OPINION & EDITORIAL
Inequality looms over Wisconsin
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Also by Julie Isen:
- Cystic Fibrosis in need of cure (May 2, 2005)
- Russ Feingold in 2008? (September 1, 2005)
- Inequality looms over Wisconsin (September 16, 2005)
- Waging war on women's health (September 20, 2005)
- Wisconsin deserves FEMA relief funds (September 29, 2005)
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- Help for hurricane victims stuck in Iraq (September 15, 2005)
- Goldberg wrong on Katrina (February 8, 2006)
- Death penalty reveals racial woes (October 25, 2006)
- Cities should laud denizens' diversity (February 1, 2006)
by Julie Isen
Friday, September 16, 2005
"Wisconsin, and in particular the Milwaukee area, justly merit the invidious distinction of the worst place in the nation to be black." — Bruce Dixon, The Black Commentator
After what has happened in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, numerous fingers have been pointed at racial issues and poverty in the south. While such racism has been used to explain why so many were left to starve and drown in the rising waters of New Orleans, the problem does not solely affect the south. In Wisconsin — Milwaukee in particular — we seem to have the same sort of problems.
So congratulations. Our area has recently been rated the worst place in the nation to live if you are black by a national online magazine, The Black Commentator. Despite all of the great things Wisconsin can boast, a widely diverse population that enjoys equality is clearly not among them.
But how exactly did we receive such a distinction? These ratings from The Black Commentator are based on the number of white prisoners compared with the number of black inmates behind bars. While this is merely one way to measure disparities between blacks and whites in a state, higher incarceration rates tend to create ripple effects in communities all over the country. Many that have been incarcerated are not able to find decent work once released, negatively affecting the economy. This, in turn, leads to more despair and in turn "exacerbates racial inequality, deepens black poverty and wreaks widespread destabilization on black families and communities," according to The Black Commentator.
Even if this list were compiled using only one determining factor, it is unacceptable to let such an injustice occur in Wisconsin. Something must be done about the unequal treatment blacks receive under the law.
African-Americans in Wisconsin are incarcerated at a rate 11.6 times that of white Wisconsinites. As of July, roughly four percent of the black population was behind bars, as opposed to the .35 percent of the white population. With an increasing number of blacks imprisoned for non-violent drug crimes, this problem does not seem likely to go away anytime soon.
As if all this isn't bad enough, the census bureau has just named Milwaukee — a city with 41 percent of children living in poverty — the seventh-poorest city in the U.S. It has the highest teen birth rate for African-Americans and a resoundingly high drop-out rate for high school students, both of which are surely related to the incarceration issue.
What, if anything, will make these problems fade away? Is there something we can do to ensure the black community isn't forced to carry the stereotypes and hardships that come from being locked up at the rate they are now?
The Black Commentator cites bad public policy as an explanation for these problems and they call for a mass movement as the only way major changes can be made in public policy in America. The rates of recidivism and the lack of re-entry services are just the beginning of the hurdles to overcome in the future. Any way you slice it, there are huge injustices occurring in this state and the entire country that need our attention.
Julie Isen (jbisen@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in political science.
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 12:14am):
So says Miss liberal from her ivory tower.
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 4:59am):
It is not only incarcination of blacks but also the economic disparity coupled with the "feeling" that Blacks are looked down upon and there seems to be a unseen shield between the two racial groups making them seperate communities you just have to drive down the white fish bay road to observe this where they have seperate beaches one for white folks and other for blacks how can this be addressed ?
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 9:27am):
How very insightful -- don't attack the argument, attack the writer!
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 10:23am):
Has it occurred to you that blacks are incarcerated at a a higher rate because they are reponsible for more crimes? Just a thought.
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 1:45pm):
Wisconsin, wow, such a terrible place for blacks to live. Why? Because there aren't many black people? What an asanine and racist article.
We live in the richest, most successful country in the world. Because a particular group chooses to take part in a self-destructive, self-created culture doesn't mean that whites are to blame. Your problem is that you want equality over liberty. With freedom comes imperfection, and you want to stamp that out by forcing people to do things your way. Just don't be surprised if you get things your way and somebody stomps on your freedoms as well.
