Stephen Biko and the South African Black Consciousness Movement: Implications for African American Family Well-Being

Greetings, and thank you for reading this issue of our ongoing analysis and commentary publication.

Earlier this year (January 17) I wrote an essay reflecting on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This current essay is similarly the result of my reflections on another great international leader and activist, Stephen Biko.

As described in the book, I Write What I Like, “Steve Biko died in 1977 at the age of thirty from a head wound suffered while in the custody of police. For his steadfast refusal to keep quiet about the heinous crimes of apartheid, he is honored as the martyred hero of the South African liberation movement.”

Steve Biko became known by many outside of South Africa because of the reason and manner of his death. He was very active in, and credited by many as being the father of, South Africa’s Black Consciousness Movement. September 12, 2007 marked the 30th anniversary of Steve Biko’s brutal murder while in police detention in South Africa.

Like Dr. King’s birthday, I often spend time around this date every year reading through some of Steve Biko’s writings and speeches, and reflecting on the significance of his life and legacy. This year, in addition to online accounts of his speeches and work, I primarily found myself re-reading his writings in the classic book, I Write What I Like. While reading Biko’s words, I most often found myself drawing parallels between his analysis of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and our ongoing struggles against racism and other forms of oppression in this country.

My intent in this essay, however, is not only to draw parallels between apartheid in South Africa and the African American experience. Others have done so quite effectively. What I would like to do is reflect on Steve Biko’s analysis of the South African condition under the apartheid system, the importance of Black Consciousness, and how he thus approached his organizing and community development work aimed at the healing and liberation of the people. Within his ideas I believe there are lessons to be learned by all of us as we endeavor to address the over-involvement of African American children and families in this nation’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Ultimately, Steve Biko dedicated his life to operationalizing a paradigm that sought to heal and liberate African people (and through that all people in South Africa) from the effects of European colonization and the dangerous myth of white supremacy. It is in his life’s work that we can find meaningful lessons.

Let me share at the outset an organizational note for this essay. In several sections I will use quotes from Steve Biko’s book I Write What I Like to set up or highlight a particular idea or reflection. Where you see references to page numbers, these are page numbers where the quote can be found in the book.

Understanding Black Consciousness

I would like to begin by defining Black Consciousness. I will do so by sharing statements from Steve Biko about Black Consciousness and its relevance to the healing and liberation of African people living under the Apartheid system in South Africa. In these statements I believe we can find direct parallels to the challenges facing us in our continued support of African American families and communities struggling through our involvement with this nation’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Each of the italicized excerpts is from the book, I Write What I Like.

Defining Black Consciousness

Let us begin by defining Black Consciousness. At risk of over-simplifying a more complex idea and philosophical perspective, I will use a brief excerpt of a definition offered by Steve Biko. I do so fully aware that many African Americans have offered similar definitions and analyses of Black Consciousness, especially as it relates to the African American experience.

On page 49, Biko describes Black Consciousness as:

“the realisation by the Black man of the need to rally together with his brothers… and to operate as a group in order to rid themselves of the shackles that bind them to perpetual servitude. It seeks to demonstrate the lie that Black is an aberration from the “normal” which is white. It is a manifestation of a new realization that by seeking to run away from themselves and to emulate the white man, blacks are insulting the intelligence of whoever created them black. Black consciousness therefore takes cognizance of the deliberateness of God’s plan in creating Black people Black. It seeks to infuse the Black community with a new-found pride in themselves, their efforts, their values systems, their culture, their religion and their outlook on life.”

As may be obvious, Biko’s analysis of Black Consciousness exists as a response to the history of European / white cultural, political, and economic hegemony in South Africa. It can be argued that in the absence of European / white (and other) interference African people, and thus African culture and institutional structures, would exist in their own right. Black Consciousness affirms the integrity and value of the African “way” in the presence of oppressive and anti-African people and influences.

As Biko argues, Black Consciousness is not a means towards an end per se. It is a way of being, feeling and thinking that affirms the integrity of the African experience and cultural meaning system. It is a framework through which Black people accept the beauty and value in our experiences and culture, and through such, endeavor to create societal structures, institutions and communities that promote the well-being and optimal growth and development of African people… as we come to understand and define it.

Any effort on our part to learn from and adopt aspects of the cultural values and technologies of non-Black peoples must be done on our terms and for the purposes of the continued growth and development of Black families and communities.

Understanding the Black Condition

As mentioned previously, Biko was sharply criticized by whites for his analysis and activism. Not only did many of them disagree with his assertion that African people have a culture that is (at the very least) equal in value to European / white culture, they saw his assertions and activism as a direct threat to their continued hegemony in southern Africa. Their ruling structure and oppressive regime after all was based on the premise (although unfounded) of European / white supremacy in relation to all other peoples.

