Running head: African American Youths: Ending Up in the Prison System

Nick Banta
African American Youths: How and Why Do They End Up In the Prison
System?
Portland State University

The Unsettling Truth

It is a matter of fact that children are our future, as we are the children of our past. The
progression of our society relies on their bright minds and brilliant ideas. Along with the melding

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of ideas, comes the same melding of cultures that make up the United States. The United States
is one of the most racially diverse countries on the planet. While all of this information seems
hopeful, it all comes crashing down due to a heartbreaking fact: African American children face
harsh discrimination as early as preschool, and that discrimination could very likely carry them
to prison later in life.
I started writing this essay under the premise that our criminal justice system was solely
to blame in setting-up African American youths for failure. With recent events in the news media
involving law enforcement officials making poor, racially biased judgement calls, this seemed to
be the truth. A classmate of mine had chosen to discuss the school-to-prison pipeline, which I
thought was an oddly specific topic to discuss. Unfortunately, as I started conducting my
research, I found out I was dead wrong.
Article after article, every one I read, talked about how schools were the culprit. Not only
is there a direct correlation between discrimination in the school and prison systems, but
discrimination in the school system is, in most cases, directly responsible for African American
youths ending up in the prison system. The disgusting fact behind all of this is that its not an
end-of-high-school, welcome to the real world scenario. The discrimination can begin as early
as preschool.
Preschool is when most children are just learning social interaction. They havent yet
begun to learn simple mathematics, nor have they necessarily begun reading and writing. They
are still learning to communicate, and still cling to their childhood innocence. Now, take those
children out of the classroom, and put them in front of a jury. Not a just, unbiased jury, but a jury
that is there to make sure that any hope they have for a positive future is rapidly extinguished.
This is what has been done to African American youth.

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How It All Begins

In schools, African Americans have the highest rates of detention, suspensions,
expulsions, and special education placements. (Harvey & Hill, 2004). Placement in special
education programs happens more often among African American children than it does among
White children. This is partially due to the fact that their families incomes dont support
additional education outside of public schools. Now, you may be thinking, I didnt partake in
additional education, and I never wound up in special education programs, but its often due to
the fact that American education is geared towards White American children. Psychological
research has proven that people accel at tests when the material covered is relatable. While
African American history and culture are taught frequently around Martin Luther King Jr.s
birthday, the relation between African American children and their education falls short the rest
of the year.
Another issue that may be taking place is that African American children are often
removed from their families. In child welfare they are most likely to be removed from their
parents, have their parents' rights terminated, and exit without being adopted or reunited with
their parents. (Harvey & Hill, 2004). When these children are removed from their families and
placed in foster care, they can feel outcast amongst their peers. This can lead to a disinterest in
their education which in turn can cause a drop in grades. The drop in grades then flags them for
placement into special education.
When children are placed in special education programs, they often develop a sense of
inequality and separation from their peers. This sense of inequality can cause children to act out
and become rebellious. Visible presentations of proper behaviors become expressions of

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favorable school styles. Students who deviate in visible ways from these norms are often
perceived to be deviant and hence are devalued by other students and teachers. (Sherwin &
Schmidt, 2003). Rebellious behavior leads to disciplinary action, and repeated disciplinary action
can cause them to feel even more outcast than they already feel in special education programs.
As African American children are targeted more and more by school officials, a lot of
them decide that, rather than try to cooperate with or even beat the system of oppression, it
would be easier to just drop out of school. When they drop out of school, they often leave their
foster homes to become homeless or recruited into a survival culture of crime and drugs. (Harvey
& Hill, 2004). Their involvement with drugs and criminal activities causes them to become the
target of the criminal justice system, which has already developed a reputation for its oppression
against minorities. In the 2000 census, approximately 16% of American youth identified
themselves as Black, and according to the 2006 Uniform Crime Reports, African American youth
accounted for 59% of arrests for murders, 51% of arrests for violent crimes, 31% of property
offenses, and 30% of arrests for drug use.
It is widely recognized that African-American youth are significantly overrepresented in
many juvenile justice systems relative to their population percentages. (Nicholson-Crotty,
Birchmeier, & Valentine, 2009). In juvenile justice, African American youth have the highest
rates of arrests, detention while awaiting trial, being tried as adults, being more severely
sentenced at all stages of the system, and being incarcerated in secure juvenile or adult
correctional facilities. (Harvey & Hill, 2004). Minority youth comprise over 60 percent of
children detained by juvenile justice systems across the United States. They are more than eight
times as likely as their white peers to be housed in juvenile detention facilities. (Martin,
McCarthy, Conger, Gibbons, Simons, Cutrona, & Brody, 2011)(Nicholson-Crotty, Birchmeier, &

