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I
August 27. 2003
W hen you think about prisons,
preschoolers d o n ’t usually com e
to m ind. B ut a grow ing num ber o f
children o f all ages are finding that
prison has becom e part o f their
everyday w orld. T h a t’s because
the num ber o f children w ith parents
in correctional facilities is grow ing
at an alarm ing rate.
T he U.S. D epartm ent o f Justice
reports thatclose to 1.5m illion chil
dren had a parent in state or federal
prison in 1999, a 6 0 percent increase
since 1991. H ispanic children w ere
three tim es and Black children were
nine tim es m ore likely than W hite
children to have a parent in prison.
T he grow ing num bers o f chil
dren w ith m others in prison is espe
cially troubling. Betw een 1991 and
1999, the num ber o f children w ith a
m other in prison nearly doubled to
over 125,000. N early three-fourths
o f the m others in federal prisons are
there for drug offenses. M others
are also m ore likely than fathers to
have experienced hom elessness or
unem ploym ent shortly before go
ing to prison.
Since the m ajority o f incarcer
ated m others lived w ith their chil
dren before being sent to prison,
m any o f th eir children had already
been ex p eriencing instability at
hom e before this m ajor upheaval.
B oth m o th ers an d fath ers say
th ey try to k eep up c o m m u n ic a
tio n w ith th e ir c h ild re n w h ile in
p ris o n b u t c ir c u m s ta n c e s can
m a k e th is d iffic u lt. O v e r 6 0 p e r
c e n t o f p a re n ts in state p riso n s
an d n e a rly 85 p e rc e n t o f p are n ts
in fed eral p riso n s are b e in g h eld
o v e r 100 m ile s a w a y from th e ir
last re sid e n c e . A s a re su lt, m o re
th an h a lf o f p a re n ts in p riso n say
th e y h av e n e v e r h ad a p e rso n al
v is it from th e ir ch ild ren .
W hile adults are in prison b e
cause th e y ’ve m ade m istakes, chil
dren end up suffering too.
In response to this grow ing cri
sis, som e com m unities and correc-
There is a role
fo r all o f us in
reaching out to
these children.
tional facilities are creating innova
tive program s that help parents in
prison m aintain closer contact w ith
th e ir c h ild re n an d learn b e tte r
parenting skills.
S om e facilities offer parenting
and child developm ent classes and
other life skills training to help p ar
ents get back on th eir feet. Som e
pro m o te literacy for both inm ates
and th eir children by tape-record
ing parents reading bedtim e stories
and giving the tapes and books to
th eir children. O thers have dev el
oped special child-friendly visiting
areas w ithin prisons w here ch il
dren can visit th eir parents, som e
tim es even overnight.
T hese program s serve both gen
erations. Parents w ho are able to
feel connected to theirchildren and
have been taught specific w ays to
be better parents have a very strong
incentive to continue these posi
tive behaviors and avoid old be
haviors that m ight send them back
to prison. A nd children are able to
feel m ore secure and reassured that
theirparents still love and care about
them.
T here is a role for all o f us in
reaching o u t to th ese children.
Faith-based and other com m unity
organizations can offer m entoring
and other supports for children o f
incarcerated parents and sponsor
activities that w ill prom ote parent-
child interaction and strengthen
p a r e n t - c h i ld
r e l a ti o n s h ip s ,
parenting supports, and life skills
training.
T h e c h i l d r e n ’s s u r r o g a te
caregivers also need help and sup
port. A nd w e can push for alterna
tives to incarceration for parents
convicted o f non-violent offenses
that encourage parent-child inter
action.
H aving a parent in prison is not
a ch ild ’s fault but som etim es chil
dren end up feeling like they are
being punished too.
Marian Wright Edelman is presi
dent and founder o f the Children's
Defense Fund.
Thurmond Memorial is Insulting
Honor not
deserving for
man who
promoted bigotry
by K wf . isi M fume and H ilary O.
S helton
T he late Strom T hurm ond, R-
S.C ., w ho passed aw ay earlier this
year served in the U.S. Senate longer
than any o th er m em ber. U nfortu
nately, his 48 years in the Senate
w ere m arked by a bigoted and seg
regationist p hilosophy that drove
alm ost all he did.