For his views Biko was frequently detained and brought up on numerous legal charges. The following analysis was shared by Steve Biko while under cross-examination in a South African court during the first week of May 1976. A number of Black Consciousness leaders were being tried, fundamentally, because of their involvement in spreading views associated with Black Consciousness.

In the following excerpt (from page 114), Biko describes for the court the fundamental goals of “conscientizing” Black people as bringing a stronger consciousness of the integrity, honor and empowering potential of Black people’s history and culture:

“This is correct, we do make references to the conditions of the black man and the conditions in which the black man lives. We try to get blacks in conscientisation to grapple realistically with their problems, to attempt to find solutions to their problems, to develop what one might call an awareness, a physical awareness of their situation, to be able to analyse it, and to provide answers for themselves. The purpose behind it really being to provide some kind of hope; I think the central theme about black society is that it has got elements of a defeated society, people often look like they have given up the struggle. Like the man who was telling me that he now lives to work, he has given himself to the idea. Now this sense of defeat is basically what we are fighting against; people must not just give in to the hardship of life, people must develop a hope, people must develop some form of security to be together to look at their problems, and people must in this way build up their humanity. This is the point about conscientisation and Black Consciousness.”

A key message in this text is the notion that people must find the hope and strength to persevere through the process of grappling with and understanding the complexities of our condition. This is a collective process, as people come to understand their condition through critical examination. This is a learning and discovery process at its core, and comes through critical inquiry and analysis… alongside other individuals experiencing similar conditions.

This suggests that a critical activity for adults and youth struggling through life’s predicaments must be a critical examination of their circumstance within the context of our historical / cultural experiences in this country. For our purposes in this country, this critical examination must place the substance of the African American experience in this larger society and within the community at the center. Ideally, people must grapple with the meaning of their experiences together, and develop shared understandings and collective working solutions as we sort through the challenges presented. This is fundamentally an evolving meaning-seeking exercise, and requires constant engagement.

It could appear at face value that many people today are disillusioned at the current state of the African American community. It is certainly possible for people to look at popular depictions of African American families and communities found in the mass media and conclude that we are complacent and no longer committed to any form of struggle. It could appear to many that we have come to accept our condition as being natural, justified, and/or “just the way it is.”

Similar observations and misunderstandings existed in South African society, even during the brutal and unjust years of the apartheid system. In the following excerpt, Biko argues against this observation as being short-sighted and just scratching the surface:

“That is I think understating the position. I think it is possible to adapt to a given hard situation precisely because you have got to live it, and you have got to live with it every day. But adapting does not mean that you forget; you go to the mill every day, it is always unacceptable to you, it has always been unacceptable to you, and it remains so for life, but you adapt in the sense that you cannot continue to live in a state of conflict with yourself. You sort of accept, like the man who was working with the electrician was saying to me, you know, ‘oh he talks this way’. This is his explanation of it. This is his sort of glib adaptation to it, but deep inside him he feels it. He cannot keep on answering back to him every day: don’t call me boy, don’t shout at me, don’t swear at me, because there is also the element of the job that he has got to keep. He had adapted but he does not forget it, and he does not accept it, which I think is important.”

This is a critical point for us to consider and reflect on because we see signs of adaptation to oppression all around us. These appearances can be, and often are, confused with signs of defeatism. Many families are forced to live in neighborhoods riddled with crime, substance abuse, sexual abuse, substandard housing, inferior educational opportunities, environmental pollution, police brutality and other pathologies. While families frequently reject these conditions and behaviors as unacceptable, we tend to find ways to adapt in the interest of getting by and avoiding what are too frequently negative repercussions and retaliation.

The same applies to the subtle and more explicit forms of racism African American people encounter daily. We do not accept any of it per se. We are clear that it is denigrating and disrespectful. Yet we often find ourselves silent (or silenced) in the interest of “getting by,” keeping our job, avoiding physical confrontations, etc. Paul Lawrence Dunbar describes our reality very clearly in his poem: We wear the mask.

Let us also not forget or minimize the strong sense of fear and insecurity felt by many African Americans as a result of the experiences of individuals and organizations that dare to speak out and organize actively against the status quo. Freedom is not free, and as history teaches us, the price can be costly.

