Introduction: America's Disposable Children: Setting the Stage

Abstract

The connection of crime and prejudice is neither simple or direct. The (Negro) boy who is refused promotion in his job as a porter does not go out and snatch somebody's pocketbook. Conversely the loafers... and the thugs in the county prison are not usually graduates of high schools who have been refused work. The connections are more subtle and dangerous; it is the atmosphere of rebellion and discontent that unrewarded merit and reasonable but unsatisfied ambition make. The social environment of excuse, listless despair, careless indulgence and lack of inspiration to work is the growing force that turns Black boys and girls into ... rascals. (DuBois, 1899, p. 351) Childhood is generally perceived of as a time of innocence. The intersection of childhood and criminality in our society has created some uncomfortable tensions and unwarranted solutions. When violent crimes are committed by young offenders, what is a society to do? Shall we sentence children as though they were adults? Shall we warehouse them or shall we attempt to rehabilitate them? Complicating matters is the nexus between race, class and the overrepresentation of children of color, young African American males, in particular, committed to residential facilities in the justice system. Because of their disproportionate representation in the justice system, African American males in the juvenile justice system is the focus of this special issue of The Journal of Negro Education. Information on residents in juvenile custody, drawn from the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, indicates that nationally, custody rates for Black juveniles is twice the rate for Latinos and five times the rate for Whites (U.S. Department of Justice, 2000). Related data report minority proportions of the total population of juveniles in residential placement at 75% or greater in seven states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, New Jersey, New Mexico and Texas (U.S. Department of Justice, 2000). In maximum-- security facilities, the rates are even higher. America's young Black males have become America's disposable children. As our society enters the millennium, because of increasing immigration and a second baby-boom generation, our youth population will double, primarily among juveniles of color. One can only speculate as to the potential consequences of an exploding juvenile population of color in a growing climate of intolerance. Generically speaking, the topic of juveniles of color in the justice system intersects some of the crucial issues of the day: disproportionate sentencing for the same crime, racial profiling, inadequate legal representation, mandatory minimums, the War on Drugs, family instability, academic underachievement, dropout rates, female offenders, and the role of race, poverty and gender in juvenile sentencing as well as incarceration. Often overlooked is the staggering increase of Black female offenders in the justice system. The high recidivism rate of juvenile offenders in maximum facilities, who graduate into adult facilities, speaks to a profound loss and waste of human potential, of human capital. That youth from certain racial groups bear the brunt of disproportionate arrests and incarceration deeply impacts social interaction and social cohesion in a democratic society. The intended and unintended consequences of our present policies of discarding and disposing of certain segments of our population have and will continue to have dire consequences on both an individual as well as societal scale. In the wake of America's climate of law and order, policymakers have taken steps to ensure the safety of children and of society. However, in the haste for swift and immediate punishment, rhetoric has replaced logic. The result is zero tolerance, a policy adapted from criminal justice policies, that has set in motion a series of events disproportionately affecting children of color, their families, and their communities (The Harvard University Civil Rights Proiect. …