D u rin g h is te n u r e , S tro m
T hurm ond w as w ell know n for giv
ing exclusive representation to his
w hite constituents, often at the
expense o fh is constituents ofcolor.
Furtherm ore, Sen. Thurm ond holds
the dubious record for the longest
filibuster in C ongressional history,
Salary
Outrageous
The M ultnom ah C ounty C om
m issioners C harter gives authority
to the chair to fill director positions.
W e rely on her to m ake prudent
decisions based on recom m enda
tions from a salary review com m is
sion.
H ow ever, in light o f the recent
plea to M ultnom ah C ounty voters
to approve a 1.2 percent tax in
crease on th eir ow n salaries to pro
vide critical services and the im ple
m entation o f a 2 percent cut in cost
o f living increases for non-repre-
sented county em ployees in fiscal
year 2004, it seem s unconscionable
to increase the L ibrary D irector’s
salary b y 27 percent.
Lonnie Roberts, Multnomah
County Commissioner
I
24 hours and 18 m inutes, in his
attem pt to derail passage o f the
1957 C ivil R ights A ct.
In 1948, then-Presidential candi
date T hurm ond, ran on a platform
o f sta te s’ rights to preserve the
“prerogatives o f the people o f a
sovereign state to deal exclusively
w ith dom estic problem s” such as
“voting, qualifications for voting,
segregation, law enforcem ent and
private em ploym ent.”
It w as during this cam paign that
he to ld a g ro u p o f su p p o rte rs
“th e re ’s not enough troops in the
A rm y to force the southern people
to b reak dow n segregation and
adm it the nigger race into o u r th e
aters, into our sw im m ing pools, into
o u r hom es, and into our churches.”
U nfortunately, there is currently
a m ovem ent in C ongress to nam e
the planned V isito r’s C enter in the
U .S. C apitol, w hich m ay cost as
m uch as $400 m illion to construct,
for the late Strom T hurm ond.
A bill has been introduced in the
H ouse o f R epresentatives (H.R.
2661) by C ongressm an G ersham
Barrett, R-S.C., and one is expected
soon in the Senate to be introduced
by Sen. L indsey G raham , R-S.C.
The N A A C P opposes the be
stow ing o f this high honor upon a
m an o f such low character, and led
by the South Carolina N A A CP State
C onference o fb ran ch es is w orking
hard to see that neither the H ouse
o r Senate bill becom e law.
T he U nited S tates C apitol is
m eant to be a building o f the people,
all the people o f the U nited States,
and to nam e its visitors cen ter after
a m an w ho fought so hard for exclu
sion and division is insulting to
A m erican citizens as w ell as the
building itself.
Kweisi M fume is NAACP presi
dent and c h ie f executive ojficer.
Hilary O. Shelton serves as direc
tor o f the N A A C P W ashington
Bureau.
Bush on My Street
I live at 9115 N . P ortsm outh. I got hom e late last night from a trip to
M oscow , Idaho and craw led into bed. T his m orning I w oke up to find
m y c ar has vanished w ithout a trace.
A t first I thought it w as stolen, but then as 1 w alked around looking
for it I noticed an a-fram e sign one block dow n from m y house that read
“no parking.” I tried to rem em ber w hether they w ere planning construc
tion on the street o r not w hen I suddenly realized B ush w as com ing
today.
M y neighbors began com ing out o f their hom es to go to w ork ju st as
1 had to find their cars m issing as w ell. I still d o n ’t know w here my car is,
nor how m uch it is going to cost m e to get it back. Suffice to say m any o f
the people on this street, m y self included are quite irate.
T o top it all o ffB u sh isn ’t even here on som e im portant m atter that
I should b e concerned about. H e is here to raise m oney for his ow n
political cam paign.
W ith all the stu ff he has gotten us involved in I d o n ’t understand
how h e h a sth e tim e to g o g a lliv a n tin g around mak i ng even m ore m oney
for him self.
W e are irritated that sim ply because Bush w ants to have a lunch for
his ow n private gains we now have to find a w ay to get to w ork w ithout
our cars and most likely pay close to $ 100 each ju st to get them back.
Don Elliott, North Portland
A