Racialicious has an excellent post on walking while black. I have felt like Trayvon Martin. Many many times while walking at night, being pulled over by police, being told that I’m not supposed to ‘be.’ My ‘being’ in a space has caused questions, concerns, suspicions. In the back of my mind I always wondered if there…
Prison
The Prison-Industrial Complex is Anti-Man
Ozy Frantz takes on the prison-industrial complex and how it affects the lives of American men.
Sexual Abuse in US Immigration Prisons
The USian Immigrations and Customs Enforcement service has recently revised the rules applying to immigrants detained and awaiting their deportation hearings. Most notably for me, they’ve strengthened the absolutely shit regulations regarding sexual abuse in detention. The Prison Rape Elimination Act (which is already inadequate, but at least it’s a step) does not apply to…
The Prison-Industrial Complex Is Anti-Man
This article in AlterNet makes a compelling case for a new American racial caste system built on the back of the drug war. Where Americans comfort ourselves that we are a post-racial society due to affirmative action, black CEOs, and Obama, in reality the average black person is at a far higher risk of being imprisoned…
Imprisonment and Men of Color
According to an article on AlterNet, the American criminal justice system is disturbingly raced and gendered to the detriment of men of color. 1 in every 15 black and 1 in every 36 Hispanic men in America are currently incarcerated. One in three black American men will be imprisoned at some point in their lives. Seriously. One…
On Trayvon Martin
The Million Hoodie March in protest of the death of Trayvon Martin was today, so it’s a good opportunity to reflect on the injustice of his death. The details of Trayvon’s death are simple: Trayvon Martin, carrying Skittles and an ice tea for his little brother, walked to his father’s house in a suburban Florida…
Slate on False Accusations of Rape
Trigger warning for rape. Note: rape apologist bullshit in the comments is NOT ALLOWED. Slate has a fascinating article about how Virginia has DNA evidence that may prove that dozens of men were convicted of crimes that they did not commit. In September 2004, the governor of Virginia ordered a random audit of 31 criminal cases…
Hard-Hitting Piece On Male Rape At Feministe
I’m often frustrated by some of the issue coverage at Feministe, though I also envy some of the excellent writing they’ve got. This piece by Jill, however, is an unequivocal condemnation of the rape of men in the U.S. prison system, and framed in terms designed to speak to the kind of feminist who hasn’t…
Human Rights Abuses and Rape of Men
Trigger warning for discussion of rape. I linked this in one of my roundups of information about rape a few days ago, but I think it’s interesting enough that I want to delve into it a little deeper. The article addresses the rape of men (unfortunately, it seems to be only rape by penetration, not rape by…
Which Is More Expensive, Prison or Princeton?
In California alone, spending averages $48,214 per inmate and only $7,463 per student.
Womanist Musings on Black Men and Police
Womanist Musings discusses the relationship black children have with the police. I have written previously about why I disagree with schools teaching kids about officer friendly. To be clear, cops have a long history of targeting people of colour for arrests, violence and death. What they may be willing to let go from a White…
Not This Morning: Part Two From Prison
A. Whitfield, currently incarcerated at Antioch prison in California, continues his story of endurance, patience, and principle.
A 100-Year Sentence: Finding the Light
Facing over a century behind bars, Roberto Wahid Lewis found a way to re-center himself and, eventually, start a new life on the outside.
Not This Morning: A Prisoner’s Dispatch
Currently incarcerated at Antioch prison in California, A. Whitfield brings us inside the bars of his hungry cell.
A Moment in Time
Penelope Thompson meditates with prisoners and finds that “one aware moment is as special and unique as another.”