Skip to main content

scottmorgan_0.jpg
scottmorgan_0.jpg

Marijuana Legalization is a Civil Rights Issue

This week's news that the California NAACP is endorsing Prop. 19 to legalize marijuana in California hasn't exactly been met with universal applause in the black community. Anti-pot crusader Bishop Ron Allen thinks it's a conspiracy, Big Ced at News One thinks NAACP is stoned, and blogger Mo' Kelly thinks they've lost sight of the distinction between civil rights and civil liberties:

The issue of decriminalizing marijuana is a separate and distinct discussion from the inherent inequities of the criminal justice system. Both are legitimate issues, but not meant to be commingled.
…
The NAACP, the nation’s oldest CIVIL RIGHTS organization walking point on the CIVIL LIBERTIES issue of marijuana legalization is a farce and an embarrassment. Let the ACLU do what it does…so the NAACP (in California and beyond) can deal with real CIVIL RIGHTS issues…

Ok, but the two aren't mutually exclusive. Let's not forget how these marijuana laws came about in the first place:

In the eastern states, the "problem" was attributed to a combination of Latin Americans and black jazz musicians. Marijuana and jazz traveled from New Orleans to Chicago, and then to Harlem, where marijuana became an indispensable part of the music scene, even entering the language of the black hits of the time (Louis Armstrong's "Muggles", Cab Calloway's "That Funny Reefer Man", Fats Waller's "Viper's Drag").

Again, racism was part of the charge against marijuana, as newspapers in 1934 editorialized: "Marihuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows and look at a white woman twice." [Why is Marijuana Illegal?]

The decision to prohibit marijuana was fueled by racist hysteria, and many have argued that the decades of racially disparate enforcement that followed weren't entirely coincidental. Whether or not our marijuana laws were intended to serve as an instrument of racial oppression, they've performed that function with staggering precision. And when people of color receive unequal treatment under the law, that's a civil rights issue.

Our marijuana laws have never, and will never, be enforced fairly. The brutality of modern drug enforcement reaches every community, but if young white men were given criminal records and subjected to profiling and police harassment at the same rates as people of color, the criminal justice system would quickly come to a crashing halt. The drug war was built on a foundation of fundamental unfairness, and mitigating its catastrophic impact on communities of color requires measures far more drastic than telling police for the millionth time that there's more to their job than searching young black men all day and night.

No, legalizing marijuana won't solve the problem. Not even close. But what it will do is remove one of the primary justifications police rely upon when stopping and searching people in urban communities. It will stop the hemorrhaging of employment opportunities lost by those convicted of simple possession. It will cripple the existing distribution model, thereby reducing youth involvement, street violence and the cyclical lure of the prohibition economy and the severe criminal justice consequences faced by its participants. It will shield generations from the fate that our formerly pot-smoking President was so desperately lucky to have avoided.

If anyone thinks we can solve these problems while still making nearly a million marijuana arrests every year, then please explain. But don't condemn NAACP for supporting a new approach when the old one has failed as consistently and dramatically as it has.

Race & Justice News: Racial Minorities Still Blocked from Juries

Race & Justice News

Race & Justice News

 

In This Issue

·         Feature Stories » GO

·         Spotlight on Research » GO

·         Featured Book » GO

·         Upcoming Events » GO



Search our Clearinghouse of over 450 books, articles, and reports on racial disparity in the criminal justice system.


Upcoming Events

National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice Conference
"Reinventing NABCJ:  Addressing Challenges and Opportunities in the Criminal Justice System"
Atlanta, GA, July 25-29, 2010

This conference will focus on African Americans and people of color in regards to the administration of equal justice and the prevention of crime by creating a dialogue among criminal justice professionals and community leaders.

Symposium on Crime and Justice
"The Past and Future of Empirical Sentencing Research"
Albany, NY, September 23-24, 2010

The symposium is based on the premise that new advances in sentencing research will come in part from engaging with other disciplines that focus on sentencing issues, and engaging with ongoing public policy issues like prison overcrowding and risk assessment. The main topics will be the role of race in sentencing outcomes, discretion and decision making, managing the criminal justice population, and risk assessment in the sentencing process. 

State Criminal Justice Network Conference
"Inform, Influence, Impact: Effective Criminal Justice Reform"
Washington, DC, October 7-8, 2010
This event is intended for policy makers, attorneys, criminal justice advocates, students and others interested in criminal justice reform. Issues discussed will include: media, problem-solving courts, indigent defense, juvenile justice roundtable, and coalition building. 

Contact Us

Do you have a contribution or idea for Race & Justice News? Send an email to The Sentencing Project's research analyst, Valerie Wright.

