those offenses, mainly drug use, and black men are being jailed. In the U.S., for most counties, Meth is the number one drug problem and laws have been implemented to circumvent this problem. The interesting thing about this is that blacks are not known for using meth and there are more whites using drugs, and yet, the drug policies are being enforced in a way that more blacks are incarcerated than whites for these alleged non-violent crimes.

In Illinois, there is a program set up for those who have been caught with drugs and have no prior record. These people are eligible to participate in a short program that allows them to go to what is called drug school. Upon completion of this four-day course, their record is expunged. The interesting thing is that the State's Attorney Office chooses the participants, and only 25% of those participants are black.

Now can someone honestly tell me that everyone is living in a free and open society in the U.S.? Can someone honestly tell me that we are not being unfairly victimized? Doesn't this show that the King's dream has become our worst nightmare? The real question is - when will this madness end?

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