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M arc H. M o r iai .
W hat hap p en s
behind bars in thejails
and prisons o f this
nation d o e sn 't stay
there. It trickles out
into the com m unity.
Every year, 13.5 m il­
lion people — a disproportionate
num ber o f them African American
— pass through our nation’s pris­
ons and jails, with a vast majority -
95 percent - eventually re-entering
society.
Some leave their periods o f in­
carceration as hardened crim inals
anxious to return to a life o f crim e.
O thers do not. In the 1990s, harsher
punishm ents for drug crim es fu­
eled the current prison population
boom . A nd in light o f the F B I's
recent announcem ent that violent
crim e was up2.5 percent in 2005, the
problem isn 't likely to go away any­
tim e soon.
In our nation’s efforts to "get
tough on crim e," w e'v e lost some
o f our com passion for our fellow
man. W e'v e let cynicism under-
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ask for the Communications Skills Project
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T his research is being conducted by the Oregon C enter for Applied Science. Inc. with funding
from the National Institutes of Health. There are no sales or m arketing lists involved.
mine our hope that rehabilitation is physical violence.
In the 1960s in my hom e state of
possible for all people.
All hum an beings deserve a Louisiana, the m axim um -security
modicum o f respect and dignity. state penitentiary in A ngola had a
But in our nation’s pris­ reputation for being "A m erica's
ons, you really have to bloodiest prison.” I d o n 't know
w onder if that standard is what prison carries that distinction
being upheld. Inhum ane today, but it is no longer Angola.
conditions - driven by over­ T hat prison’s fundam ental institu­
crow ding, financial woes tional culture has been profoundly
and understaffing
have transformed.
pushed some prisons to the
boiling point. T h ey 're not
p la ce s w h ere p riso n ers
have a decent chance at rehabilita­
tion. They are places w here crim i­
nals become more efficient and vio­
lent.
Mind you, corrections is a tough
E veryone w ho w orks at A ngola
profession. C orrections officers
often work long shifts in tense, treats p riso n ers w ith dig n ity and
o v ercro w d ed fac ilities w ithout resp e ct, and p riso n ers are e x ­
enough backup, support or train­ p ected to recip ro cate that tre a t­
ing. Many wardens run aging and m ent. P riso n ers have been given
understaffed facilities in which ex ­ h o p e th ro u g h e d u c a tio n a n d
perienced officers are likely to leave m orally based pro g ram m in g , and
for b etter-paying, less-stressful resp o n sib ility through m e an in g ­
jobs. These pressures cause stress, ful em ploym ent. T he fair and reli­
injury, and illness am ong the prison able en fo rcem en t o f the rules by
workforce and contribute to a dan­ sta ff and p riso n ers m eans less
gerous culture inside. The tension violence.
The Com m ission on Safety and
is w orsened further by racial and
Abuse in A m erica's Prisons re­
cultural differences.
In prisons w here this culture has cently released a report, cal led "C on­
evol ved, rules aren ' t en forced, pri s- fronting C onfinem ent," that high­
oner-on-prisoner violence is toler­ lights a wide array o f dangerous
ated and antagonistic relationships conditions surrounding incarcera­
can erupt into overt hostility and tion - the violence, poor health care,
inappropriate segregation, lack o f
political support for labor and m an­
agem ent, weak oversight o f correc­
tional facilities and lack o f reliable
data.
O f the 30 practical reform s rec­
om m ended. institutional culture
change is perhaps most important.
Prisons need it if tools and training
help change the culture o f their
institutions. The program teaches
All human beings deserve a modicum o f
respect and dignity. But in our nation s
prisons, you really have to wonder if that
standard is being upheld.
them to resolve conflict through
com munication - particularly across
cultural and racial differences -
rather than violence.
In an era when everyone and
their uncle seem to w ant to "get
tough on crim e,"
I realize that institutional “cul­
ture change” sounds soft. But pris­
ons that add punishm ent on top of
the sentence will be violent places.
Prisons that treat inm ates with ba­
sic hum an dignity and respect are
more likely to be places where vio­
lence and abuse are the rare excep­
tion and not the rule.
Marc H. Moriai is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na­
tional Urban League.
Big Let Down on Minimum Wage
hom e all year.
about $ 10,700 a year.
T he federal g o v ern m en t has
M edicaid, subsidized housing
and free school lunch program s made it clear that the needs o f the
help fill the void that low -paying w orking poor are not high on its list
jo b s cause. W ith an o f priorities. As such, many states
increase in the m ini­ have independently raised their
mum wage, em ployers state's wage m inim um s, including
would shoulder more O regon. T w enty states and the
o f the responsibility for District o f Columbia have set wages
theirem p lo y ee's basic ranging from $6.00to $7.35 per hour.
needs, thereby low er­ Research shows that these slates
ing costs for the states have, for the most part, perform ed
and, ultim ately, you - ju st as well econom ically as states
Congress
ignores needs
by J udge : G re : g
M athis
The federal minimum
wage, currently $5.15 an
h o u r, h a s n 't c h a n g e d
since 1997; the latest pro­
posal to increase it was
recently shot dow n by
U.S. Senate Republicans.
Interesting, considering
these same Republicans
had no problem voting to increase
their own pay each year for the last
several years.
Falsely claim ing that wage in­
creases will cost jobs and hurt small
business owners, those that o p ­
pose the boost appear to be more
concerned with corporate needs the taxpayer.
Those that criticize a m inimum
than those o f the larger society. By
raising the federal m inim um wage, wage hike say raising it will CQst
the government will be able to lift jobs. But a study by the Econom ic
millions o f families out o f poverty, Policy Institute found that neither
improving the econom ic and social the I9 9 6 n o rth e 1997 federal m ini­
mum wage increases caused job
health of the entire country.
A ccording to the C enter for losses. It's interesting that, w hile
Policy Alternatives, if the minimum sim ultaneously denying their la­
wage had kept pace with inflation borers a salary increase, corporate
since 1979, when the rate was $2.90 chief executive officers sec no harm
an hour, it would now be ju st over in raising their own salaries. Last
$7.80 an hour or about $ 16.IXX) per year, executive salaries grew 25-
year. T h at's enough to keep a fam ­ percent. A ccording to the institute,
ily o f three just above the federal the average A merican CE O earns
poverty line. At its current level, more in a half day of work than a
that same w orker only brings home m inim um wage w orker will take
It’s interesting that while simultaneously
denying their laborers a salary increase,
corporate CEOs see no harm in raising
their own salaries.
1
>
with lower minimum wages.
If the federal governm ent con­
tinues to ignore the need for a m ini­
mum wage increase, w orkers will
fall further and further behind. State
budgets will be overw helm ed as
local governm ents attem pt to pro­
vide safety nets for workers. Fed­
eral legislators d o n 't deny them ­
selves salary increases and it's time
they stop denying A m erica's low-
wage workers.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.