Meanwhile and on a deeper level, if you really watch the daily lifestyle patterns, routines and behaviors of some segments of our community, you can see very clear signs of fatigue and depression when it comes to any form of meaningful struggle against oppression. As I mentioned earlier, I do not believe we have become a lifeless and lethargic people. To the contrary, we continue to be among the most expressive and culturally rich peoples in the world. What I am saying is that a great number of black folks have adopted lifestyles that allow us to “get by” and preserve some sense of sanity and energy to make it through each day (e.g. “living for the weekend”).

Too often, unfortunately, this is a lifestyle devoid of any critical examination of our individual and collective condition. It is a lifestyle devoid of any real and meaningful “us-centered” institution-building activity. It is thus a lifestyle that keeps us disconnected from one another when it comes to identifying and developing workable solutions to the challenges facing our families and communities.

This is why the punitive child welfare and juvenile justice systems (among other systems) can come into our communities, with no meaningful resistance from us, and fill a void of problem-solving for our so-called “at-risk” families and youth. There is a great deal for us to learn from Fannie Lou Hamer about what it means to be “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Toward a Critical Analysis

The child welfare community in this country has yet to fully acknowledge the historical foundations (ideas, values, etc.) upon which this nation’s child welfare system was built, and how that foundation has contributed (and continues to) to the state of affairs we refer to as racial disproportionality and disparate outcomes in child welfare. The same can be said for juvenile justice in this country, although some steps have been taken to force jurisdictions around the country to critically explore and address these dynamics.

The Substance of a Collective Critical Analysis

I believe there are a few critical questions we must reflect on, within a framework of Black Consciousness and with a sense of urgency, as we continue our efforts to bring our children and families home from and out of the clutches of the punitive child welfare and juvenile justice systems:

1) What does our history and culture tell us about what it means to be “well?” 2) What would optimal health and wellness look like for African American children and families in today’s society? 3) What is it about the African American experience that has rendered so many of our families vulnerable to the challenges we find ourselves facing? 4) What can we learn from prior generations of African American families and communities about family and community well-being? 5) What resources are necessary to heal and realize the optimal development of African American families and the broader African American community? 6) What can each of us do as individuals, but working collectively, to secure and make strategic use of these resources so that our families and communities become well? 7) What must each of us stop doing in order for us to realize optimal African American family and community well-being? 8) What is it about America’s human services and juvenile/criminal justice institutions that has made them historically oppressive in their relationship to the broader African American community? 9) What strategies can we employ to reverse this historic pattern?

If we can respond to the above questions effectively, keeping in mind the observations and reflections offered by Steve Biko, we would find ourselves well on our way to healing our families in a way we have yet to realize. I don’t assume that these are new ideas. I am also fully aware that many individuals and organizations have grappled with different variations of these questions repeatedly during our many years in this country. Revisiting these prior conversations, speeches, and writings is a natural starting point.

The Context of a Collective Critical Analysis

What does/would a collective critical analysis process look like? You don’t have to look hard to find examples; nor is it difficult to create the space for these efforts. The seeds for this kind of critical analysis process and collective organizing work exists informally in many places. For example, go to a typical barber shop after a Black athlete, entertainer or politician gets in trouble with the law. You will see Black folks talking about what these individuals should have done differently, as well as how unjust society is when it comes to Black people and interests. You see some of this play out in the more progressive churches, other religious institutions and some civic organizations as well.

Most of us have our opinions about what we feel is a society that is racist and unjust at its core. The problem is that most of us do not belong to, or are otherwise disconnected from, organizations that engage in this kind of analysis and social justice work every day.

I am arguing that we need more structured and deliberate spaces and opportunities to have these conversations. We have the physical places and mechanisms to do so. They include: our schools, colleges and universities; our local community centers; our neighborhood and other civic organizations; our fraternities and sororities; as well as our local parent teacher associations. What we have to do is create a more deliberate and dedicated time and space in these various settings.

What could these programs look like? There are various forms that these critical consciousness-raising efforts can take. We need more non-fiction book clubs that function more like study groups, and fewer that spend great deals of time reading the lusty fiction novels that are ever more present in our community. I suspect that will offend many people. So be it… our ancestors and future generations deserve better. We need more movie viewing and discussion groups that critically analyze the images of African and African American individuals, families and communities displayed on the screen. These groups must be organized and prepared to speak and write about their observations and critical findings. We need Saturday Schools, Weekend Academies and after school programs that are explicitly dedicated to the mental, spiritual, and physical development of our children and families, and with a lens of Black Consciousness and social justice. We need more churches and other organizations to host lecture series and cultural studies groups that provide a critical focus our communities' challenges.

