I am Carmita Coleman and have only recently joined this list.  This discussion is just too much not to say anything.  First, let me say that I am a Black woman.

 

1.     One of the main reasons that more blacks are in prisons today is because justice is often associated with the amount of defense that you can pay for.  Those that have money are the one that get the best defense.  Those that don’t get a public defender (many are quite competent) or someone that must work some cases pro bono for some kind of legal penance.  Those that have money can hire expert witnesses and get specialized laboratory work-ups.  Those that don’t have to hope that there are holes in the prosecution’s case.  Justice is not black or white.  Justice is green.  If you have the green, you get the justice.  Look at the type of cases that many black people are incarcerated for…  Generally, thief, carjacking, some capital murder in the course of committing a robbery.  These are crimes more often associated with a poor socio-economic status.  No, I am not justifying it, just explaining it.  If you look at those that are incarcerated because of cocaine possession, there are stiffer penalties associated with a small amount of crack cocaine, then large kilos of pure cocaine.  Crack cocaine is highly adulterated, extremely potent form with only a small amount actual cocaine.  Those in possession of crack are usually the street dealer or the addict (small potatoes.)  Those with large amounts of pure cocaine are usually higher in the “food chain” for dealing, yet there sentences are much shorter.  Why is that?  Those that are the main providers of large quantities of pure materials are not Blacks.   But many Blacks are incarcerated for drug-related offenses.  Once you are in the system, it is hard to get out.  There are even separate prisons for white collar criminals.  Actually, didn’t those Enron scammers hurt more people than a crack dealer?  An additional personal example, in 2000,  I was in a residency program in the Houston, Texas area.  My fiancée lived in New Orleans and was completing his schooling.  On the weekends, he would try to travel on the I-10 corridor between New Orleans to Houston to visit me.  During the year of my residency, I will estimate he came at least once per month, sometimes more.  Every time he drove to see me, he was stopped for some bogus reason.  Not once did he get a ticket.  Every time, his car was searched for drugs.  We were struggling colleges students trying to travel to see one another.  We literally built-in police stop and search time in the trip, because we knew that it was going to happen.  My fiancée (now-husband) saw White people speed by him and the police at outrageous speeds and were never stopped. But every time he drove in that area he was stopped.  They told him that he fit the profile.  Tell me the justice.

  

2.    Just this weekend, my husband and I celebrated our anniversary.  I surprised him by taking him to a golf resort in the hill country of south Texas.  We were told by the concierge of the resort to visit the putting greens in the evening because of the lovely light arrangements and Oriental gardens. When we walked into the pro shop, there was the clerk.  She became obviously nervous and upset.  Yes, she was an older White woman.  We had very pleasant affect and were inquiring only about the putting greens.   We were dressed very nicely in that we had just left the yacht club that had a dress code.  Yet, she refused to give us any equipment until we absolutely verified that we were staying at the resort.  The next people that came in after us did the same thing without nearly as much scrutiny.    That is a form of oppression.  Isn’t my money as good as the next person?  Why do I have to prove that I have a right to use the facilities that I have also paid for?  You say that she is ignorant or uneducated or that she was from the old guard.

 

3.    My three year-old daughter was told by her classmate that she was not as good because her hair was tangled.  Jillian told me that she wanted straight, blonde hair because she wanted to be good.  Now, where would her classmate learn that?  A three year-old could only learn something as horrible as that from her parents.  Three year-old parents are not from the old guard.  

 

4.    Is it due to lack of education?  I say not.  I do a lot of recruiting for my University.  It is well-established, private institution.    But, the school of pharmacy is a new entity.  My counselor/recruiter and I go to other colleges/universities to introduce the program, etc.  It never fails that the person that invited us will go to my counselor/recruiter and call her “Dr. Coleman.”  When my counselor/recruiter lets them know that I am the Assistant Dean, they are undoubtedly taken aback.  Their immediate reactions are often the same.  Once I finish my presentation, only then, am I acceptable.   I had to prove myself to other academicians, before they accepted me.

