< Previous30 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 A TALE OF TWO JUSTICES31 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION “The authors of the Declaration of Independence outlined a bold vision for America: a nation in which there would be equal justice for all. More than two hundred years later, it has yet to be achieved. Though generations of civil rights activism have led to important gains in legal, political, social, educational, and other spheres, the forced removal of indigenous peoples and the institution of slavery marked the beginnings of a system of racial injustice from which our country has yet to break free.” (American Civil Liberties Union, 2021). Roof, a 26-year-old white male, attended a worship service with African American churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, before killing nine of them. He was arrested, but while he was in their custody the officers went to a Burger King to get Roof something to eat. In stark contrast, McClain, a 23-year- old African-American male, was walking home from a convenience store in Aurora, Colorado, one evening and was stopped by police officers because a 911 operator had passed on a call about a “sketchy” individual (Bellware, 2021). Even though he had committed no crime, much less multiple murders, McClain was restrained and placed And Justice for All The criminal legal system should be a place of fair and equal treatment for all. A place where justice-involved individuals can be rehabilitated to become law-abiding citizens while also being held accountable. However, there appears to be an invisible system working against justice-involved individuals of color. In an interview in September 2020, Vice President Kamala Harris discussed disparities for Black and White Americans in the justice system and said, “We do have two systems of justice” (Struyk, 2020). One example is the disparate treatment of two young men, Dylan Roof and Elijah McCain. 32 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 in a chokehold, following which paramedics arrived and injected him with a hefty dose of the sedative ketamine. He went into cardiac arrest and died in police custody (Kenney, 2021). Although the vast majority of police officers are dedicated to their work and courageously put their lives on the lines to protect citizens, there are countless examples of racial injustice in the criminal legal system, and some result in truly tragic outcomes. Racial justice is the systematically fair treatment of people of all races that results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone. All people should be able to achieve their full potential in life, regardless of race, ethnicity, or the community in which they live (Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), 2020). George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American male in Minneapolis, certainly did not have the opportunity to fulfill his full potential in life. During an arrest, Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. “Momma!” Floyd called out, “Momma! I’m through.” These words were spoken by the dying man even though Floyd’s mother had died two years previously (O’Neal, 2020). Far too often the killings of unarmed men of color like Floyd are represented as being somehow justified because the victim may have a criminal record. Killings by police have plagued society for decades, but something different occurred when it happened to Floyd in the midst of a global pandemic, in daylight, in front of witnesses, and in front of cameras. It felt like we had reached a tipping point. An urgent call rippled across the nation to fully examine every single solitary injustice and inequality in every aspects of our lives. The healthcare system became a focal point because the COVID-19 pandemic exposed lack of resources in communities of color. The education system became a focal point because the pandemic exposed internet deserts in communities of color. The juvenile justice system became a focal point because the pandemic exposed racial and ethnic disparities in who gets detained—and, unfortunately, overrepresentation of Black and Latino youth in detention was actually worse at the start of 2021 than in the year prior (AECF, 2021). Moreover, the education system and 33 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION the juvenile justice have drawn additional attention for the way educational practices have increased the odds of students of color going ending up incarcerated or otherwise involved in the criminal justice system. School-to-Prison Pipeline The school-to-prison pipeline is a descriptive metaphor for what happens when education policies and practices directly and indirectly push students of color out of school and on a pathway to prison. Such policies and practices include, but are not limited to, harsh school discipline policies that overuse suspension and expulsion, increased school policing and surveillance that create prison-like environments, excessive reliance on referrals to law enforcement and the juvenile justice system, and an academic environment that is alienating, punitive, and centered around high- stakes testing (National Education Association, 2016). “Zero-tolerance” policies criminalize minor infractions of school rules, while having uniformed officers in school leads to students being criminalized for behavior that should be handled inside the school. Students of color are especially vulnerable to push-out trends and the discriminatory application of discipline (American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 2021). Use of zero-tolerance discipline has resulted in Black students facing disproportionately harsher punishment than White students in public schools. While Black students only make up 16% of public school enrollment, they account for 42% of all students who have been suspended multiple times. This is in sharp