SOLIDARITY with Herbert H. Thomas, Jr.

SOLIDARITY With Herbert H. Thomas, Jr., Ph.D. “Truth without Compromise”

With 9 days left before the 2020 General Election, it’s more than voting Donald Trump and his cronies out of office. This election will set the course of this nation for the next fifty years. As time continues to narrow, African Americans must be vigilant and never cease in their efforts to organize and mobilize their vote. Sitting on the sidelines and believing your vote will not count is a vote for Donald Trump. As of October 15, 2020, according to CNN and the Edison Research and Catalist Company, over 18 million ballots have been cast in 44 states and Washington, D.C. during the 2020 election cycle. In the midst of a pandemic that has crippled the country, these numbers are indicating an historic voter turnout. Here is a breakdown by 4 swing states of early voting as compared to 2016:

North Carolina: 2020: 502,462 2016: 226,824

Georgia: 2020: 918,873 2016: 448,055

Michigan: 2020: 1,150,224 2016: 369,721

Wisconsin 2020: 592,579 2016: 234,396

While watching MSNBC and CNN, I saw long lines of people voting early in Georgia and Texas. As the reporters were interviewing the voters, many stated they had waited in line over 8 hours to vote. Seeing this kind of early voting is unprecedented. The early voting numbers theorizes that Democrats are pushing the rise in numbers. Of the states that released ballots cast by party affiliation, 55% identify as Democrats, while 24% identify as Republicans. On Monday, October 19, 2020, Florida began its early in-person voting. During a recent interview, Politico’s Marc Caputo stated earlier this week, “Republicans typically hold a slight edge in absentee ballot returns in Florida elections. But this year, there’s been a stunning development. For the first time ever at this stage of a general election, Democrats here are outvoting Republicans and by a mammoth 384,000 vote margin through Tuesday.”

Through protests and boycotts, as African Americans we have made our voices known. Since the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis, Minnesota cop, we have built momentum. However, with the upcoming election, we must focus on the introduction of new policy and revisions of current policy that adversely affect the African American community. In 2020, according to the Pew Research group, the following are found to be germane to Blacks and important because they affect our community, families and our legacy and the necessity for us to vote and fight for equal justice and equal opportunities in this country.

Each concern listed below has been written to include a definition, where possible important data and describes the impact each pervasive concern has on African Americans, followed by references..

Issue #1 -- Criminal Justice reform: This reform addresses police brutality and corrupt law enforcement agencies, implementation of a national standard of training for law enforcement officers, national data base to weed out corrupt officers, allowing ex-felons

to vote, unequal and unfair sentencing guidelines, eliminating private prisons and the cash bail system.

Cash bail is where a local court regulates the amount of money an individual has to pay to procure their “bailout” from detainment. The cash the individual pays serves as bond to make certain the alleged offender shows up for their appointed court date. Notwithstanding, there are roughly a million people in jail on a daily basis, despite them haven’t been sentenced. The cash bail system clearly has a detrimental effect on those who are poor and low-income. These people are not able to pay their cash bail, which leads to them been locked up for weeks or months until their trial begins. Cash bail continues to carry out injustices that underhandedly affects communities of color and poverty.

Police brutality may be considered “the unwarranted or excessive and often illegal use of force against civilians by U.S. police officers. Forms of police brutality have ranged from assault and battery (e.g., beatings) to mayhem, torture, and murder. Some broader definitions of police brutality also encompass harassment (including false arrest), intimidation, and verbal abuse, among other forms of mistreatment.” Dr. Leonard Moore, Professor of History at the University of Texas.

The world watched in shock and horror as Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on the neck of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. This heartless and callous act led to the death of Mr. Floyd, which sparked national and international protests and called for immediate police reform and in some cases called for police departments to be defunded. Furthermore, Mr. Floyd’s murder invigorated the public deliberation about police brutality and racism in America.

As protests become more frequent, government officials, police departments, and politicians are under immense pressure to radically change policies, practices, and perception in which law enforcement operate. Some of these policies and practices have to address the following: 1) Police wearing body cameras at all times and consequences if they don’t have them on, 2) standardized training for all law enforcement officers, 3) eliminating choke holds, 4) creating and strengthening community oversight committees, 5) national data base that will contain the number and nature of complaints, use of force, and law suits filed against an officer, and if an officer was terminated from his or her job, due to illegal or reckless actions, and 6) implementing more neighborhood patrolman.

Due to continued public outcry and after the shooting of Michael Brown from Ferguson, Missouri and the death of Eric Garner of New York in 2014, many government officials, academic researchers, and media outlets began to collect data to show the frequency of police brutality and elements that add to it. The data presented unsettling results. Nearly 1,000 civilians are killed each year by men and women who took an oath to protect and serve. Studies purported that African American men are 2.5 times more likely than their White counterparts to be killed by law enforcement. Another study showed that African Americans who were fatally shot by law enforcement were twice as likely as Whites to be unarmed. Nix, J., Campbell, B. A., Byers, E. H. & Alpert, G. P. Criminol. Public Policy 16, 309–340 (2017).

