Journal Sentinel Column Examines Black Male Incarceration and Ways to Tackle the Problem A column in Sunday’s Journal Sentinel provides a compelling description of the “mass incarceration” of African American males in Milwaukee County. If that term strikes you as hyperbole, I suspect you missed the alarming report issued a few weeks ago...
Youth Justice
Making Schools Safe Part II – A response to the NRA
As the recent failure of the Senate to pass even the most basic gun regulations on background checks shows, the rhetoric and responses to the tragedy at Sandy Hook and other incidents remains polarized. Concerned that the "easy way out" is to put more armed security in schools, many advocacy groups have begun to speak out with notes of...
Must See Documentary on the “Central Park Five”
If you did not see it last night, PBS aired a documentary by Ken Burns and others, titled Central Park Five. This documentary tells the story of five youth (Black and Latino) who were arrested in New York City in 1989. Watching the documentary takes you back to a time when crime in New York was high, and racism cast a shadow over the...
Shackling Kids at Any Cost – do we really need to all the time?
Thirty-six states, including Wisconsin, still allow the process of indiscriminate shackling of juveniles during their interaction with law enforcement and the court. In almost all cases children are not assessed for what danger he or she poses to the court or a police officer, rather it is just part of a “preventive” routine – but a...
How to Keep Schools Safe
There are many ways to potentially keep kids safe in school. Thank goodness this topic is finally being discussed at great length! In fact, President Obama has called for an increase of school resource officers (SROs), providing funds to hire up to 1,000 SROs across the nation. But we, along with others, have some concerns that this may...
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