2022 WINNING RACIAL JUSTICE ESSAYS

A letter to all the Black Boys

By April

Dear Black Boy,

Be safe. They don’t see your soul; they see your anger. They don't see your smile; they see intimidation. Be a safe “black” boy. Speak with your words but not too aggressively. Look them in the eyes but not too hard they will start to think that you are a threat. Trayvon Martin. He was 17, killed in 2012. He was walking from a corner store when a random guy on neighborhood watch saw a young Black Boy with a hoodie on as a threat. Young Black Boy, I need you to hear me. In this world you put your head down if you wanna see another day. I love you Black Boy and I want you to live another day, so unfortunately, I gotta be tough on you.

Black Boy, play with the kids that look like you because I don’t want young white boy’s dads to shoot you. How about Emmet Till. Do you remember that young Black Boy? He was 14 and killed in 1955. He was sleeping peacefully at his uncle’s house before white males came in to abduct Emmet. They tortured and killed him. I tell you this to save you. Black Boy don’t let them take you from me at a young age. This world needs you.

Black Boy when you play, play with the right kind of toys. When Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Black Boy, played with the wrong toy, he died. We don’t play with toy guns or any toy weapons for that matter we let kids that look less intimidating play with those. In the meantime, you play with toys that keep you safe like stuffed animals, basketballs, and footballs. Black Boy you’d be surprised to see how many racists want to see you live, with a football or basketball.

Black Boy work, you got a sister and younger brother to feed. Black Boy don’t cry, that’s not what you do, you protect. You protect your family from poverty. You protect your sister and brother from the gangs that grow inside schools. Black Boy protect your presence, if you’re at the wrong place, at the wrong time, ain’t no telling what will happen to you. I wouldn’t know how to feel if you were to become the next victim in this unjust world.

Black Boy protect your humanity in this world; it will eat you up and spit you out. Black Boy, we don’t have time for you to feel sorry for yourself, because Black Boy nobody cares about your feelings. Your emotions weigh heavily on you, but they don’t want you to face them. You gotta keep a clear mind. Be careful, they want you to shove all of that down. Ignore those emotions, you gotta protect your life. 

Black Boy, Mama expects you to be the man of the house. When daddy leaves, Mama needs someone to hold down the fort and with your father gone you are the next man in line. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you will pick up all the responsibilities that the man before you left behind. Without your father here the streets will try to raise you but don’t let it consume you. Mama will try to give you the knowledge that you need but it is up to you to figure out the rest.

Our people don’t want you to be sorry for what you do, even if it is wrong. They tell you to stand up for yourself, no matter what. Don’t be sorry, be a man. Our people also tell you, “Just don’t mess up this time or anytime.” You can’t afford to mess up like the other kids. You have everything to lose if you mess up Black Boy, that’s why you gotta get it right the first time. If you keep messing up like you do, you will end up dead or in prison.

This goes out to every Black Boy; I want you to know, I see you. I see your soul fighting with history. I see how that history has wounded your present. I see that with every life taken, we -as in Black people- crave change. I see the smile that you hold back because you know you must look strong for your family. Black Boy I have hope that one day you can walk down the street and not fear for your life. I have hope that you will be protected from the hate buried in the souls of people who don’t see you. I have hope that when you go out in public you will no longer be a stereotype. I have hope that one day I will not be afraid for you. I have hope that this life will give you peace. Black Boy I have hope that you will live another day. Black Boy I see you, and I love who you are.

Love,

April

The Decision is Not Always Simple

By Samantha

The Covid-19 pandemic broke out in March of 2020, and is still affecting the lives of people all across the world. The coronavirus steeped into everyday life, causing mass shutdowns of businesses and stores, increased hospitalization of Covid patients, and a rising death toll that impacted every corner of the United States. However, although this might seem like a nationwide issue that is affecting everyone equally, African Americans are being infected with and killed by covid-19 at alarmingly higher rates. In states all across the country, the percentage of african americans that are being killed by Covid-19 is a much larger percentage than the proportion in that state that demographics should account for. The CDC released hospital data that led to the conclusion that 1 in 3 people who are hospitalized because of covid are African Americans. These significant numbers and percentages stem from the issue of racial health disparity and racial bias in the medical field. African Americans are much more likely than other races to live in medically underserved areas, and this comes with a history of racial inequality, stemming from segregated areas lacking proper health care, which stems even further to slavery and the lack of any medical treatment for slaves. Already having this disadvantage in health care provisions did not bode well for the black community when covid emerged as a serious pandemic. Not only has it been harder for black Americans to receive the medical care they need, they have a higher risk of exposure to covid due to making up a disproportionate amount of essential workers. Even for black Americans that had access to medical care, doctors are less likely to encourage African Americans experiencing symptoms to get tested for covid, leading to many cases going undiagnosed and then no treatment or isolation being put in place at all. The racial bias present in the health field and the insufficient access to basic medical care has put the lives of many black Americans on the line in the covid 19 pandemic.