 

The Sentencing Project
1705 DeSales Street, NW
8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036

June 30, 2010

Race & Justice News

"The criminal justice system is accurately symbolized by a large sculpture that sits at the foot of the United States attorney's building: four metal circles that interlock. The wheels of justice, as it were, frozen in legal and social gridlock."  -Jonathan Larsen, Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Awards winner

Feature Stories

Hispanics May be Fleeing Before Implementation of Arizona's Immigration Law

The recently enacted immigration legislation in Arizona may be causing many Hispanics to flee the state before the law goes into effect on July 29, 2010, according to a report in USA Today. The new law requires law enforcement officers to question the immigration status of people who are stopped, detained or arrested and for whom there is "reasonable suspicion" that they are in the country illegally.  One indicator to date is that some schools are experiencing unusual drops in enrollment. One elementary school district with a 75% Hispanic population reports a 10-fold increase in the number of students pulled out of the school over the same period last year. District Superintendent Jeffrey Smith says, "They're leaving to another state where they feel more welcome," after being told by some parents that they are leaving because of the new law. 

In 2007 nearly 100,000 persons left Arizona after the state passed a law that enhanced penalties on businesses that hired people in the country illegally. David Castillo, co-founder of the Latin Association of Arizona, noted that businesses that primarily serve the Hispanic community have fallen on hard times since the law's passage because many families are opting to hold on to their cash as they anticipate leaving the state. Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Republican Governor Jan Brewer, has heard similar claims of families relocating as a result of the law.  "If that means that fewer people are breaking the law, that is absolutely an accomplishment," he said. The Justice Department has decided to file a lawsuit aimed at striking down the new law. For more coverage, read The New York Times.

Reducing Racial Disparities in Juvenile Justice

Michael Belton, Deputy Director of the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, acknowledges that the current juvenile justice system treats youth of color more severely than their white counterparts.  He states, "We have two justice systems, one for whites and one for kids of color. The one for kids of color is more intrusive, harsher, and longer. The one for whites is more supportive." Recently he testified before Congress on the inequities in the juvenile justice system and the overrepresentation of minority youth at every stage of the juvenile justice system process. Nearly 100 percent of cases transferred to adult court are youth of color, and Belton asserts that such disproportionate minority contact has devastating impacts on children and communities. 

Belton also believes that there is too much hysteria surrounding gangs. He points out a recent incident in a residential program where female residents were not allowed to wear cornrows because the staff assumed it was gang related. He goes on to state that "Regular youth behavior and African-American culture is viewed by corrections and systems people as being criminal."

Belton remains optimistic that Congress will vote on the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) this fall and approve it with stronger language aimed at reducing racial disparities. Click here to read more.

Spotlight on Research

Study Shows Racial Minorities Still Blocked from Juries

A new report, "Illegal Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection: A Continuing Legacy" by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) of Alabama has found disturbing evidence of discriminatory practices in the jury selection process. After examining the jury selection process in eight Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee), EJI researchers discovered that many counties excluded almost 80% of African Americans eligible for jury service. In Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, for example, a state that requires only 10 of 12 jurors to convict in many cases, the high rate of exclusion means that "there is not effective black representation on the jury because only the votes of white jurors are necessary to convict."   

Despite the Supreme Court's 1986 decision in Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibited prosecutors from using discriminatory peremptory strikes based solely on race, the report contends that appellate courts have failed to consistently enforce anti-discriminatory laws. To rebut inferences of racial discrimination, prosecutors have used "race-neutral" explanations. These have included reasons as fragile as a potential juror misspelling words or not reading a particular newspaper article, living in a predominately black neighborhood or having a white spouse, being affiliated with historically black colleges or not having ever attended college, and receiving food stamps or having the same or similar last name as the defendants.  The researchers find that, "Even where courts have found that prosecutors have illegally excluded people of color from jury service, there have been no adverse consequences for state officials."  Such practices have compromised the credibility and integrity of the criminal justice system.  Furthermore, research has shown that compared to more diverse juries, all-white juries are more likely to make errors and take fewer perspectives into consideration. 

As a result of their assessment, EJI recommends changes in policy and practice to confront the continuing problem of racial biased in jury selection. These include the following:

•    Applying the ruling of Batson v. Kentucky retroactively to death row prisoners
•    Subjecting prosecutors who engage in racially biased jury selection to actions by the Justice Department as well as fines and penalties
•    Providing remedies for citizens who are illegally excluded from juries on the basis of race
•    Striving for more racial diversity within the judiciary, district attorney's office and law enforcement. 

Click here to view video coverage.

Featured Book

"I Don't Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup" by David Chura

As many media outlets portrayed teens as dangerous "superpredators" in the 1990's, the juvenile justice system became more punitive and policy makers passed laws that made it easier to prosecute youth as adults. As a result, the juvenile detention rate has increased by 35% and transfers to adult court by 208% since then. Within the juvenile justice system, there has often been a failure to provide an environment that is conducive to rehabilitation and reform. 
 
