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HEAL BLOG
This week we began with sharing our Professional Development Plans (PDPs) in small groups. Then we collectively named common themes:
We discussed redlining as a way to historically rate neighborhoods according to a criteria based on what people wanted to invest in i.e., race. We pointed to the juxtaposition between more affluent people who were often White living in the suburbs while minorities would reside in the inner cities where there was divestment from banks, companies, businesses, making land worth less so there would be less money allocated for schools due to the connection between education funding and property taxes. We watched Michelle Alexander's TedX video comparing the criminal justice system to a modern day caste system and a system of racial control. Although crime rates have fluctuated, incarcerations have steadily increased from 300,000 in the 1970's to now over 2 million. Federal drug forfeiture laws allow officers to keep 80% of the money, car, and valuables if someone is simply suspected of having drugs; there is a monetary interest in the longevity of drugs on war among law enforcement. According to recent statistics, 70% of released inmates return to prison within a matter of months. After hearing this, we discussed our frustrations with how private prisons are making money from ruining people's lives and that there is a monetary incentive to keep the prison population up. Watching "Millionaire or Felon?" and following Wanda James who is the only African American woman to own a dispensary points to how a zipped determines whether someone will become a millionaire or a felon. There was open criticism in the video and in the classroom on white males profiting off of black males using a product and being incarcerated for what the white males themselves are selling. One of the HEAL members pointed out how easy it is to not have to think about the criminal justice system if you are not part of it. However, not everyone gets the choice to not be shuttled toward it.
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