 

Oppression comes in many forms, both overtly and covertly.  The problem is that no matter how hard one works, as a Black person in America, you are always reminded that you are Black.  Guess what, I can’t forget it even if I tried. I stand in line next to someone, they move their purse.  I walk into a store, the security guard follows me when I see others literally stealing.  A cashier puts the money on the counter purposely, not to touch my skin.  It does not rub off.  Because I am the Assistant Dean and must have often lay down the law to faculty and students, many have told me that I am intimidating or aggressive.  I have never fought anyone and really don’t intend to, but would the same be said to a White male counterpart?   That’s what being Black in America is…  It does not matter who you are and what you do.  You will always be Black, first.

 

That’s just how it is….   

 

Dr. C

Carmita A. Coleman, PharmD

Assistant Dean of Student Affairs

University of the Incarnate Word

Feik School of Pharmacy

4301 Broadway, CPO 99

San Antonio, Texas  78209

Office - 210-883-1060

Fax - 210-883-1023

E-mail - cacolema at uiwtx.edu <mailto:cacolema at uiwtx.edu> 

 

Please note new telephone numbers.

 

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of karen.mobley at NORIS.ORG
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 4:14 PM
To: Women and Literacy Discussion List Race
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 1861] Re: DiversityandPowerinEducationalInsititutions

 

I would like to make a comment about "crimes" and Black or African Americans...I work in a jail..and was just wondering if anyone else has thought of WHY? there are so many more blacks incarcerated than whites? It just seems strange to me..do blacks committ more crimes? I think not...I think white priviledged males made rules for others to follow or face punishment including incarceration, but are exempt themselves. Anyone else with a comment about this issue?
---- Message from "Michael Tate" <mtate at sbctc.edu> <mailto:mtate at sbctc.edu>  at 2008-03-10 13:36:42 ------

	
	Cris and Angela, 
	
	The direct reference was to the Black families in Forsyth County,
	Georgia and in Pierce City, MO who lost their land in the early 1900s
	after being forcibly run out of town as reported in a PBS program
	"BANISHED: American Ethnic Cleansing" that aired in January 2008.
	
	Generally, the White people in Forsyth County and in Pierce City did not
	accept any guilt, and were not willing to make reparations even though
	the residents and the town/county had profited from the dispossessed
	land in the years since the ethnic cleansing.
	
	Guilt exists whether a person chooses to accept it or not.  However,
	when guilt is not accepted, both the oppressors and the oppressed
	continue to suffer.  When people say "this is not fair, I'm not guilty,
	I didn't do anything", they are repeating what the victims said years
	earlier in karmic fashion.  The wheel continues to turn.
	
	Here are some easy-to-see examples of privilege as it relates to crime.
	Privilege is used by diplomats to avoid prosecution by the host country.
	The military maintains that it has the privilege to try its soldiers for
	crimes instead of a foreign (and sometimes domestic) court. The
	assertion of privilege is usually that one is above the law, or that
	punishments and remedies do not apply, or that one's position puts one
	in jeopardy. Often, the whole issue is summed up in the sentence
	"there's a double standard."
	
	Yes, I believe that oppression exists, but for many groups, not just for
	Blacks or African Americans.  Blacks/African Americans have been treated
	differently that other oppressed groups in terms of reparations,
	however. 
	
	Michael Tate
	
	-----Original Message-----
	From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
	[mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Angela Smith
	Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 9:42 AM
	To: The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy DiscussionList
	Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 1855]
	Re:DiversityandPowerinEducationalInsititutions
	
	Chris,
	I look forward to Michael's response to your question. However, I would
	like to pose a couple for you in the interim if I may. Do you believe
	racial oppression exists, particularly, Black or African American
	oppression? Briefly, why or why not?
	
	Angela Smith
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