The outcome of all of these activities should be a clear analysis of who we are, where we have been and where we are going. It must also be a goal of ours to develop the institutions and resources needed to meet the needs of our children, families and communities. There must be no dichotomy between the social justice advocacy and other self-help activities of our organizations. Both have been a strong part of our community tradition in this country, and must be reclaimed as a part of our organizing efforts moving forward. There are examples of all of these efforts in existence. We need much more of it.

Is Our Goal Systems Reform or Transformation?

Many people have raised the question of whether we are involved in societal and systems reform efforts, or more fundamental societal and systems transformation efforts. On page 49, Biko argues that the aim of the Black Consciousness movement was not to reform the system, but to completely transform it. Reform, according to Biko, implies “an acceptance of the major points around which the system revolves.” The same is true, from my perspective, of the systems of child welfare and juvenile justice in America. The basic values and principles undergirding current practice and policy in these fields is contrary to culturally responsive principles of child, family and community development and well-being. Thus, we seek to redefine the fundamental functions of the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. It is true that some efforts are and have been underway to do so in this country; however, to date those efforts have not reached a critical mass.

Concluding Thoughts

I have offered the ideas presented in this essay as a way to stimulate more critical thinking about how we approach our work in education, child welfare, juvenile justice and broader youth and family development. We must approach our work from a perspective rooted in a substantive analysis of our historical and cultural experiences in this country. It must be centered in a framework of Black (African) Consciousness.

One of the key messages and examples Steve Biko shared with us is that our power and our strength comes from our collective critical examination of and attention to these dynamics. The natural product of such critical examination is the identification of the working solutions to our challenges, and the collective courage and commitment to: 1) start right now, and 2) start where we find ourselves.

We have the ability and resources, right now, to address the major challenges that face African American youth, families and communities. What we need is an institutional infrastructure to support it. As I have mentioned a number of times before… We can do this! And we can do this in our lifetime!

Let us commit ourselves to doing what we must to heal and rebuild our families and communities! Let us stop doing those things that distract us and stand in our way! Our children, and those yet unborn, are depending on us. We have a lot of work to do!

NOTE: This essay is the latest in a series of essays entitled Perspectives on Our Work at the Institute for Family and Child Well-Being.

Feel free to email the author of this essay, Oronde Miller, directly at omiller@ifcwb.org.

Jena 6: An Overview and Critical Analysis

Greetings, and thank you for reading this issue of our ongoing analysis and commentary publication, Perspectives on Our Work.

The Institute for Family and Child Well-Being has as a part of its focus the experiences of children and families caught in the web of both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in this country. Given my personal and professional connections to child welfare that has been the subject of most of my Perspectives essays to-date.

In this essay, and on this day of protest and resistance, I would like to take a critical look at the tragic injustice that has been unfolding in Jena, Louisiana. I will start by providing a general overview of, and critical commentary about, the major events and timelines connected with the Jena, Louisiana controversy. I will also attempt to place these tragic Jena 6 experiences in a national context, as they exemplify many aspects of this nation’s juvenile and criminal justice systems that have been and continue to be racist, oppressive, unjust and hurtful to African American families and communities. I conclude with reflections about what these incidents and the unfolding national response might mean for the ongoing African American struggle against racism and cultural oppression in this country.

Jena 6: An Overview and Timeline

Jena 6 refers to the six African American students (and their families) that are currently wrapped up in the criminal justice system in Jena, Louisiana for their part in a series of racially-charged incidents in Jena, Louisiana. The following is a general description and timeline of the major events connected with the Jena 6.

Pre-September 2006: Tension between whites and Blacks is not new to Jena, Louisiana. According to reports, there are still very clear and historic patterns of explicit racism and segregation still in place in 2007. Some white residents in Jena boast openly about their historic and present-day “whites only” preferences, practices, and policies. While there has always been resistance to these trends, these social patterns have become the norm for many in Jena, Louisiana.

Late August / September 2006: A Black student asked the Jena High School principal for permission to sit under a tree in the school’s courtyard that had been historically designated as a “whites only” tree. The principal advised the students that anyone can sit under the tree. Several Black students did. The next day, three nooses were found hanging from the tree.

The school principal identified three white students that were responsible for the incident and recommended expulsion. [Police were not called even though this type of incident can reportedly be prosecuted as a federal hate crime.] The white superintendent of the school system overruled the principal and gave the students a routine in-school suspension. He went on to argue that the whole incident was just a foolish adolescent prank, suggesting that no harm or hurtful message was intended. In protest, it has been reported that a number of students organized a sit-in and continued to sit under the “white” tree. Numerous fights also reportedly followed in the several following days.

