More Black Men in Prison than College

Imagine a day when you attend school with no black men. A day when instead of being behind college desks, they are behind prison bars.

According to John Edwards, 2008 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, this day may come sooner not later.

"The idea that we can keep incarcerating and keep incarcerating -- pretty soon we're not going to have a young African-American male population in America. They're all going to be in prison or dead. One of the two, " said Edwards at the 2007 MTV political forum.

The statistics are alarming. According to the Justice Policy Institute at the end of 2000, 791,600 black men were behind bars and 603, 032 were enrolled in colleges or universities.

George Henderson, author of thirty books and inductee into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame says that black people have to take some blame for what he calls "this generational curse."

"We have to begin to give our children a bigger award for making A's than running a football," said Henderson, "Because the reality is that ,that's a more probable future."

According to Henderson, OU is not doing a good job in assuring that the black men on campus know that education is the key to success, he said this is evident in the classes that is assigned to the athletes.

The 2009 OU enrollment summary states that out of the 23, 258 students only 1,248 are black.

Why, is the question that is consistent in the black community according to Rev. Amos Coleman, adjunct African -American Studies professor at OU who teaches a class called African American Men. This class discusses the historical context of the oppression of black men.

"There's a growing epidemic of black males in prison, because there is a lack of education and a lack or proper community resources," said Coleman, "Most black men growing up in the urban centers are not afforded quality education which leads to deviant lifestyles."

Coleman stated that many African-American men suffer from these conditions, but this does not excuse their behavior, but it does explain in large part the social dislocations that affect these men.

According to Coleman the long effects of this is evident in the structure of the black family. It has changed overtime from predomenently two-parent households, to a single mother household.

The origin of this problem is also in question. When did this epidemic start, and is there a solution?

In the Justice Policy Institute's study they found in contrast that in 1980, before the three strike rule, that men in college outnumbered black men by a ratio of more than 3 to 1.

The three strike rule was placed into action in 1994 under the leadership of President Clinton. This rule requires state courts to give mandatory and extensive prison terms to persons who've been convicted of a criminal offense three or more times.

According to a study performed by the activism group SpeakOut, African-Americans are disproportionately affected by this policy. This same study shows that many of the defendants sent to jail under three-strike laws are non-violent repeat offenders. Even though according to the actual law, Penal Code Section 667, states that the offenders must have been convicted of a violent crime for this law to take effect.

Leanna Payton, employee of NCORE, a conference sponsored by OU that focuses on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education says that the origin of this epidemic has a historical context.

Education about the stand-point of this epidemic is also important according to Payton.

"Conferences like NCORE helps professional to learn how to teach kids who deal with these oppressed mentalities," said Payton

NCORE is a national conference with registration in the thousands, according to Payton. Many schools send their presidents to learn about the different diverse groups. President Boren was not in attendance.

"It's purely racial, America has always been an oppressor so these statistics shouldn't surprise anyone," said Payton, "The problem is that there are more black men in prison than in college we got that, now what's the solution."

Payton is correct. There is grave discussion about this problem, but for this nation to move passed this, more discussion must be made about the antidote.

Tarricke Mills, Human Relations senior and President of the OU Chapter Black Student Association says that the epidemic of single parent households has to be assessed before this problem gets solved.

"Most African-American males don't have a father figure to look up to," said Mills, "The father shapes the morals, so the absence of a father in an urban gang-infested community is a recipe for a disaster."

Mills knows this feeling all too well. His own father left him and his younger brother at an early age. But, he credits his success to his strong mother and mentors who've helped him this far.

Mills said that it is time for more prominent figures of the black community to stand up as mentors and replace the void of father figures.

"With these mentors in place they will be able to stress the importance of education," said Mills, "when you have education you have purpose and you're not concerned with what is going on in the streets. "

Henderson believes the solution is within the black community. He said it is time to stand-up and revive what has been lost for so many years.

The approach that Pastor Coleman has to this problem is not so simple. He believes this was not an "over night problem" so there is no "over night solution"

"Every individual, and every non-profit organization has to do their share in addressing this issue of African-American Men being incarcerated."