THE CITY PIRC PROGRAM HAS RESSURRECTED THE TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENT - PIRC convened close to 100 African-American males to the Federal Courthouse; their next stop is the federal prison!
Many of you know that the PIRC Program of Pittsburgh summoned close to 100 African American young males that are on probation or parole to the Federal Courthouse-not to offer the “carrot-and-stick” approach that was described by officials (Pittsburgh Post Gazette dated July 6, 2009). Instead, this group of individuals was extended an invitation to the Federal prison system based on the premise that they fit the profile of a gang member.
Did these individuals willingly attend this “Scared Straight” call-in session? Were their human rights violated? Did they have any representation? Does Pittsburgh resemble the cities that PIRC was successful in-Chicago, San Francisco, Cincinnati? Are the ACLU or the Human Rights Commission on board and monitoring this process? Why were the service providers that have been involved with discussions about the initiatives notified about the meeting 55 minutes before starting time?
Let’s review the City’s Race for the Cure of Violence:
This initiative model involves the entire community. The call-in session is supposed to include gang members and their family, a social service network, community leaders and law enforcement officials. In the haste to begin, the Pittsburgh PIRC program has failed to demonstrate program practices.
The City of Pittsburgh must re-evaluate the make-up and dynamics of their communities. Pittsburgh is not a Chicago or Cincinnati by far. Our city does not have the characteristics of “gangs.” Jordan Miles and his friends do not constitute a gang. But yet, according to the PIRC they would be considered a Gang. What constitutes the characteristics of Gang for PIRC? Why is the parade of young people presented majority black, where are the white Gang members? Certainly, Pittsburgh has its share of violence, crimes and homicides, but they are not all related to African-American males.
We are all responsible for reclaiming our communities. However, in order for that to occur we must address the violence, poverty, unemployment/under employment, below national average educational attainment, drug abuse and various other underlining factors to crime that threatens our public safety.
The recent surge in youth violence is the product of the social and economic conditions that exist with-in Black communities across the nation. We have more crime because we have more poverty; we have chronic unemployment not only because of economic conditions, but because of serious racial disparities and inequities. Government and Private sector Pittsburgh have fell to invest in inner –city communities, which has lead to the systematic deteriorate and neglect of young people in particular and the Black Community in general. This problem is going to persist until we have a salient urban policy that directly addresses the basic fundamental needs of young people in this country, and specifically the needs of Black youth.
We desperately need well-designed intervention strategies that effectively assist young people, particularly urban youth. Our youth need quality education and transitional school-to-work training programs. They need jobs that offer living wages. They need recreational and cultural activities that will enrich their lives and give them hope. Community service programs in our urban settings are under-funded, thus not able to meet the demand for prevention and intervention.
When one looks at this region's school drop out rates, the crime index, the homicide rate, and the incarceration rate of Black men, it becomes obvious that we urgently need governmental and social interventions to improve the quality of life for this generation. Past strategies and tactics, such as the Ricco Act, have been ineffective and lack sustainable impact. A strategic public health plan is required to facilitate a paradigm shift about how to best resolve an escalating social disease. This strategy will engage community residents, non-profits (especially our faith-based partners), schools, public officials, community-oriented police and our behavioral health experts to develop a viable plan that will sustain a long-term public safety commitment.
The evaluators for PIRC, the University of Pittsburgh, and School of Social Work understand the reality of how disparity affects the Black Community. The Center has published numerous documents that studied the social, economical and political impact on African American youth in our region; particularly in the areas of education, incarceration, fatalities, mental health, and lack of economic opportunities. It makes more sense to use the research and evaluation available to address these social, racial disparities and inequality. The empirical data is evidence that the marginalization of youth and families continues to devastate many inner city communities. These social dynamics – mass incarceration, homicide crime increase economic and social decay, abandonment, defeat, apathy, have led to the anti social and resistance behavior that young people are demonstrating today. The lack of urban policy to address infrastructure development, housing, employment, adequate and available health care, and educational attainment perpetuates the cycle, “From the school yard to the prison yard.” The black community has been left out of the swelling prosperity and social progress of the more affluent Pittsburgh.
Thousands of mothers have lost their children to violence and massive incarceration. The pain and gapping spaces that remain in our community and Pittsburgh as a whole cannot be filled or fixed by PIRC. The tactics used to promote the program, such as parading mothers of children lost to violence are designed to manipulate the public by evoking the emotional sentiment of public opinion. Ultimately, we no longer see the innocent faces of children- our sons, our neighbors, the next President of the United States. PIRC dehumanizes the value of black young men. It is almost impossible for one to envision opportunity after you have been ordered to Federal court, demonized, accused of being associated with “gangs,” and blamed for the increase of crime in this city. There is enough blame to go around- African American leaders that hold any position of stature, the legal system, law enforcement, public officials, the educational system and all that has failed this population.
The PIRC “Call-in Session” on July 13, 2010 was a knee jerk reaction to the program delay that received undesirable attention. The City of Pittsburgh has the resources, expertise and money to make real social change that can impact generations to come. As a Mother stated who has lost her child to violence, “We want to stop our children from dying and going to jail.”