On September 6, in an effort to end the protest and in response to the ongoing racial tensions in the school, the LaSalle Parish District Attorney was summoned to the school, accompanied by several police officers. At a school assembly, the DA reportedly threatened the protesting Black students by stating, “I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I can take away your lives with the stroke of my pen.”

On September 10, Black students attempted to address their concerns to the Jena school board. The school board refused to respond to their grievances, stating that the noose incident was just a prank and had already been responded to appropriately. Racial tensions remained high both at Jena High School and in Jena more generally throughout the fall semester.

November 2006: On Thursday, November 30, 2006 the main academic building of Jena High School was burned down. To date no charges have been filed, although the arson is believed to be connected with this racially charged series of events.

That weekend a Black student was repeatedly beaten up by several white males while he and several friends attempted to enter a predominantly white party. The white attackers were reported to have been local adults and not students. One white male was arrested and charged with battery several months after this incident. He received a sentence of probation

Also that weekend, a white student pulled out a shotgun and threatened several Black students at a local convenience store. Fearing for their lives, the Black students took the gun away from the white student and ran away from the scene. The Black students were later charged with theft for taking the shotgun. No charges were filed against the white student that pulled the gun on the Black students

The following Monday a white student who many recognized as being one of the most outspoken supporters of the students that hung the noose was reportedly beaten up by six Black students (the Jena 6). According to written accounts, a number of witnesses reported that the white student was taunting and harassing the Black student that had been beaten up by the white males during the prior weekend. According to witness accounts he also used the word “nigger” and/or other racial expletives while taunting the Black student. The white student was taken to the local hospital where he was treated for bruises and cuts to his face, and was released after a few hours. He attended a social function later that evening, where he was reportedly bragging to other white students about the incident.

Five of the six Black students were later arrested, expelled from school and charged (as adults) with assault. Their charges were later upgraded to second degree attempted murder. The sixth student was charged as a juvenile because he was 14 at the time of the incident.

Summer 2007 — Mychall Bell, the first of the six Black students to be tried in court, was found guilty of second degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second degree battery by an all-white jury. It has been reported that some members of the jury had present and/or prior personal relationships with the white student that was roughed up and members of his family. Mychall Bell’s public defender was very ineffective (some might argue negligent).

The charges against the Black students, and the subsequent conviction of Mychall Bell, sparked local and national outrage. A multi-racial coalition of individuals, organizations and radio personalities across the country have decried the overly punitive charges that are seen by many as far disproportional to the actual incident, as well as the fact that five of the six teens have been charged in adult court.

Mychall Bell was initially scheduled to be sentenced today, September 20, in Jena. On September 4, a judge dismissed the conspiracy charge against Mychall, but let stand the second degree attempted battery charge. He agreed, however, that he should never have been charged as an adult. Just last week (on September 14) an appeals court judge dismissed the remaining charge against Mychall, agreeing that Mychall should never have been charged as an adult. The DA vowed to appeal the appeals court ruling, taking the case to the Louisiana State Supreme Court.

Even with this ruling, however, Mychall can still be tried in juvenile court for his alleged role in the roughing-up of the white student. Meanwhile, the adult charges remain for the other four members of the Jena 6. Court proceedings are scheduled to begin for those youth in the near future. Meanwhile, bail has been rejected for Mychall Bell, and he remains locked up pending the resolution of the ongoing legal proceedings. He has been in jail for almost 10 months, into what would have been his senior year in high school.

A march and demonstration expected to attract more than 60,000 people from around the country is scheduled to take place today in Jena, Louisiana. Other rallies and protest marches are also being held today in cities around the country to draw attention to this horrible injustice. Much of the attention this series of incidents is receiving has been credited to national radio personalities, radio and television talk show hosts and other independent media institutions who have dedicated unprecedented air time to this issue.

The Jena 6 Story: A Critical Analysis

When Justice Fails — One of the many unfortunate things about this series of incidents in Jena is that it largely stemmed from a failure of formal leadership structures and legal institutions to respond in a just way to the criminal acts committed by these white youth and adults against the African American students at Jena High School. In the absence of justice, and in the presence of continued threats against their lives, these students appeared to resort to what some might argue was their only remaining option… self-defense. Had the appropriate actions been taken by the “authorities” and the white youths’ parents, the ongoing intimidation and abuse of these African American students would potentially have been stopped much sooner. Interestingly, there has been little critical examination of the negligent role of “official” leadership in the face of these acts of racial terrorism. This is one of the many tragedies of this situation.

Corporate Mass Media — There are at least two ways the media can respond to the kinds of activities that have unfolded in Jena. They can either cover the story, or ignore it. Generally, the corporate media establishment decided to ignore it for almost a year. It wasn’t until public awareness increased (largely as a result of independent media outlets and radio personalities) that the corporate mass media outlets began to cover the story in a more deliberate way.