Although the release of the covid 19 vaccine seemed to cause hope for decreasing death tolls in America, the choice of whether or not to vaccinate was not so easy for the black community. The Tuskegee Experiment was a 40 year study that started in 1932 to test the effects of Syphilis. Black participants, some with and some without the disease, were lured into the experiment with promises of treatment for ‘bad blood’ and provided meals and other physical incentives. However, little did they know the patients with Syphilis were not going to be treated for it at all, even with the introduction of Penicillin, the patients were banned from receiving any treatment from other clinics. The patients in this study were used as test dummies, they suffered, and many died. This has left a lasting impact on the black community, many of whom do not trust the health care system, especially when it comes to vaccines. This led many African Americans to be hesitant to get the Covid vaccine. Although they knew that Covid was affecting their community larger than any others, the effects of history cannot be easily forgotten when it comes to something as serious as medical treatments and the atrocities of the Tuskegee experiment. As former mayor of Tuskegee, Lucenia Dunn, said, “ You cannot separate the experience of the past with what we believe in the present”.

For me, the choice to vaccinate was easy. My parents were among the first to test the covid vaccine and I was so eager to be protected from the virus. I myself have even participated in vaccine studies for other diseases. This is a clear example of white privilege, I didn’t have to think about my race at all when deciding to get vaccinated and there was no looming history that caused any moral or ethical conflict for me. Learning about the Tuskegee experiment was eye opening for me, it clearly put on display the difference in something I thought was an easy decision for most people. It is clear to see the difficulties that come with deciding to get vaccinated from the outside, but most people will never know the true inner conflicts caused by having to make a decision like this when there is a history of racial mistreatment in the medical field.

Although the effects of history cannot be easily minimized, there are other solutions to improving the relationship between the black community and the health field. One proposition is to improve access to healthcare. Alabama, and other states in the south, have refused to expand medicaid under the Affordable Cares Act, however now is the time to do so, to show a commitment to serving the large populations of underserved individuals in the wake of the pandemic. Incentivizing the vaccine with health care allows for a double security for those who are still unwilling to trust the vaccine, at least they would have something to fall back on in the case something does happen. This is the first step in showing these minority groups that the states and the nation care for their health and wellbeing. Increased education of underlying racial bias in the medical field for doctors and health care officials would largely benefit the black community and other racial groups that have received misdiagnosis. This would also provide a preventative tactic going forward, to stop any racial bias before it occurs. Overall, the racial health issues in America are prevalent now more than ever, and the sooner action is taken, the more lives are saved.

Sources:

https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/jul/24

https://abc3340.com/news/coronavirus/alabama-numbers-show- race-disparity-in-covid-

19-deaths https://eji.org/news/black-americans-are-dying-from- coronavirus-at-

disproportionately-higher-rates/ https://www.npr.org/2021/02/16/967011614/in-

tuskegee-painful- history-shadows-efforts-to-vaccinate-african-americans

https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm

The Strength a Home Can Give

By Nathaniel

”The home is the center of life. It is a refuge from the grind of work, the pressure of school, and the menace of the streets'' (Desmond 293). These are the words of Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond, and they are true to every human being on Earth regardless of their race, gender identity, or religion. Unfortunately, this universal fact has been disregarded in favor of the ideology of segregation. Quality homes have been barred from the African-American community with discriminatory institutional policies. The effects of these policies rear through our current society with the poverty and depraved environments within certain areas and in the monumental gap of home ownership between whites and blacks.

Redlining became the prominent strategy to keep house ownership disproportionate amongst races. The concept was introduced by chief economist Homer Hoyt in 1934 after the Federal Housing Administration wanted a boost in the housing market and help for the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (Redlining…). Hoyt deemed the areas that had a predominantly European population as the most desirable areas for lending while the areas that had a more negro population were deemed less desirable (Redlining…). This ”racial map” concept became a crucial tool for money lending companies and was the precedent for the current conditions we see today in some areas.

