As Seattle’s public school programs are getting cut or relocated, the city’s plans to build a new municipal jail continue. Real Change News executive director Timothy Harris wrote a scathing criticism in this week’s newspaper, and called the idea “a bricks and mortar commitment to racism and economic marginalization”.
I decided to read the city’s stated reasons for building the jail on this Municipal Jail website, and then I read the community comments. There are some really colorful comments.
The city makes a good case for why we need this thing, and I can’t wait to see the panel discussion, organized by Real Change, that will take place at Seattle University Pigott Auditorium from 6:30 to 8:30 on January 28.
I’ve often read that the United States is the most incarcerated industrial nation, and the number of us that are caught up in some kind of tangle with the legal system is pretty staggering. If we happen to be black and to have dropped out of high school, then the chance that we’re in jail or on parole is two out of three, and Seattle high schools have a 52% graduation rate for African Americans (“Community”, Real Change, Jan. 21-27). To really see the funny side of the incarceration culture, check out the National Institute of Corrections website. It features headlines like “Blended Correctional Leadership Development (CLD) series opportunities now available!” and “What Would A High Performing Corrections Organization Look Like?” It’s serious, Blended Correctional Leadership. I can’t wait to learn more.