Ironically, however, instead of providing a critical assessment of the history and context of the unfolding tragedy, the coverage seems to have focused exclusively on the outrage this tragedy has been creating around the world. The “story” for these corporate media institutions has largely been the national and international outcry, but not the series of clearly related and troubling incidents that sparked the outrage. To the extent the incidents themselves have been covered, it has frequently occurred as a way of juxtaposing the national outrage against the implied “law and order” rationale offered by the prosecution for their treatment of the Jena 6. There have been few exceptions to this pattern.

Also missing from this national corporate “mainstream” media coverage is a critical examination of the role the white students and adults have played in these incidents. It has largely been covered as a “Black” crime issue, as opposed to an issue also involving the clearly criminal and terrorizing behaviors of white youth and adults in Jena against the Black students.

The Jena 6 Didn’t Start This Mess! — As tragic as the circumstances are for the Jena 6 students, it is important to point out that these dynamics started long before they were even born. The kinds of racist and criminal behavior of these white adolescents are not a new phenomenon. Nor have these behaviors only recently re-emerged. Racial tensions have long existed in Jena, as with many other big and small cities and towns around this country. This is the legacy of white racism in the United States since the days of this country’s founding. It may be the case that we don’t hear about these incidents as often as we did in the past, but these incidents still happen all too frequently around the country. It remains a national disgrace and tragedy that the perpetrators of these racial terrorist acts rarely receive punishment comparable to their crimes.

The Big Picture: Racial Disparity in
America’s Juvenile Justice System

As I mentioned earlier, the experience of the Jena 6 is typical in many ways of the kinds of experiences many of our young people have with this nation’s juvenile and criminal justice systems. A brief review of national trends helps to illustrate this larger national tragedy and injustice.

In proportion to their presence in the nation’s youth population, African American youth are far more likely than white youth to come into contact with the juvenile justice system. Generally, racial disparities tend to increase the further African American youth are processed through the system. The following statistics are taken from a January 2007 report entitled, And Justice For Some: Differential Treatment of Youth of Color in the Justice System:

From 2002 to 2004, African Americans were: 16% of this nation’s youth population; 28% of juvenile arrests; 30% of referrals to juvenile court; 37% of the detained population; 34% of youth formally processed by the juvenile court; 30% of adjudicated youth (cases resolved without further punitive involvement); 35% of youth judicially waived to criminal court (charged as adults); 38% of youth in residential placement; and 58% of youth admitted to state adult prison.

Our Challenge Moving Forward:
Acting Now With a Long-Term Vision


One challenge for the current generation of young people is for us to work tirelessly to ensure that we don’t pass these pathological patterns of racism and injustice on to our children and grandchildren. It may be the case that racism will continue to exist. But we do not have to accept these inhumane and unjust societal arrangements. In the words of Frantz Fanon, in his classic work Wretched of the Earth, “each generation, out of relative obscurity, must define its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.” The kind of injustice we see in Jena today is but one of many challenges that are before us. We can each commit to fighting against this injustice or sit on the sideline while others step up in our place.

We Stand On Solid Ground — Many people complain that we have lost a generation or two of young people that are disengaged from the struggle against racism. Yet there are frequently ebbs and flows to social justice movements. While this is true, it is also worth noting that the struggle for racial justice in this country never ceased. There have always been individuals and organizations working on the front lines of the struggle against racism and cultural hegemony in this country. We owe a debt of appreciation and gratitude for their sacrifices and their ongoing efforts to keep “waving the flag” and “beating the drums” of justice and resistance.

We still know enough about the history of our ancestors in this country to know what forms the struggle has taken, and what the struggle has produced. More importantly, we can still study and learn from our elders so that we can be wiser in our efforts. As Malcolm X stated, “of all our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research; for the future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

The Way Forward — Our challenge is clear. We hold the power and the potential to change this nation. Jena 6 highlights just a few of the contours and complexities of the enduring challenges facing African American families and communities trying to make it this country. While there are indeed many “issues” and challenges facing the African American community, it does not mean that we should not focus on this one. We have an obligation to resist, challenge and confront injustice in all of its forms. This is clearly one of those forms.

I appreciate and commend the individuals and organizations that have stepped up to make all of us more aware of the Jena 6 incidents as they have unfolded for more than a year now. As we can see, when people have clearly articulated information about injustice, they tend to respond. It is up to all of us to continue to shine a light on this and other injustices we come across… and there are many!

