As a Freedom fighter I recognize that education is a critical pathway to freedom. In the U.S. 90% of men of color are not reading to the standard grade level of an adult and 48% of men of color are not graduating from high school or four years of college. When we do a concrete analysis of these conditions we can easily see that 9 out 10 black boys are not reading to grade level. Research and studies have shown if a child is not reading to grade level by the 3rd grade there is a 75% higher chance that they will end up in prison.
The school to prison pipeline is an invisible pipeline that railroads kids from school to prison. “This is due to the miseducation and lack of resources provided to children of color. Public schools lack representation and positive images for children of color to relate to in literature and history; and for 12 years children of color are only given one Month to acknowledge the same two to three leaders, while being taught they have come from nothing but slavery. They are taught that oppression for people of color is a way of life while being taught that their Caucasian peers are to be owners or obeyed even if doing the oppressing. For 12 years the minds of all children are fed to believe that black and brown people are not responsible for great creations or being heroic forefathers while being taught to acknowledge, honor and celebrate people who do not look like them whose history was absolutely a nightmare to the indigenous people before us.
This becomes a form of psychological warfare. Where young minds of not only children of color but also their caucasian peers are not educated but introduced to indoctrination. Caucasian children are taught to be privileged and that even the bad acts that were committed from previous history of colonization was a good and rewarding act. It is praised and programmed into the minds of the youth. To black and brown children this is programming them to obey and submit to colonizers authority. Using lessons of history and European literature to make children of color accept a colonized mentality. Public schools not only miseducate black and brown children but have been known to enforce harsh punishment towards them six times more than their caucasian peers. This can include arrest, suspension, and even police brutality which should never be overlooked for it is abuse to a child.
The approach to the school to prison pipeline has to be revolutionary, we need to end the 0 tolerance school policies which leads to suspensions for minor infractions such as phone usage and yelling. We as a collective must demand less officers and more counselors that will deescalate issues and get to the root of the problem as well as create prevention plans. We want to lower the incarceration rates, and reinvest this money back into the community to help fix these systemic issues. We recognized the lack of resources in our communities is a deliberate decision instead of building new schools, they would rather build hightech prisons. Any real educational process starts by a child learning about their history, culture, and customs. When a child of color is learning eurocentric history this is problematic. Children can't learn until they feel the person teaching them can relate and cares. Now addressing politics, all politics are local, in the U.S. there are about 2,400 District Attorney elected. These are the people that are locking children of color up in astronomical numbers. 80% of District Attorneys run unopposed 75% are white.
As a collective we need to get people in these positions who have the true interest of the people and are willing to do the work unapologetically. As freedom fighters we have to continue fighting for restorative justice, as well as improving relationships between teachers and students. We must recognize that black girls have been overlooked in this school to prison pipeline. That in some instances black females are higher than every other group after the black men. We criminalize their attitudes as if it's not a manifestation of their critical thinking. Finally we need alternatives to suspension, dysfunction,and arrest. Some solutions are to stop referring students to law enforcement. When we do a historic analysis we can see that racism is highly adaptable, and there will always be a power structure using different tactics and strategies to achieve a racial caste system. These systems may seem sudden but these seeds are planted well in advance,” the seeds of mass incarceration were planted during the civil rights era”(Alexander Michelle). Sincerely yours, King Ace servant of the people-Work cited Dr.Monique Morris pushout https://youtu.be/vvPDjJhHQakElementary Genocide https://youtu.be/uA3RuhSU_O4Alexander michelle The New Jim Crow https://youtu.be/kUbYT9FR7O0 - Written by King Ace, Servant of the People.
