Past 10yrs Schl discipline & Law far more punitive to youth

The making of a 21st century American slave
By: Karl B. Johnson
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 3/17/2004

Seventh in a series


The status imposed on enslaved Africans — as objects of history — requires
actions such as auctions to reinforce this status. Therefore, slave auctions
were the ritual by which the slave system reinforced and celebrated the
dehumanization of Africans. I refer to this ritual as a ritual of reference: it
is repeated, systematic activity conducted in carefully selected locations that
is intended to reinforce the enslaved status as object.

— Dr. Anthony Pinn, Terror and Triumph: The Nature of Black Religion,
Fortress Press, 2003.


�Over the past decade, trends in both school discipline and law enforcement
have grown steadily more punitive. According to the most recent research, these
trends disproportionately impact youths of color. On the criminal justice side,
many states are dismantling their juvenile justice system, have legislated laws
that make it easier to try juveniles as adults, and have increased sanctions
against juveniles for a wide array of offenses. On the education side, a
‘zero tolerance’ approach to discipline has resulted in a doubling of the
number of students suspended from school each year since 1974, and an increase
in racial disparities in the application of school discipline. Many schools
have increased the deployment of police, use of metal detectors and search and
seizure procedures in schools and in sharing information between law
enforcement and school officials. While many argue that these are necessary to
maintain safe learning environments, others maintain that they
disproportionately target minority students.�

—School to Prison Pipeline The Civil Rights Project-Harvard University,
www.civil rightsproject.harvard.edu