David Chura, author of "I Don't Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine," had the opportunity to interact with many who were treated as adults by both the juvenile and criminal justice systems and he takes us inside their grimy and deprived world of neglect and abuse. He taught high school in a New York penitentiary for 10 years and introduces us to his incarcerated students, correctional officers, wardens, and doctors. While doing so, he demonstrates how everyone involved in the juvenile justice system constantly faces a series of never-ending disappointments. 

Chura gives us a glimpse into the world of young people, mostly youth of color, and illustrates that despite Wade having a mother with AIDS, Khalil having no family to speak of, or Anna being a tough drug dealer, the kids behind the labels were vibrant and full of humor and passion. He also introduces us to the "no-non-sense" Officer O'Shay who covertly shows the youth sensitivity despite his outward display of callousness, and Ms. Wharton, a spunky hall monitor who didn't get along with anyone except the animals she volunteered to care for at a local shelter. Through his writing, Chura demonstrates that the keepers and the kept have more in common than they realize. He imparts his greatest lesson to his readers, "…I learned during my ten years in county lockup, a lesson as deep and livid as the wounds many of my students carried away with them, as enduring of the stresses of CO's (correctional officers') shoulders, that we are all children of disappointment."  Click here for more information about the book.   

Back to top ^

The Sentencing Project is a national, nonprofit organization engaged in research and advocacy for criminal justice reform.

Are BP’s Drug Tests Fueling Domestic Violence in the Gulf?

Complaints from residents and workers about BP’s restrictive hiring practices are flooding in -- “They can’t smoke pot anymore. It’s just a part of the culture, all the fishermen do it, but now they have to take drug tests to get the cleanup work. So now they goin’ drinkin’.” The potentially disturbing consequence of BP’s prohibition of marijuana: alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Another lesson: prohibition doesn't necessarily mean less drug use, and legalization won't necessarily mean more, there are substitution effects.

Taking the next step for California

California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano wants to set an example by legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana in his state. And he sees many benefits -- raising hundreds of millions of dollars to preserve vital state services without any tax increases, cutting the revenue of criminal organizations, helping to protect endangered wilderness areas while making it harder for kids to get drugs, etc.

Citing high black arrests, NAACP endorses pot legalization

Joined by several other African-American leaders, including Aubry Stone, president of the California Black Chamber of Commerce, and Neil Franklin of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), Alice Huffman, president of the California chapter of NAACP explains why the organization is backing the legalization of marijuana in California -- marijuana laws are a means of criminalizing young black men.

Is Bill O'Reilly Helping Us Legalize Drugs?

A couple readers objected to my suggestion last week that Bill O'Reilly's anti-drug scare tactics are actually helping our cause more than they hurt it. Here's what they said:

"I'm very displeased with most of these TV interviews. Between Mr. O'Reilly's constant use of voodoo pharmacology and emotional appeals, Mr. Nadelmann never really got a chance to articulate the finer points of legalization. Until we get longer fairer interviews, I'm not convinced that these TV spots do any good."

"I have to disagree with Scott's post. Dogmatic idiots like O'Reilly and his 'chronic' (pun intended) listeners can't be schooled. Not by reasoned argument, anyway. That's the big problem re. all the societal problems we face: there's so many dogmatic idiots, and way too many of them, like O'Reilly, have public megaphones via corporate sponsored mass media. Imo, it's better to just accept that quite a few people are unreachable, and instead, try to reach those who still have a modicum of intelligent open-mindedness."

I understand how one could conclude that our efforts are undermined when a prominent voice like O'Reilly speaks out against us before a massive television audience, nor would I argue that there's no such thing as bad publicity for the cause of drug policy reform. But Bill O'Reilly's brand of dubious DEA-derived data and authoritarian posturing is unlikely to come as a major revelation to anyone in his audience. His tactics are nothing more than classic prohibitionist nonsense; the same stuff that's failed quite consistently to turn back our momentum.

Over and over again, O'Reilly's attacks have come from a defensive stance, as he reacts to our efforts by condemning the latest drug reform book or campaign. In the process, he inadvertently presents and legitimizes our argument before an audience that we'd otherwise struggle to reach. He props up reform leaders with primetime television exposure and further establishes the now-undeniable rise of drug policy reform into the realm of mainstream political debate. In the meantime, support for drug policy reform among conservatives surges like never before and national support for marijuana legalization has never been higher than it is today.

So if I had a choice between O'Reilly attacking us every day of the week, or ignoring us entirely, I'd choose the former without hesitation. If you don't think it's possible to advance a political agenda by quarreling with Bill O'Reilly, consider the fact that Al Franken is now a U.S. Senator.

Cannabis Revival 2010

TOTALLY FREE ALL AGES EVENT - DONATIONS APPRECIATED AND GO TOWARDS REFORM WORK IN MISSOURI About the Cannabis Revival, the Midwest's largest marijuana law reform festival:
Subscribe to