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Valentine, 2009). African American boys born in 1991 have a 29 percent chance of being
imprisoned over their lifetime, compared with only a 4 percent chance among White boys.
(Harvey & Hill, 2004). These children become repeatedly involved in the justice system. From
there, the cycle of the school-to-prison pipeline resets itself, and their children, as well as their
childrens children and so on, risk falling into the same oppressive trap that their parents did.

Where Things Are Headed

With the school-to-prison pipeline becoming more and more noticeable, people are
beginning to take action. Not only are there steps being put in place to keep African American
children out of special education programs, but there are also programs to help children who
have already fallen victim to this form of discrimination.
In one program set up by the MAAT Center for Human and Organizational Enhancement,
Inc. of Washington, DC, data was obtained from a three-year evaluation of a youth rites of
passage demonstration project using therapeutic interventions based on Africentric principles.
At-risk African American boys between ages 11.5 and 14.5 years with no history of substance
abuse were referred from the criminal Justice system, diversion programs, and local schools. The
evaluation revealed that participating youths exhibited gains in self-esteem and accurate
knowledge of the dangers of drug abuse. Although the differences were not statistically
significant, parents demonstrated improvements in parenting skills, racial identity, cultural
awareness, and community involvement. Evidence from interviews and focus groups suggests
that the program's holistic, family-oriented, Africentric, strengths-based approach and indigenous
staff contributed to its success. (Harvey & Hill, 2004).

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This particular program helps African American youth develop emotional strength to
become advocates for themselves and their community using peer support, the Nguzo Saba (the
seven principles of Kwanzaa), and Africentric principles. It begins with an eight-week
preinitiation or orientation phase which concludes with a youth retreat and subsequent weekly
meetings emphasizing African and African American culture. The final phase of the program
consists of a transformational ceremony to serve as a rite of passage. During this ceremony, the
youths demonstrate their personal growth, knowledge, and skills to an audience made up of their
family members, staff members, and other significant people in their lives. (Harvey & Hill,
2004).
Another program that was put in place is know as the I Have A Future (IHAF) program.
This program, based out of Tennessee, focuses on career development in urban African American
youth. IHAF uses the same Africentric perspective found in the program set up by MAAT. Rather
than focusing on youths ages 11.5 to 14.5 years old, it focuses on youths ages 14 to 17. These are
the youths who are approaching adulthood and need to have a path set for them to ensure a
successful future. They used career development classes, counseling, and job preparation training
with Africentric focus, and again, the Nguzo Saba. Prominent community figures and
organizations such as elected officials, other human services agencies, church leaders, and
positive African American roles models were identified to collaborate in an attempt to educate
the youths. (Harvey & Hill, 2004).
Suggestions all point towards cultural intervention. African-centered rites of passage
provide cultural enlightening, as well as providing the youths with a sense of pride. Nsenga
Warfield-Coppock, a prominent figure in the study of rites of passage among African American
youths, conducted a survey of 20 rites of passage experts. Together, these experts had conducted