It is encouraging to see what appears to be an awakened consciousness of at least one of the ways in which racism and injustice have taken form over the last several decades. While I celebrate what appears to be an increased sense of outrage, energy and activism, I encourage us all to keep our focus sharp and our stamina up, as there is a great deal more injustice that we have to simultaneously turn our attention to. Aluta Continua! (The struggle continues!)

Environmental Racism: Impact of Industry and Pollution on African American and Poor Communities

Poverty - Environment - Pollution and Environmental Contamination - Discrimination - Presidential Election of 2008 - Politics - New York Times

Here is an article from last week's New York Times highlighting the problem of pollution that disproportionately impacts, in an obvious and negative way, African American and poor families.

From the opening paragraph:

"Countless federal laws have been written to preserve far-flung wilderness that Americans rarely visit (the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, for instance) and endangered species that we scarcely see (from longhorn fairy shrimp to piping plovers). Yet no legislation has been tailored to protect a landscape that is perhaps the most vulnerable: the low-income communities that shelter most of America’s polluting facilities."

While relatively little research has been funded to thoroughly assess the historical damage of this phenomenon to our families' health, research that has been done has documented the poor health effects of this toxic lived reality for so many of our families.

Redefining the Mission of Child Welfare Systems: Working for Family and Child Well-Being

The following essay is the latest in the IFCWB essay series, Perspectives on Our Work:

Greetings, and thank you for reading this issue of our ongoing analysis and commentary publication, Perspectives on Our Work.

A report released earlier this year by UNICEF ranked twenty-one economically advanced countries according to six measures of child well-being. The report, Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-Being in Rich Countries, ranked countries according to levels of material well-being, health and safety, educational well-being, family and peer relationships, behaviors and risks, and subjective well-being.

Not surprisingly (to many of us at least) the United States was ranked among the lowest of the ranked countries. Only Great Britain was worse in the average rankings. In fact, according to the report, “Great Britain and the United States find themselves in the bottom third of the rankings for five of the six dimensions reviewed.”

Even a casual review of national trends regarding child well-being confirms the above-mentioned report’s conclusions, and should be cause for alarm. Just last month the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2007 Kids Count report detailing the current state of child well-being in this country. The results, covering 10 indicators of child well-being, continue to be alarming. According to the report, “the size of the gap between black and non-Hispanic white children varies by indicator, but the outcomes for black children are worse on every one of the 10 indicators.”

Among the indicators… One in three (36%) African American children in this country live in poverty (income below $19,806 for a family of two adults and 2 children), more than three times the percentage for white children and almost double the percentage for all children. The African American infant mortality rate is 13.8 per 1,000 live births, more than twice the national average and almost 2.5 times the rate for white infants.

This data notwithstanding, there are still many African American families and children doing very well, and as I have mentioned previously, thriving against tremendous odds.

Ultimately, I want to strongly encourage all of us to reflect more seriously on the kind of society we live in, and the systems that would be necessary to truly respond to the challenges of struggling families in this country. More specifically, there is an extremely urgent need for us to develop culturally responsive strategies to significantly improve African American child and family well-being.
For those of us working in the child welfare system, it is our obligation to use all of our power and influence to ensure that African American families in need receive the supports that would truly be effective, not just those that have typically been made available.

Relevant services would include (but not be limited to) safe and affordable high quality housing; proven effective substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation programs, effective mental health services comparable to those accessible by families “with means;” stable and family-friendly employment opportunities that pay a living wage; access to free and/or affordable child care; relevant job training and educational advancement programs; safe and publicly accessible recreation and athletic facilities; as well as free comprehensive health care coverage for all families. Far from exhaustive, these would at least make for a good start.

It is imperative that we exhaust all of the support services practical, available and necessary before a child is removed from her or his family. There is nothing more sacred in the realm of African American childhood relationships than the relationship of an African American child to her or his family and community.
When a child must be removed from her or his parents’ home, it is our obligation to find relative caregivers or members of the extended family support network that would be appropriate resource families while the parents work on their challenges. We must ensure that these kinship caregivers and guardianship resource families get at least the same financial resources afforded non-relative (stranger) foster families.

Truly effective support and coordination programs must simultaneously be in place so that birth parents working on their challenges can have constructive interactions with their children and other family members. Experience has demonstrated, and research has documented, that this results in (expedited) family reunification when coordinated effectively.

Our challenge is not just to make the child welfare system that we have known in this society for decades work better. We must leave open for consideration that the foundational values upon which the modern day child welfare system rests is in fact contradictory to the aims of the system reform and transformation efforts we work toward… in fact contradictory to the aim of promoting family and child well-being.