contrast to White students, who represent 51% of public school enrollment yet only constitute 31% of students who receive multiple suspensions (ACLU, 2021). Several possible mechanisms appear to advance the relationship between school discipline and criminal justice involvement. Perhaps children and youth targeted for school discipline were labeled “troublemakers,” and this label became a self-fulfilling prophecy (Hirschfield, 2008). Youth who have been suspended and/ or expelled are also more likely to spend time unsupervised (Kim, Losen & Hewitt, 2010), which may increase the likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior (Hoeben & 34 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 Weerman, 2016). Whatever the mechanism, discrimination in school disciplinary actions leads to increased criminal justice involvement for minority youths, setting them on the path to prison (Kovera, 2019). Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out (ACLU, 2021). Changes in disciplinary practices in schools can disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately affects minority youths. In one study, briefly training educators to adopt a more empathetic and less punitive mindset toward disciplining students reduced student suspensions by half (Okonofua, Paunesku, & Walton, 2016). Another intervention that combined teachers adopting a more empathetic mindset toward discipline, consistent disciplinary practices, and proactive classroom management techniques reduced disciplinary referrals to the school office by half and reduced racial disparities in referrals by a similar amount (Cook et al., 2018). Interventions with students can also disrupt the pipeline. Identifying situations in which racial disparities in discipline existed and educating students about behavioral expectations for those situations reduced racial disparities in discipline for those situations (McIntosh, Ellwood, McCall, & Girvan, 2017). Thus, the combination of training teachers to respond differently to behavioral disturbances while also training students to meet behavioral expectations can decrease disciplinary actions that contribute to the school-to- prison pipeline. In order to change school cultures, the social and emotional needs of students must be strengthened and supported through education, parental and community partnerships, and relationship building (National Education Association, 2016). A Solitary Moment Those minority youths who were not able to avoid the school-to-prison pathway and end up in custody can find a bad situation worsened even further by being placed in solitary confinement for infractions occurring while they are in custodial facilities. Every day 35 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION jails and prisons across the United States place young people under the age of 18 in solitary confinement. They may spend 22 or more hours alone each day, usually in a small cell behind a solid steel door. They are completely isolated, both physically and socially, often for days, weeks, or even months on end (ACLU, 2021). In 2016 President Obama banned the use of solitary confinement for youth in federal prisons. Despite this progress at the federal level and in a growing number of states, solitary confinement of youth remains widespread, with a disproportionate impact on youth of color (predominantly Black and Latinx youth), gender non-conforming youth, LGTBQ youth, and youth with disabilities (Feierman, Lindell & Eaddy, 2017). An Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Survey of Youth in Residential Placement from 2010 found that more Black youth were in correctional placements than youth of other races or ethnicities (Sedlak & McPherson, 2010). Thus, simply as a result of disparities at other decision points in the juvenile justice system, from arrest through adjudication, youth of color are at heightened risk of being placed in solitary confinement. Kalief Browder, a 16-year-old African American male was accused of stealing a backpack but maintained his innocence. He was arrested and sent to jail without ever being given the opportunity to be supervised in the community in lieu of incarceration, even though Browder was being held pre-trial and was never convicted of a crime. Moreover, he ended up in solitary confinement for two of the three years he was detained at Rikers Island in New York. Charges were dismissed and he came home, but he struggled psychologically to reintegrate after his release and took his own life. Shaka Senghor, an African American male who entered prison at age 19, spent seven years in solitary confinement during his 19-year prison sentence. As reflected in the cases of Browder and Senghor, solitary confinement is one of the most common and abusive practices in youth corrections facilities. Federal data show that over 30% of young people report 36 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 experiencing solitary confinement, and almost half of youth prisons and jails report using isolation to manage youth behavior, resulting in thousands of young people being held in solitary every day. Solitary confinement can have devastating and permanent effects on young people; more than 50% of suicides in youth facilities occur while young people are held in isolation. Youth of color and vulnerable youth are more likely to experience solitary confinement, including youth with mental illnesses or disabilities, LGBTQI or gender non-conforming youth, and youth with trauma histories (Stop Solitary for Kids, 2021). Community Supervision If trauma is accurately described as an event or experience involving the threat of or actual physical and/or psychological harm that adversely impacts one’s capacity to feel secure and function effectively, then the history of racial and ethnic disparity in the juvenile justice system must be associated with the high percentage of justice-involved youth who