Photograph; In a frame grab from video obtained by The Associated Press, an inmate attacks fellow inmate Hanni Elabed at the privately-run Idaho Correctional Center just south of Boise, Idaho. Elabed suffered brain damage and persistent short-term memory loss after he was beaten by inmate James Haver while multiple guards watched at the Idaho prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America. (AP Photo)
Introductory Essay By Betsy L. Angert | Originally Published at EmpathyEducates. February 7, 2014
The School-To-Prison-Pipeline is part of a popular tradition. “Is it good for the economy?” If so, then let’s do it. That is our position. In America, economic health is the principal consideration; it always has been. It governs what we think, say, feel, and do. We learn. War is good – It is good for the economy. The energy boom continues. Fossil fuels are now called “clean.” Why? It is good for the economy. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] ? Will it continue? Maybe, but only if we can prove, it is good for the economy. Rising consumer debt or immigration. What is the question and what is it that we do not ask…Is racism the answer or does it obscure a more critical essence?
Why are Blacks overrepresented in our prisons? That’s easy. Yes, there is racism and also the veracity; it is the economy. The school-to-prison-pipeline pays. Healthy young men of color cost less, whites more. First there is litigation. Defense comes with stipulations. It is possible to be too rich to know better. But we are never too poor to receive a maximum sentence..
The more time the young, healthy, Black and Browns are behind bars the better, that is for the prisonbusiness. There are contractual considerations and of course, the is our history. Decisions are made about who or what is an economic slave, a commodity, or in prison.

Higher Profits Explain Why There Are More People of Color in Private Prisons

By Joshua Holland | Originally Published at Bill Moyers and Company. February 7, 2014
It’s well known that people of color are overrepresented in America’s prisons relative to their share of the 

 
2-15-14 empathyeducates All Week
empathyeducates:Florida’s Race-Based Academic Goals Prompt Protest PetitionThe Florida Board of Education set different proficiency goals for different racial groups. (Palm Beach Post file photo) By Leslie Postal | The Orlando Sentinel. February 14, 2014 Florida’s race-based academic goals prompted controversy when they were adopted in 2012 — and now have sparked an online […]by empathy / 8h SPLC
by mike simpson /