Just because you "feel" that this is right doesn't make it so. Give me some facts of how white racism enters into this, or how diversity is SIMPLY skin deep.
Madison is supposed to be a university which supports looking at all sides of an argument and analyzing it; however, it is run by liberals who "feel" and then attack and destroy.
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 2:21pm):
Or maybe that blacks are incarcerated at a higher rate because they are stopped by police more often then whites, who are also committing a number of crimes, but going unpunished because of profiling.
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 3:26pm):
So you think that there is 4% of white people in WI that are uncaptured/unpunished criminals? You have to prove that before you can claim that blacks are being unfairly locked up.
I think that if you actually went to a prision and read the convictions of the people there, you might not want 90% of them released because its over your "black incarciration quota".
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 3:27pm):
I agree that Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the U.S. This probably contributes to the "worst place for blacks to live in the U.S." But, I disagree with the basis for this article.
How can you use a poll that measured ONE empty statistic as a basis for your evidence that justifies your thoughts? There are many factors that go into incarceration rates. Is your solution to reduce the prison terms for drug offenders? Or should we only allow a certain percentage of each race to be in prison at one time? This is a backward solution, but at least it would have been a proposed solution to the problem. There isn't any proposed solution provided in this article. (Which is why I am second guessing wasting my time to write this comment.)
As a former Milwuakee resident, it is a shock to me that residents keep voting for liberal candidates (the last election was between 2 Democrats) when the problems never change. For the high taxes that Milwuakee residents pay, there should be money to start at the bottom. Pour money into early education and programs that provide an ability to help people change their lives. Until this happens, the social climate will stand still.
I'll tackle the white elephant right now. The reason liberal candidates don't try to actually lift the poor out of poverty is because then they would loose the majority of their voting base. The poor keep getting promises and short term fixes, but they are blinded to possible permanent solutions. Most liberals in power prefer this method to keep their jobs. A perfect example: "The Projects" (in any city)
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 4:09pm):
To reinforce a point mentioned already, Milwaukee was run by a Socialist mayor for over 10 years until 2003. Obviously the plight of blacks in Milwaukee was caused in part by factors that existed previously, but it doesn't seem given the stats you quoted that local politicians have made improving black's social status (or giving them the tools to do so) a serious priority.
Hopefully, if there are future articles in the Herald about this topic, they will delve deeper into the actual root causes of the social stratification of the city (white flight to Waukesha County is just one example that comes to mind).
Anonymous (September 16, 2005 @ 9:01pm):
Perhaps we could solve this problem by allocating penal exemption vouchers to these devastated areas. Though the inherently racist, entrenched white elite would like to think that crime can be eradicated by imprisoning lawbreakers, it's abundantly obvious to the enlightened (such as Ms. Isen and myself) that the key is to provide these misguided souls with a free pass to evade the callous and racist criminal justice system. The economy in these impoverished areas would be greatly invigorated by such a program, and an urban revitalization would take place. By suspending prosecution temporarily, we could ensure that the local economy would be bolstered by the swift reallocation of cash and property from the hands of the priveleged white oligarchs and into the hands of the oppressed masses.
The get out of jail free card is the way to harmony. Only by scaling back law enforcement can we ensure that society will once again be equal.
Anonymous (September 17, 2005 @ 12:05am):
Maybe people of color should only go to jail for crimes against people of color, but then this wouldn't make much difference, due to the high degree of people of color on people of color crime.
But it would point out the idiocy of the "they're only in jail because they're people of color" meme.
If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.
Anonymous (September 17, 2005 @ 12:24am):
So basically we just take money from people who have earned it, and just hand it to others? Sounds like a great plan...if you want to be a communist.
Anonymous (September 18, 2005 @ 2:37pm):
"So basically we just take money from people who have earned it, and just hand it to others?"
That is the purpose of ANY government - the identity and nature of the "others" is the only thing that differs.
Anonymous (September 18, 2005 @ 3:53pm):
What a dumb opinion piece! Black people make stupid choices and they live with the consequences of their CHOICES.