The racially biased map prevented blacks from obtaining loans in affluent areas and forced them to stay in areas that were deteriorating. While Caucasians were granted opportunities for obtaining better quality housing and lifestyles, African-Americans were barred from it. Because of this, African-Americans were kept in areas that were plagued with job and service losses; some of these areas were also faced with high rent prices, capital flight, and tax burdens as well (Nicolaides …). These vile circumstances further increased the income disparity between the two races; blacks had to face the high prices that whites no longer had to face and were given less opportunities to earn money as jobs migrated to areas that were heavily populated with Caucasians (Nicolaides…).

The effects caused by the demoralizing practice of redlining have been severe, harrowing, and disparaging. The lack of opportunities given to African-Americans have caused the race to be stuck in some of the most unfortunate conditions imaginable. For example, in Milwaukee, a city where 73% of it was ranked as ”definitely deteriorating” or ”hazardous” on the redlining map, poor black tenants are 75% of the people that end up in an eviction court monthly (Desmond 97; Radio…). Areas such as Oakland that faced ”job losses, and capital flight, and tax and service burdens”, had a 17.63% poverty rate in 2020. African-Ameircans had the most people in poverty with 24,468 and a 24.88% poverty rate (Oakland…). The lack of attentive care because of their ”risky investment status” for black neighborhoods and the opportunities that were stripped from the residents in redlined areas has allowed for deterioration to persist. This is one of the reasons why some African-Americans choose to turn to illegal activity in order to make living suitable. An example of this is when a woman, going by the alias Vanetta, made the decision to commit armed robbery: ”Me and my kids were going through a difficult time and on the verge of being evicted and our lights being cut off” (Desmond 265). Desperate situations usually lead to desperate actions. The damage done by the practice of redlining is still seen with the conditions and income disparity between African-Americans and Caucasians. Because African-Americans are five times more likely to have a home in areas that are impoverished, and because redlined areas are more likely to face greater poverty, the home equity for them is and has been less than white Americans (Black; Open…). The conditions redlining has put blacks in has made it incredibly difficult to purchase a home in modern times. Credit scores, for instance, are affected by the debt African-Americans have been placed in, which, in turn, affects their ability to purchase a home. This also causes them to be vulnerable to predatory lending practices disproportionately compared to white Americans (Young…). As Alisa Chang writes, ” Residents of redlined communities struggled to receive loans to buy or renovate their homes, which led to disrepair and a decline of a community’s housing stock” (Black…).

In order to fix the damages of redlining, one of the first steps is for policy makers to acknowledge the injustice itself without downplaying its impact. To say that redlining ” ‘was a racist policy from the 1930s; we don’t do that anymore,’ is failing to recognize the ongoing impact it has on the generation of today (Open…). Full cognizance will help people understand the totality of the problem and the effort that is needed to solve it. Once this is accomplished, policy makers can realize the benefits that will affect everyone once the damages of redlining has been alleviated. For example, assisting African-Americans in gaining home ownership will help lower the poverty rate, which will also help lower the proliferation of illegal or informal markets, which will then help lower the crime rate, which will then help stop the depreciation of houses, which will then help the economy grow. Having agreed upon reasons to fix the effects of redlining will make it easier for people to want to help. With that established, effective policies can be developed through communication and divergent thinking. Solving housing inequality is a complex task and will not be fixed with one solution. Being open minded can allow people to see many different angles to problems and solutions and can aid in assisting everyone that has been affected by redlining.

Unfair policies, such as redlining, have put African-Americans at a severe disadvantage. Being barred from opportunities that are critical for success have caused blacks to face circumstances that they should never have had to face. The ideology of segregation has caused the suffering of numerous people throughout generations. But with effort, everyone can eventually be fully granted their well-deserved privileges.

Works Cited

“Black Americans and the Racist Architecture of Homeownership.” KPBS Public Media, 8 May 2021 www.kpbs.org/news/2021/05/08/black-americans-and-the-racist-architecture-of

Desmond, Matthew. Evicted : Poverty and Profit in the American City. Penguin Books, 2017.

Nicolaides, Becky, and Andrew Wiese. "Suburbanization in the United States after 1945." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History. 26. Oxford University Press. Date of access 15 May. 2022, <https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-64>

“Oakland, California Population 2020 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs).” Worldpopulationreview.com, 2020, worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/oakland-ca-population

“Open Access Study Reveals Harmful Effects of Redlining on Babies Born Three Generations Later.” UC Berkeley Library News, news.lib.berkeley.edu/redlining

Radio, About The Author WisContext A. service of Wisconsin Public, et al. “The Legacy of Milwaukee’s Redlining Continues to Shape Racial Segregation.” The Milwaukee Independent, 5 Mar. 2019

www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/legacy-milwaukees-redlining-continues-shape-racial-segregation/

“Redlining · Racial Restriction and Housing Discrimination in the Chicagoland Area

· Digital Chicago.” Digitalchicagohistory.org, digitalchicagohistory.org/exhibits/show/restricted-chicago/other/redlining.

