Speak Out Within the Justice System

The plight of the black male in the criminal justice system has reached such a crisis point that it should be of grave concern to all Americans of goodwill. But, alas, as history has taught, black people cannot rely on the White House, Congress, the white clergy or the white masses to initiate a movement for racial justice. Rather, black leadership must step forward to address this latest peril facing African Americans.

Black judges, prosecutors and police officers within the criminal justice system must speak out against the judicial travesty that has befallen the African American male. Their silence in deference to black robes, badges or white colleagues has, unwittingly, perpetuated the status quo. The white judicial hierarchy will not consider the inequities facing black men and leading to their mass incarceration unless prominent blacks raise the issue and demand full employment, a revamping of inner-city educational institutions, fair and impartial juries, viable rehabilitation programs and a thorough investigation of our obsolete and counterproductive prison system.