Issue #2 -- Privatization of prisons The privatization of prisons is morally wrong. The whole idea for a private prison is to make money. Therefore, they have an incentive for longer sentences and higher recidivism rates. According to The Northwest Missourian Opinion on October 17, 2019, private prisons are in business for one thing, to make money. Here in lies a moral dilemma. An inmate is sent to prison and is there as punishment for a crime they committed; however, they are not there to receive punishment. The goal of any correctional facility is to protect the public and rehabilitate the inmate so upon release they will be productive citizens of society. As a former Correctional Officer, I saw firsthand the devastating effects of long sentencing and high recidivism rates.

Private prisons have many issues that have proven not to be beneficial for correctional officers nor the inmates. Even though private prisons detain only about 8% of the U.S. prison population, they have a vested interest to house more. A study by the U.S. Bureau of Justice revealed that 83% of the prisoners released in 2005 were arrested again by 2014. Also, employees earn on average $5000.00 annually less than federal prison employees, with nearly 60 less hours of training.

Currently, the U.S. has 4% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s incarcerated population. In 1968, there were roughly 180,000 people in U.S. prisons and local jails. Now there are nearly 5 million people in prisons and jails. The United States has 2 million more people incarcerated than China, but Chi-

na has 1.5 billion more people than the U.S. Many states look at third grade reading scores to determine how many prisons they should build for the future. One can simply look at the amount of money and jobs that are created by mass incarceration. Everyone gets paid: The people who built and maintain the prisons and those who make, package, and deliver the food, eating trays, clothes/shoes, beds, toiletries, shower and bathroom apparatus, cleaning supplies, sheets, recreational equipment, and pillows. Look at money to be made on the officers for the following: payroll, uniforms, badges, handcuffs, batons (knight stick), caps/hats, and firearms with ammunition. We can’t forget about the money that’s made for secretaries/clerks, nurses and doctors, and medical treatment for inmates. In other words, there is big money in the criminalization of people. Therefore, many of these prisons will use Blacks as their raw materials to keep the money machine going.

Issue #3 -- Healthcare: Universal healthcare is a topic that has been discussed for many years. On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. ACA allowed 2.8 million African Americans to have some form of insurance coverage that were previously uninsured. Although many Blacks had insurance from their employer or some type of private insurance. 55% of African Americans used private health insurance in 2018, while 41.2 percent were enrolled in Medicaid or some other type of public health insurance. African Americans are more likely to be uninsured at a higher rate than their White counterparts. Through political maneuvering the ACA has been modified and this has caused a challenge for many Americans on their healthcare options.

When looking at income equality and other financial threats, African Americans spend nearly 20% of their average income on healthcare premiums, office copays, prescription drugs, and unexpected medical bills.

The absence of Medicaid expansion in different states, lack of healthcare providers, and inequities in the healthcare system make it extremely difficult to address Americans healthcare needs in a holistic way. These difficulties affect Americans in a myriad of ways; however, people in the South and African Americans around the country are disproportionately represented in these problems. numbers of people who are uninsured or under-insured. Of the 27.5 million people that are currently not covered, 45% say cost is their reason for not having insurance. The Commonwealth Fund reports that there are roughly 87 million adults (18% African Americans) from ages 19-64 that are underinsured. This means they have some type of coverage, but their coverage and other related medical expenses is costly.

For over 54 years, Medicaid has been funded by the federal government and states. From August of 2019, Medicaid has provided coverage for 68 million people, with 20% being Blacks. Due to the current wealth gap in America, Blacks usually experience a higher level of poverty than other ethnic groups. Therefore, public healthcare programs are essential for affordable and quality healthcare. The poor, elderly, pregnant, and people with disabilities have benefited greatly from Medicaid.

Issue #4 -- Education: Earning a college degree for many African Americans is considered one of the greatest achievements in their life. With this new degree, doors are now open that were once closed. Dreams and goals now seem obtainable that at one time seemed like a nightmare. For many Blacks, they are first in their family to go to college, let alone receive a college degree. With this new found educational attainment comes great expectations from family, friends, and the African American community at large. However, for many this quest for academic progression and excellence had an auspicious start during their formative years. Here are some key statistics that many Blacks had to overcome in order to attend college:

STATISTIC #1: African American students are less likely than white students to have access to college-ready courses. In fact, in 2011-12, only 57 percent of black students have access to a full range of math and science courses necessary for college readiness, compared to with 81 percent of Asian American students and 71 percent of white students.

Source: College Preparation for African American Students: Gaps in the High School Educational Experience and U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data Snapshot: College and Career Readiness

STATISTIC #2: Even when black students do have access to honors or advanced placement courses, they are vastly underrepresented in these courses. Black

and Latino students represent 38 percent of students in schools that offer AP courses, but only 29 percent of students enrolled in at least one AP course. Black and Latino students also have less access to gifted and talented education programs than white students.

