US Needs to Abolish Prisons
The United States of America should abolish prisons. There is nothing humane about people putting in cages. Polishing the sharp edges to the prison industrial complex while the institution is still intact is not correctional. It is a cyclical system that is entrenched in systemic racism.
According to the United States Department of Justice, every two out of three people who were formerly incarcerated, are likely to be rearrested. The same people are targeted, particularly Black, Brown, LGBTQ, and poor people. The systemic racial targeting ensures a steady flow of the same people into prisons, thus making up the majority of the prison population.
Most recently, the Mayor of New York City, Bill DeBlasio proposed to close down the Rikers Island Correctional Facility and create borough wide jails. As a congressional candidate who lives in South Jamaica public housing — a neighborhood plagued with poverty and crime, I believe this is a terrible idea. We cannot prevent crime from happening if we do not change environments that are historically designed for the same people to be locked up in the system. The lack of mental and sexual health programs, quality public schools, housing, and wealth disparities leave people in undeserved communities with little to no options. People commit acts out of survival. We are punished for being poor. We do not need new prisons. We do not need any prisons. We need to be set free from unjust conditions and given a dignified life. We need to change our environments and not fund prison alternatives.
The narrative and perception of how we approach healing communities of color needs to change. Building new jails does not resolve that. We can remove people from Rikers but that does not help with the trauma so many have endured, and will continue to endure if the city builds new jails. The city wants to spend eleven billion dollars over the next ten years to close Rikers Island and put local jails in place. Yet, there is still inadequate funding for public schools in undeserved communities. Cost of living in NYC is higher than the national average and wages have remained stagnant. Transportation deserts in underserved communities are behind in upgrades or at risk of losing services. Somehow, poor people are expected to fix their mess. Where there is money, there are priorities. There needs to be an agenda for the working class.
If New York City truly is the leader in progressivism, then we need to think outside the box on criminal justice reform. Grassroot organizations throughout the country are showing it can be done. People are collectively fighting gun violence, standing up to police brutality, proposing legalization of marijuana, and protecting sex workers. We see it happening and it is working. Our city can set the tone for true working class liberation. I urge the mayor to rethink his proposal. Elected officials need to change the channels and listen to everyday people who vote for them, and not big dollar donors who look to profit from people put into prisons.