Young, Caitlin. “These Five Facts Reveal the Current Crisis in Black Homeownership.” Urban Institute, 31 July 2019,

www.urban.org/urban-wire/these-five-facts-reveal-current-crisis-black-homeownership

Underaged Prosecution Negatively Affects the Youth of America

By Kathryn

During their first few years of life children are at their most vulnerable state. This vulnerability is why they are considered kids. They cannot vote, they cannot drink and they do not receive the same benefits as adults; so how can they be prosecuted as one? Underaged prosecution is wrong because it subjects vulnerable minors to adult punishments; more specifically, underaged prosecution convicts juveniles to prison sentences in adult facilities.

Juveniles have young, impressionable, and undeveloped minds. They do not have the same mental capacity as adults. In his argument supporting the abolishment of underaged prosecution, CFJY campaign director Evans discusses that “Children are different from, and should be treated differently from adults,” reminding us that these offenders are still children and deserve to be treated like children. These children have made mistakes and deserve to learn from them, not die in chains. However, in our society, Instead of helping children learn from their mistakes, we harshly punish them with adult prison sentences. America is the only country that sentences children to life without parole and in thirteen states there is no age limitation on convictions. This means even eight and nine year olds can be tried as adults and never see the light of day again. Former child prosecutor, Allison Blackburn, explains she has seen children as young as twelve be tried and sentenced as adults. Once sent to these adults prisons, kids suffer trauma, rape, and extended periods of isolation. These cruel and unusual punishments leave children without an identity like a faceless portrait with no purpose. Author and lawyer Brian Stevenson explains children are “preoccupied with surviving in dangerous, terrifying environments” and have no time to learn from any mistakes which was the intended point of putting them in there, to “teach them a lesson”. What kind of lesson is this? How can we let a 12 year old be raped and say they are learning from their mistakes? Bryan Stevenson describes juveniles such as Antonio Nunez, a young boy persuaded to participate in a crime no one was hurt in, to explain how kids have been tried as adults and sentenced to adult facilities where they face these horrible acts. This subjection of children to these terrifying conditions should be eliminated.

Politicians seeking higher positions have often produced “tough on crime” policies that target youth. Reporter Kurt Erikson argues for the push of these policies. He claims armed criminal action, regardless of age, demands mandatory prison sentences. He believes like many others Prison is a good place for kids. Supporting his ideas of juveniles in prison, author Angela Neustatter believes prison is the only place “where adolescents will receive education on terms that work for them.” She speaks of the guards being like parents, teaching these young offenders right from wrong, but what kind of parent rapes their own kid? These guards do not show the love and patience parents are supposed to have. Many times they abuse the children they are entrusted with. Juveniles do not learn in prison and instead come out more likely to commit another crime because of the physical and mental abuse they have suffered. Prosecuting children as adults leads them to horrible abuse and a mindset fixated on anger and hostility. In order to reduce the negative impact adult prosecution has on children, focus needs to be fixated on the court system itself. Laws should be passed that eliminate adult prosecution in cases where the offender is younger than 18. These juveniles should be sentenced in facilities dedicated to the rehabilitation of youth and re-examined for release once in adulthood.

Re-evaluation is important because these are children who have made mistakes and should not lose their entire life. By eliminating the subjection of minors to adult courts and submitting them to juvenile courts, America can stop the horrors these kids face in adult prisons, while still protecting the general public.

Bibliography:

Blackburn, Allison. Personal Interview. 23 February 2022.

Erickson, Kurt. “Part of Parson Police Push Includes Threat of Sending Missouri Kids as Young as 12 to Adult Prisons.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), 29 July 2020. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W61678877201&site=ehost-live.

Neustatter, Angela. “Prison Can Be the Right Place for Kids.” New Statesman, vol. 131, no. 4601, Aug. 2002, p. 12. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=7190147&site=ehost-live.

PR Newswire. “New Report Documents Ongoing Progress in Ending the Prosecution of Children in Adult Courts.” PR Newswire US, 21 Oct. 2020. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=202010210800PR.NEWS. USPR.PH65303&site=ehost-live.

Stevenson, B. (2016). Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (pp. 155–160). Spiegel & Grau.