are challenged with trauma-related issues (Lacey, 2013). The threat of incarceration as the re- sult of a probation or parole violation can be traumatizing for Black and Latinx youths. In 2018, as compared to white people, Black people were 2.6 times more likely to be on probation and 4 times more likely to be on pa- role (Gelb, 2020). The harmful impacts of parole policies disproportionately fall on Black and Latinx communities. For example, Bradner and Schiraldi (2020) found that people in these communities are significantly more likely than White people to be under supervision, to be jailed pending a violation hearing, and to be incarcerated in New York State prisons for a parole violation. Nationally, Black peo- ple are 4.15 times more likely to be under parole supervision than White people, and Latinx people are 15% more likely than White people to be under parole supervision. A report by the Brennan Center for Justice also found that Black and Latinx people remain on probation and parole longer than similarly situated Whites (Eaglin and Solomon 2015). In the late 1990s Wallace “Wallo” Peeples, a 17-year-old African American male, was 37 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION sentenced to 20 years in prison for armed rob- bery. He was released in 2017 and will be on probation until October 29, 2048. Peeples will be 68 years old when his probation ends (Change.org, 2021). This is an example of a gravely flawed institution where systematic racism and inequities are embedded into the criminal legal system. The Traumatic Legacy of Slavery Interventions aimed at serving children and families in the United States in the 21st century must take into account both the his- torical and current context in which they live. The legacy of slavery has not been easy to eradicate and, as described above, still affects many areas of American society. It is import- ant to increase our understanding of how it contributes to the persistence of racially relat- ed injustices such as mass incarceration and the disproportionate lethal violence directed toward African Americans. It is also important to understand that this unresolved historical trauma can be carried intergenerationally, permeating communities, shaping policies and attitudes, and affecting children. Acknowledging and addressing this unfortunate legacy is necessary if we want to end the cycle of trauma and violence. This means understanding how the massive historical trauma of slavery continues to af- fect the lives of individual children, families, and communities. This means recognizing the ways in which racism and oppression are embedded in American society. This means understanding how structural in- equality compounds other traumas. Such acknowledgement requires self-examination, self-awareness, overcoming the challenges of open communication on these issues, and ongoing dialogue with National Child Trau- matic Stress Network (NCTSN) partners and professional communities. The NCTSN re- minds us that human tendency is to avoid or split off awareness and emotions related to a traumatic past. A critical part of trauma in- tervention is about overcoming such taboos and making the unspeakable speakable (NCTSN, 2016).38 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4 Conclusion Racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system are at least partly a legacy of years of racial segregation, discrimination, and mistreatment. These disparities are also based on the belief that youth of color are somehow culturally predisposed to delinquency in a way that their White counterparts are not (NCTSN, 2013). Policymakers, managers, practitioners, and line staff at each stage of the criminal justice system have a responsibility to assess and reduce unwarranted racial disparity. A systematic and comprehensive approach is critical if disparities are to be eliminated (The Sentencing Project, 2016). In her poem “On the Pulse of Morning, Maya Angelou wrote: “History, despite its wrenching pain/ Cannot be unlived, but if faced/ With courage, need not be lived again.” Let us hope that America has that courage. Author Note: Loronda C. Giddens, MA, is the special projects manager for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice’s Office of Professional Development and Standards. Contact the author 39 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION References American Civil Liberties Union (2021). What’s at Stake. New York, NY: American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from American Civil Liberties Union (2021). School-to- Prison Pipeline Infographics. New York, NY: American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from Annie E. Casey Foundation (2020, August 24). Equity vs. equality and other racial justice definitions [web log post]. Retrieved from Annie E. Casey Foundation (2021, March 8). Juvenile justice is smaller but unequal, after first year of COVID-19 [web log post]. Retrieved from Bellware, K. (2021, February 23). Police had no legal reason to place Elijah McClain in chokehold, probe of death finds. The Washington Post. Retrieved from Bradner, K. & Schiraldi, V. (2020). Racial inequities in New York parole supervision. Columbia University Law Lab. Change.org (2021). End probation for Wallace “Wallo267” Peoples [online petition]. Retrieved Cook, C. R., Duong, M. T., McIntosh, K., Fiat, A., Larson, M., Pullmann, M., & McGinnis, J. (2018). Addressing discipline disparities for Black male students: Linking malleable root causes to feasible and effective practices. School Psychology Review, 47, 135–142 Eaglin, J. M., & Solomon, D. (2015). Reducing racial and ethnic disparities in jails: Recommendations for local practice. Articles by Maurer Faculty. 1666. Feierman, J., Lindell, K. U., & Eaddy, N. (2017). Unlocking youth. Legal strategies to end solitary confinement in juvenile facilities. Juvenile Law Center. Retrieved from Next >