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This is why many people know hundreds of Freddie Grays, as his family’s attorney exclaimed at the funeral. And this is why there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of Freddie Grays in America – young Black men who grew up in poverty, who attended low performing schools, who lived in contaminated communities, and who now have a hard time finding employment, have had run-ins with the criminal justice system, and are harassed by law enforcement.
baltimore black lives matter death by cop Freddie Gray injustice learning disability police brutality poverty spotlightOver the weekend, a photo of six smiling Desert Vista High School students dressed in black shirts emblazoned with gold letters as they arranged to spell a racial slur, surfaced on the internet. The viral image sparked nationwide headlines and responses on social media. We’Ced reporters discussed the incident and the aftermath. Below are their reflections.
Arizona Desert Vista High high school racism spotlightIn order to enroll in the liberal studies program at her college, Meza needed a social security number, something she did not have because she was undocumented. To work with children, she had to pass a background check and get her fingerprints scanned. Knowing she could do neither, she feared she would not be able to graduate.
college college student DACAmented Deferred Action Dream Act Dreamer. DACA education immigration spotlightThe Children Now report warns that if kids struggling with mental health disorders don’t get the treatment they need, they are more likely to be hospitalized, drop out of school and become “involved with the justice system.” The report also says that only 40 percent of children under the age of six with mental health issues get the support they need.
education schools. mental health spotlight trauma“A repetitive narrative that we found from these students is that they felt like this is what it’s like to be an American Muslim in school. They almost feel defeated. They just feel that there is no way around this, like, having a discussion or bring it up with the teacher is not going to be very effective and that’s what most unfortunate about it, is that they’ve come to just accept it as being normal.”
american muslim anti-immigrant anti-Muslim CAIR council on american-islamic relations discrimination hijab islam islam in california Islamophobia Long Beach VoiceWaves persecution religion school school bullying spotlight terrorist xenophobia xenophobicBut while we acknowledge the progress that has been made, we must recognize how much further we have to go. There remains just over two million youth arrested each year in America. This would include the South Carolina girl and many like her where no video was taken. On any given day, there are nearly 70,000 youth incarcerated in the United States – six times the rate of England.
criminalized youth incarcerated youth Los Angeles merced oakland pipeline prison restorative justice school school discipline school discipline reform school disciplines school expulsion school suspension school to prison pipeline spotlight students of color victimized youth