Christi M Griffin - Incarcerations in Black and White: The Subjugation of Black America

Have the courage tosay no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thingbecause it is right. These are the magic keys to living with integrity.

~ W. Clement StoneAlso by Christi Griffin21 Days to Joy: A Daily Devotional to Finding JoyThe Subjugation of Black AmericaCHRISTI M. GRIFFIN, JDThe Subjugation of Black AmericaByCHRISTI M. GRIFFIN, JD

Published by:C. Griffin PublishingPO Box 23422
St. Louis, MO 63156 USA

October, 2013, 50 years after the March on Washingtonand 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation.ISBN 100-9821190-1-1

Printed in the United States of America. No part of thispublication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, duplicated withoutthe priorpublisher.
recordingorotherwisewritten permission of the

Logo is the trademark of C. Griffin Publishing2013 by Christi M. Griffin. All rights reservedPrinted in the USADEDICATION

This book is dedicated to our children. The innocent victims who suffer the loss of parents to
incarceration. Their pain is the greatest crime of all.TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ch. 1 The Great Exception - Neither slavery nor Ch. 2 From the Court Steps to NASDAQ TheSocial Implications of a Tainted Construct 59Ch. 3 The Invisible Man - Whos behind the mask?65Ch. 4 Double Vision - The view from a place of

Ch. 5 Its Just Geography - Shifts in crime from neighborhoods to prisons. Crime is a crime is a

Ch. 6 Why Do Black Kids Shoot?131Ch. 7 Save the Children 141Ch. 8 Towards a Less Punitive Society153Ch. 9 Whats In It for Me171Ch. 10 Where Do We Go From Here181Ch. 11 The Implements of Battle193Ch.12 By the Numbers, the raw truth about 248incarcerationsPrivate Prisons and Related Corporations271ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book would not be possible without those who giveso much to the ongoing work of The Ethics Project. Myunending thanks goes to the active members of the Board of Directors, Chairman, Rev. Dr. Douglass Petty, Atty. KymberlySmith Jackson, CarolineFisher,BrittaniMcClure Williams, St. Louis Health Commissioner MelbaMoore, Rev. Douglas Parham, Redditt Hudson, RobinBoyce,LeonSharpeand TonyNeal. To TheEthics Projects research assistants, Yaa Sarpong, a current lawstudent at Columbia Law School and a gifted COROFellow made possible by Rev. Starsky Wilson of TheDeaconess Foundation and Haley Levy, a bright student atWashington Universityin St. Louis. Both provided invaluable research as well as insight from the perspectiveof a younger generation. To Rev. Rodney Francis and his wife, Dr. Leah Francis Gunning whose eager support and vigorous conversations inspire me to reach new heights. Toall those who have served on the Urban League PublicSafety Advisory Council, especially St. Louis CountyPolice Captain Doyle, Sgt. Mann, Sgt. Rice and Sgt. Eckhert and many officers with the St. Louis County andSt. Louis Metropolitan Police Departments for giving me hopethat caringlaw-enforcement actuallyexists.ToMichael McMillan for your leadership. To retired U.S.Marshall Ron Henderson and Captain John Hayden who headed the St. Louis City Department of Internal Affairs, the first two voices that guided me at the inception of TEP.To the members of the St. Louis Initiative to ReduceViolence, Rev. B.T. Rice, retired Urban League PresidentJames Buford, retired St. Louis Police Chief and current Professor of Criminology Dan Isom, Police Chief SamDotson,PoliceChiefTim Fitch,Professor Richard Rosenthal, Nancy McCarthy, Evan Krauss, Rosie Stafford, Joe Yancy, Mickey Thomas, and especially Dr. Kelvin Adams, Superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools,who has kept his door often and provided opportunities,support and challenges. To my hero, Dr. Art McCoy, morethan 20 years my junior but a priceless soul I greatlyadmire. To school superintendents George Henry, Dr.Joylynn Pruitt and Dr. Clive Coleman, To Former MissouriSupreme Court Judge, Ronnie White and Major RochelleJones, the St. Louis City Night Chief who has been astalwart supporter. To Gentry Trotter, for providing a voiceto a much needed issue. To Rev. C. Jessel Strong, President of the St. Louis Clergy Coalition and the Coalition itself forhaving my back. To Adolphus Pruitt, President of the St. Louis Branch of the NAACP and Chair of the MissouriConference, to Halbert Sullivan founder of The FatherSupport Center with whom I got off to a rocky start buthave found a friend and co-hort. To David Steward, CEOof Worldwide Technology for his constant wisdom andhelp. To Tom George, Chancellor of the University ofMissouri St. Louis, for his constant support. To U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, for patiently hearing mythoughts and convincing me it is about the economics. I finally believed. To my cousin, Carole Ann Scott and mybest friend, Dr. Marilyn Maxwell, both who constantlykeep me lifted in prayer.To my sister Ilyasah Shabazzfor upholding her fathers legacy, her mothers hospitalityand service and for her incredible strength. To IsabelWilkerson for encouraging me to keep going. To JoyDeGruy Leary for her work in bringing truth to light and for her willingness to supportthe NY project. Well get itdone. To all the pastors who opened the doors of theirchurch, especially Rev. Sammie Jones and Rev. EdmundLowe, whoco-hosted the Lunch with JudgeJimmieEdwards. To Judge Edwards, my law school classmate andhero to many. To the principals at Sumner, Roosevelt, Sumnerand Vashon high schoolsin St. Louis who squeezed out time to help guide me in their schools. ToLucius, Brad and the building staff who make being home such a joy. To Victor Woods, an incredibly gifted speaker and staunch ally. And of course, it goes without saying, thatI deeply thank my mother, my children and their spousesfor their ongoing support, encouragement, patience andlove. I love each of you dearly.

Needless to say, I thank God, my Father, who plucked mefrom among the thickets, brushed me off and gave me thecourage and strength to at least try to make a difference in aworld with so much to give.

PREFACE

We all have a story. What follows is part of mine. Onceblinded by idealism and an unwavering faith in the rule of law, the facts that follow reshaped my very being. I pray theyshape yours as well.

Over the last six years I have often been asked why I founded The Ethics Project, a non-profit organization started in 2007, to address the lack of ethics in the criminal justicesystem that leads to the over arrest, prosecution, conviction, sentencing and incarceration of African Americans and otherminorities. Those who asked wondered why I would leave alucrative law practice to devote my time and energy to theissue of incarcerations. They questioned why I would moveout of a plush downtown office with a view of the city andsurrender my home surrounded by a lush golf course andmanicured lawns. The answer is both simple and complex,I had worked hard to build my practice and as an AfricanAmerican female growing up in the inner city, I had beenvictimized bynearlyeverycrimeon the books. Thetransition just does not fit.

After 19 years of practicing bankruptcy law, representing nearly 10,000 clients and going above the call of duty for most, then experiencing the most massive change in both lawand practice in the history of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, I was simply burned out. Despite having thought such a daywould never come, the years of sitting behind a desk formore hours than you could image, decades of sifting through stacks of files and mounds of pleadings; month after monthanswering an unending flood of calls and juggling courthearings with children in three different schools, I was simply ready to quit. For several years I had yearned to becreative, to return to the classroom, to teach others the wealthof knowledge accumulated over the years. I was ready totake down my shingle and head for higher ground.

That burnout, however, does not explain the transition. It does not explain why I would go from having far moremoney than I needed to never having enough; why I would walk away from the power of the law to relying solely on the power of God. It does not explain why I stopped donating toover 30 charities, to being the charity in need.

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