Source: U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data Snapshot: College and Career Readiness and U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection “A First Look”

STATISTIC #3: African American students are often located in schools with less qualified teachers, teachers with lower salaries and novice teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data Snapshot: Teacher Equity and U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights 2013-14 Civil Rights Data Collection “A First Look”

STATISTIC #4: Research has shown evidence of systematic bias in teacher expectations for African American students and non-black teachers were found to have lower expectations of black students than black teachers.

Source: Who Believes in Me? The Effect of Student-Teacher Demographic Match on Teacher Expectations

STATISTIC #5: African American students are less likely to be college-ready. In fact, 61 percent of ACT-tested black students in the 2015 high school graduating class met none of the four ACT college readiness benchmarks, nearly twice the 31 percent rate for all students.

Source: The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2015: African American Students (a joint ACT-UNCF report)

STATISTIC #6: Black students spend less time in the classroom due to discipline, which further hinders their access to a quality education. Black students are nearly two times as likely to be suspended without educational services as white students. Black students are also 3.8 times as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions as white students. In addition, black children represent 19 percent of the nation’s pre-school population, yet 47 percent of those receiving more than one out-of-school suspension. In comparison, white students represent 41 percent of pre-school enrollment but only 28 percent of those receiving more than one out-of-school suspension. Even more troubling, black students are 2.3 times as likely to receive a referral to law enforcement or be subject to a school-related arrest as white students.

Source: U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data Snapshot: School Discipline

STATISTIC #7: Students of color are often concentrated in schools with fewer resources. Schools with 90 percent or more students of color spend $733 less per student per year than schools with 90 percent or more white students.

Source: Unequal Education: Federal Loophole Enables Lower Spending on Students of Color

STATISTIC #8: According to the Office for Civil Rights, 1.6 million students attend a school with a sworn law enforcement officers (SLEO), but not a school counselor. In fact, the national student-to-counselor ratio is 491-to-1, however the American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250-to-1.

Source: American School Counselor Association and U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights 2013-14 Civil Rights Data Collection “A First Look”

STATISTIC #9: In 2015, the average reading score for white students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 4th and 8th grade exam was 26 points higher than black students. Similar gaps are apparent in math. The 12th grade assessment also show alarming disparities as well, with only seven percent of black students performing at or above proficient on the math exam in 2015, compared to 32 percent white students

Source: The Nation’s Report Card: 2015 NAEP Mathematics & Reading Assessments

As you can see, many Black students have had to overcome many obstacles for them to even step foot in a college classroom. Earning a college degree is an avenue for reducing poverty and narrowing the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites. The inequality between these two groups are quite disturbing.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) saw an overall increase in enrollment in 2016. One might surmise that this increase came from adverse

experiences Blacks have endured in their personal life or their exposure to racial discrimination. Blacks obtaining college degrees continue to rise.

Issue #5 -- Voter Suppression Voter suppression in the United States has been around a very longtime. Post Civil War, the 15th Amendment outlawed racial voting stipulations; however, states were still allowed to ban African American voter on other grounds. Through Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, Blacks faced an uphill climb, both socially and to legally vote.

On June 25, 2013, the United States Supreme Court rendered a 5-4 majority decision to gut section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Section 5 required states that had a history of racial discrimination in voting to receive “pre-clearance” before they could make any changes to their election laws. Section 5 was implemented to deter racial discrimination and encourage transparency in voting practices in several states, such as Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Voting rights experts and Constitutional Law scholars agree that Shelby County v. Holder decision clearly sabotaged one of the most powerful pieces of Civil Rights legislation.

The Brennan Center cautioned that without the buffer of Section 5, states might want to reintroduce discriminatory voting practices that were formally blocked in the previous “pre-clearance” conditions. Regrettably, a number of people were affected by the court’s decision because that is what exactly happened. Literally within a 24-hour period after the ruling of the Shelby v. Holder case, Texas immediately went to a strict photo-ID law. Since the 2013 Supreme Court decision, at least 20 states have passed some form of voter suppression law(s). The Brennan Center routinely established that states who were under the pre-clearance requirement continually participate in compelling acts to suppress voters. Some of these voter suppression tactics included, but are not limited to the following:

Stricter voter ID laws Rolling back early in-person voting Eliminating same day registration and voting Faulty voting machines Not allowing ex-convicted felons to vote Severely reducing polling places Extremely long lines Unlawfully purging voters from the roll Partisan gerrymandering of voting districts Purposefully spreading misinformation about voting

These tactics disproportionately target people of color, poor people, elderly, and low income. These individuals tend to vote Democrat. In the home of the brave and land of the free, every citizen that’s eligible to vote should be given the opportunity to vote. Racial voter suppression, once primarily a regional blight, has “metastasized across the country,” says Sherrilyn Ifill, the president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “On the table will be whether this is in fact a sound democracy.”

I share with you these concerns to say, whenever there’s an election, please vote as though your life is at stake, because it is!