We Gotta Work On Youth Violence NOW!

It was a warm spring evening on Milwaukee’s north side and four-year-old Jasmine Owens was playing double dutch outside her family’s home. As she enjoyed the simple pleasures of childhood, a stray bullet struck her in the head. She died on the scene. Days later, Carey Jenkins would stand over Jasmine’s casket, looking at the four-year-old in her pink dress and listening to the cries echoing in the church for the violence to end.

“I prayed to God that day that I would never be there to help bury another kid, but last year alone there were 71 murders in our small city of Milwaukee,” says Jenkins, a 33-year-old Milwaukee native who has launched a campaign to bring urban violence to the nation’s attention. The sky-high homicide rate in Milwaukee is not unlike many other American cities….

Continue reading at Huffington Post!

Posted by:

Heather Box

5% of the World’s Population, 25% of its Prisoners

That’s America, alright, and the numbers come from an article on prison reform written by Mark Lange in the Christian Science Monitor. As yall know, we’re big supporters of the Youth PROMISE Act over here at 99p.  The statistics from the American Prison system are horrendous; recidivism is practically guaranteed for many people who serve time, because they leave these “crime schools” with complicated paroles and no preparation in life after jail.  As Mr. Lange writes:

Mass imprisonment of nonviolent offenders amounts to justice by lock-down – and lets government off the hook for results. The only stakeholders this system serves are elected officials, including judges, who are rewarded for posing as “tough” on crime without solving it – and the lobbyists and interests paid to build and run prisons.

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Posted by:

Sam Patton

Prison Reform Is An Effect of The Recession?

The recession has had drastic effects on families nationwide. Personally, I know it is having a drastic effect in my household, and I have not seen anyone profiting from this economic downturn. So, every now and then, it is fantastic to see something good happening as a result of such a terrible economic climate. A rose that grows from concrete, if you will.

It would seem that as a result of the economic downturn, the current prison strategy is essentially ‘too much’ to handle in the current economic climate and states are starting to pursue prison reform as an viable option, as well as methods seen in the Youth Promise Act.

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Posted by:

Steve Romain

Rep. Bobby Scott wants the Youth PROMISE Act

We have to expect our government to take on the real problems in our neighborhoods. We’re not used to counting on them for change, but we should be able work with them and make something important happen.

There are over 80 cosponsors of the Youth PROMISE Act right now; we’re trying to get up to 150, but that’ll take all of us working together, contacting our representatives and telling them personally that we want their support for this pivotal piece of legislation.

Go to 99problems.org/youth-promise to send a message to your representative. It only takes a few minutes but will mean a world of change.

Posted by:

Sam Patton

Khari Mosley on Bobby Scott, Youth PROMISE and Made in America: Crips & Bloods

In D.C. for the Youth PROMISE Day of Action, I was invited to watch the documentary “Crips and Bloods: Made in America”, (directed by Stacy Peralta and produced by actor Cash Warren and NBA superstar Baron Davis) at a special screening hosted by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) on Capitol Hill. The screening was held to kickoff a series of events in support of the Youth Promise Act national day of actio.

As I watched the film, I couldn’t help but think about my favorite line from the seminal 70s gang movie, The Warriors. It was the unforgettable line Cyrus delivered during his legendary speech: “Miracles are the way things ought to be.”

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Posted by:

Khari Mosley