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87 rites of passage programs between 1984 and 1992 involving 1,616 youths. Ninety percent of
the experts stated that knowledge of self and culture is crucial for youths confronting the
problems that they are faced with.
The Nguzo Saba , as cited earlier, has been an effective tool in the reformation of at-risk
African American youth. It holds not only onto the Africentric culture, but also provides a sort of
code of conduct for the youths. The Seven Principles, as they are known, read as follows:

Umoja (Unity): To strive for and maintain unity in the family,

community, nation, and race; Kujichajulia (Self-Determination): to
define ourselves, name ourselves, and speak for ourselves instead of
being defined and spoken for by others; Ujima (Collective Work and
Responsibility): to build and maintain our community together and to
make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve
them together; Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): to build and own
stores, shops, and other business, and to profit together from them; Nia
(Purpose): to make as our collective vocation the building and
developing of our community in order to restore our people to their
traditional greatness; Kuumba (Creativity): to do always as much as
we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more
beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it; Imani (Faith): to
believe in our parents, our teachers, our leaders, our people, and
ourselves, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

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As is evident, the Nguzo Saba lays out guidelines for these youths to follow to help not only
themselves, but others in their community. (Harvey & Hill, 2004).

How Things Have Changed

The programs discussed in this essay, coupled with assistance from social workers, have
had a huge impact on removing African American youths from the school-to-prison pipeline.
Social workers are working hand-in-hand with the criminal justice agencies to help troubled
youths establish productive lives. (Goodman, Getzel, & Ford, 1996).
With the rite of passage program set in place by MAAT, the youths involved acquired
much knowledge and positive values in the first eight weeks alone. Statistics showed increased
self-esteem and knowledge of the consequences of drug use, and better yet, the increase was
much higher than that of youths that didnt participate in the program. Self esteem rose from 40
percent to 81 percent in participants, whereas self-esteem rose to only 68 percent of comparison
youths. 83 percent of the youths in the program reported that it helped increase their self-esteem
very much. Accurate knowledge of the consequences of substance abuse increased from 60
percent to 85 percent. The program also enhanced their motivation for learning by promoting
their appreciation for reading, biology, science, and mathematics, as well as household skills.
The youths arent the only ones benefiting from these programs either. The parents and
guardians of the youths showed significant increases as well. Parenting skills increased 37
percent, community involvement increased 25 percent, and cultural awareness increased 36
percent. 80 percent of parents also reported that the bond with their child increased and 71
percent of their children felt the same way. (Harvey & Hill, 2004).

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In closing, there is clearly a solution to the problem on the family side of the spectrum,
but the problem still remains unsolved on the administrative side. The youths have been provided
with effective ways of avoiding becoming targets. The school and criminal justice systems,
however have yet to remedy the fact that they are openly targeting and discriminating against
African American youths. With recent events involving African American youths and law
enforcement officials, change is definitely in order.

References
Goodman, H., Getzbel, G. S., & Ford, W. (1996). Group Work with High-Risk Urban Youths on
Probation. Social Work, 41(4), 375-381.
Harvey, A. R., & Hill, R. B. (2004). Africentric Youth and Family Rites of Passage Program:
Promoting Resilience among At-Risk African American Youths. Social Work, 49(1), 6574.
Martin, M. J., McCarthy, B., Conger, R. D., Gibbons, F. X., Simons, R. L., Cutrona, C. E., &
Brody, G. H. (2011). The Enduring Significance of Racism: Discrimination and

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Delinquency Among Black American Youth. Journal Of Research On Adolescence

(Wiley-Blackwell), 21(3), 662-676.
Nicholson-Crotty, S., Birchmeier, Z., & Valentine, D. (2009). Exploring the Impact of School
Discipline on Racial Disproportion in the Juvenile Justice System. Social Science
Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 90(4), 1003-1018.
Sherwin, G. H., & Schmidt, S. (2003). Communication Codes Among African American
Children and Youth - The Fast Track From Special Education to Prison?. Journal Of
Correctional Education, 54(2), 45.