Our Youth, Our Future
Many of the issues in The State of Black South Carolina over the years address our youth, directly or indirectly. Hence, our subtitle is always “An Action Agenda for the Future.”
In a comprehensive analysis of factors affecting our youth, Dr. Barbara Jones Morrison, then a USC social work professor, and Dr. A. Baron Holmes, project director for S.C. Kids Count, addressed the issues of poverty, family stress, under-achievement in education, poor health, and several adolescent risk behaviors. The authors concluded that “approximately half of the state’s African American children, youth and families live in a danger zone -- in danger of not achieving their aspirations to become self-sufficient, productive workers, strong family members, and active, contributing members of their communities” (Morrison & Holmes, 1996, p. 40). To reverse the trend, it would take a “deep and widespread commitment” from all segments of society in the state: “from African American families, youth, adults and communities; from White citizens, employers, teachers, and service providers; and from critical private and public organizations” (p. 41)
In-depth analysis of specific youth issues has been the focus of a variety of articles in The State of Black South Carolina. Attorney Mary C. Williams (1996) argued that African American youth are overrepresented in the state juvenile justice system because its policy has a disproportionately detrimental impact on African American and low-income youth. She concluded, “It appears that race and poverty are direct and indirect factors in the decision-making process involving African American juveniles in the state” (p.66). Gina Wood (2000), then the director of the state Department of Juvenile Justice, saw the same two factors at work. “(D)iscrimination in the justice system,” she wrote, “fails to fully account for the overwhelming representation of African Americans in the juvenile justice system” (p. 92). She also blamed poverty, stating: “The impoverishment of many minority communities drastically increases the chances of a child facing incarceration” (p.100).
In the current publication, Dr. Patricia Stone Motes and her colleagues focus on disparities in citations for truancy and school disturbances -- offenses that may be treated differently by school officials and juvenile justice officials depending on the family situation of the child. The differential treatment has sent numerous African American children on a path of lifetime involvement with the justice system; according to a 1995 study, 83% of youths incarcerated as juveniles in South Carolina later had adult correctional records. The study also found that “whatever issues there may be within the system, the issue of the disproportionate involvement of Black youths begins long before youth enter it”; that is, “The great majority of them come to juvenile justice from backgrounds where persistent poverty, unemployment, alcohol and other drug abuse, domestic violence, street violence, untreated depression, low aspirations, and incarceration are prevailing ways of life” (Motes et al., 2007).
In 1991, then-Columbia Police Chief Charles P. Austin warned of rising violence among African American teenagers and noted their high representation among persons arrested for violent crimes. Reasons he cited for the problems included “a lack of hope, self-esteem, and racial pride” as well as poverty, and drug use and abuse (p. 16). Nearly a decade later, Ms. Leslie Wilson-Durant (2000) discussed the substance abuse as a continuing problem among African American youth while statistics indicated it was decreasing in the broader youth population. The violence first noted by Austin has manifested itself in youth gangs and related activity, which is pointed out in the current edition (Campbell 2007a; 2007b). Dr. Campbell, a USC journalism professor who also volunteers with youth programs in the community, shows how the proliferation of youth gangs and related activity, and the mentality associated with such activity, has captured the imagination of many of our youths. He documents youth gangs’ visible presence in our neighborhoods and schools, even middle schools, and the tragic violence that has taken the lives of a number of our youth. The gang activity cuts across all communities throughout the state.
Dr. Jerome Hanley’s (1993) argument that “the mental health of African American children is in jeopardy” (p. 52) because they are often disproportionately represented in circumstances that lead to mental unhealth helps explain the criminal and gang activity. Hanley, a clinical child psychologist, called for an increase in African American mental health professionals in the state as well as for adequate services that are culturally sensitive.
A significant factor in the explanation for the preponderance of African Americans in the criminal justice system as youths as well as adults is poverty. While African Americans make up about a third of the state’s population they are two-thirds of the incarcerated juvenile population and more than one-half of the prison population, just as they are a disproportionate share of the state’s poor residents. “In South Carolina, as in other jurisdictions, the connection between economic status and imprisonment cannot be ignored,” Dr. Marjorie Hammock and Dr. Anthony King wrote (Hammock & King, 1991, p.50). Dr. Hammock, a social worker, and Dr. King, then a USC social work professor, say the effect of this “excessive incarceration” on the Black community is “staggering” because an inordinate number of young African Americans, especially males, are spending their formative adult years in prison. Sadly, they argued, the community is being deprived of possible future leaders and stable families.
Dr. Hammock and Dr. King challenged the African American community to be more receptive to incorporating former inmates back into the community. They also discussed the need for services to help them with substance abuse and other problems that led to their incarceration, and counseling and jobs programs when released. For cultural reasons, they recommended that more African American professionals should be involved in those programs and services.