DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Young Men of Color Don’t Get to Mess Up
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This message is for my future son, 7 nephews, 3 god-sons, numerous friends’ sons and young men of color all over these United States of America:

You don’t get to mess up… when it comes to the law.
You don’t get to make a mistake and think you’re going to somehow slip by the system.
You don’t get to rebel, try to find yourself through illegal means and think the same sentences will apply to you that Hollywood starlets receive.

When you stand before a judge in our courts, you are not a promising college student or attorney’s child or brilliant entrepreneur with dreams. You are one more minority statistic who is “a threat to our society” and a prime candidate to work for $0.23 per hour from a prison cell and keep the $2 billion annual prison revenue coming in. (Article: Corporate Prison Labor Is Forcing Small Businesses To Close)

Yesterday,
I witnessed a disturbing state of affairs.

I sat in court and saw my friend’s son, an 18-year old college student, called a “threat to society”, a “danger to women” and denied bail reduction for stealing an iPhone. This kid had no prior record, grew up in the church and for a month of ‘finding his way’ chose to hang with an acquaintance of questionable character. Once he realized this was not his scene, he disassociated himself, but it was too late. He’s having to jump through major hoops to try to get out of prison… for taking a phone.

Theft is WRONG, absolutely. If somebody had stolen my phone, I would report it. But if it is a first offense, I would hope the offender could get counseling and community service. Let’s get some help and find out why the teen is stealing before throwing the book at him.

Hear me: Just one mistake can land you behind bars and change your whole life forever. Then, every time you fill out an application for education or jobs, you’re denied because of your record. Your right to vote, in many states, is revoked. Life becomes exponentially harder for you, and it’s already a challenge.

Just one mistake, one bad choice. You don’t get to mess up.

Turning Things Around

Our state of California realized some alarming statistics 2 years ago and formed the Select Committee on Status of Boys and Men of Color in California, chaired by Assembly member Sandré R. Swanson. They held hearings all over the state, including Los Angeles, and recently gave the final report of their findings as well as best practices to improve opportunities for young men of color in California.

The report noted:
– More than 70% of Californians under 25 identify as people of color, (2010 Census), thus reform is absolutely necessary.

– California runs the the world’s largest and most expensive prison system, which is disproportionately filled with young men of color.

– Only 55 percent of Black boys and 54 percent of Latino boys graduated from high school in California in 2007.

– In California, “by a 36 to 27 percent ratio, young African-American men without a high school diploma are more likely to be found in prison than working a regular job. Young Latino men are roughly 40 percent more likely than white men to wind up serving time in an adult prison. And African-American kindergartners are more than three times as likely as their other playmates to believe they lack the ability to succeed in school.”

For the 19 bills submitted for approval to the state and the recommendation for improvements including help in school and penal reform, feel free to read the report above.

The good news is you do not have to become another statistic. You can make a choice.

Please hear me.

As a future mom, auntie, god-mother and God-mouthpiece to our nations, please hear me today. Please make a choice. Right now. That you will not be another statistic. That you will not willingly sell yourself back into slavery.

You must, I repeat, you MUST do whatever you can to make sound, wise decisions that steer you clear of having to stand before our skewed judicial system.

Please decide to prefer making a living for yourself and living in your own home rather than volunteering for modern-day slavery with an inmate number on your back in a jail cell. And regardless of any hip-hop artists who glorify thug life (and actually live to tell the story), I need you to know real prison is not some glamorized music video. Artists say “it’s entertainment” and sell you a lie; meanwhile, they live a rather normal, perfunctory life in suburbia, dropping off kids at daycare and coaching little league football. Some men are harmed in prison and raped and traumatized. Please decide not to give up your freedom so easily.

And if you’re already caught up in the system, decide to maximize your time, get as much of an education as you can behind those bars, and get out and never go back as an inmate. Decide to make a difference in the lives of other young men and tell your story so that they’ll learn from your mistakes. If you need resources to help you find out your purpose in life, let me know. I help people figure that all the time and you need to know why you’re here so you can be clear on what you need to be doing. There are so many ministries that yearn to assist you. Find the one that fits you best.

Under Grace

The other good news is that, even though we don’t get to mess up with our U.S. judicial system, we have all messed up under God’s judicial system. That’s why He sent His Son Jesus to stand in our stead and take on the punishment that we’d receive for our wrongdoing. We’re under God’s grace.

Romans 3:23-24 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”

We’ve all fallen short, but we, who believe in Christ, are saved freely by His grace. We repent. We’re restored. Our love motivates us towards relying on God’s Spirit to do the best we can to do right by Him and follow His laws and make Godly decisions. We grow. We mature. We walk out life in fellowship and community as a family of imperfect people who love God.

We are more than the sum of our mistakes.
We have hope.
We have purpose.
Let’s find that purpose and fulfill it to the fullest before we finish our work here.
Deal?

I’m pulling for you,
Naima

Feel free to pass this on to the young men you know.
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