I argue that we must articulate the foundational values that should undergird a truly effective and responsive set of systems that promote comprehensive community development and family well-being. At that point we can identify the real services and support resources families and communities frequently need and develop the structures and institutions that can provide those supports and services effectively and equitable to the need.

Ultimately, this country needs more than an improved child welfare system. We need a fundamentally revamped set of economic and human service systems that truly promote the well-being of family and community. My interactions with families, as well as child welfare and other human service professionals around this country, suggests that this is indeed a possibility.

I firmly believe this country is at a crossroads. We have the know-how and the resources to make this vision a reality. The critical question is whether we have the will, the courage and commitment to do it. Our challenge is to make our voices heard so that individuals with similar ideas can work together. This is our generation’s challenge. We can do this! We will do this! And we will do so in our lifetime!

[Click just below to share your comments!]

The author of this essay, Oronde A. Miller, can be reached via email at omiller@ifcwb.org.

Sometimes we must protect our children from the institutions!

Center's abuses didn't deter DHS | Inquirer | 08/05/2007

Every now and then we get a glimpse of what life can be like for some of our youth involved in this nation's child welfare, juvenile justice and youth rehabilitation systems. This story from this past Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer highlights the ways in which some youth "fall through the cracks" while institutions and their leaders look the other way. More than anything, this article and the conditions described highlights the fact that we have come to tolerate so much and demand so little when it comes to supporting those of our youth experiencing difficulties in life.

It is not surprising to me that some youth develop and display so little respect for adults in today's society, given the fact that many adults do so little to shield them from abuse at the hands of this nation's child welfare, juvenile justice and other youth development institutions. Even youth who are in trouble deserve basic rights, levels of respect and decency. We live in such a punitive society that is so unforgiving of youth and otherwise marginalized community members, yet we give a pass to others least deserving. The quality of our society in the future will mirror the quality of our children's developmental experiences today.

I realize that Philadelphia's child welfare system continues to get pounded with negative publicity. Fortunately, the system is undergoing significant reforms at this time. I still thought this story was worth sharing as it really does highlight an ugly reality that so many of us rarely see or hear about.

We have to do better when it comes to protecting our youth. Even if it means protecting them from those whose responsibility it is to support their development.

The Unseen Victims of War... Preventable Maltreatment

Stress of war hits Army kids hard... Study: Child abuse goes up during deployments (USA Today)

USATODAY.com: "The Army-funded study found child neglect was almost four times greater during periods when the husbands were at war. Physical child abuse was nearly twice as high during combat deployments."

I suspect this is really not surprising to many individuals that work in child welfare, social services or (based on the sentiments shared by the family members featured in the article) military families. War is particularly difficult for families that have loved ones deployed. The stress of having a loved one deployed can reasonably be expected to affect both spouses as well as the children, increasingly one could reason, with a longer duration of deployment.

It is under these conditions, without the appropriate types and levels of support present for the family, that child maltreatment is more likely to occur. Many social service professionals would argue that these incidents of child abuse and neglect are largely preventable with the appropriate services and support mechanisms in place.

Ironically, the same can be said about so many children that come to the attention of child protective services in jurisdictions around this country... that many families would be less likely to abuse and neglect their children with more approprite support systems in place.

As tragic as this is, it does not seem too complicated to figure out at least some preliminary strategies for responding to this crisis. If this is true, the challenge is not in understanding the nature of this phenomenon, but in allocating the resources necessary to respond effectively.

Military families deserve it, as do so many families unnecessarily caught up in the often messy web of child welfare in this country.

Interconnection of Incerceration Dynamics and Family Well-Being

States Export Their Inmates as Prisons Fill - New York Times

So much of the activity that people involved in social serices and social justice efforts are involved in is talked about in terms of "issues." We work on this issue or that issue. But more often than not, so many of the issues are interconnected. The experience of priosoners, and as a result their families, is one of these such cases.

In discussing the challenge of being moved both frequently and great distances from their home towns, one of the prisoners was quoted in the article as saying, "You lose your family identity." This is one of many places that connect the issue of criminal justice and child and family well being in this country.

The relocation of prisoners across great distances tends to result in less frequent visits and even telephone contact with their families and children. It also tends to result in more frequent disruptions in their educational and other vocational pursuits as a part of the increasingly dwindling rehabilitation and training component of incarceration in this country. These dynamics directly affect the ability of prisoners to transition effectively back into their families and society-at-large upon release.

This article doesn't do the best job of covering these dynamics, but it does at least highlight some of the strain on priosners and their families.

GAO Report: African American children over-represented in foster care!

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a much-anticipated and historic report yesterday focusing on the over-representation of African American children in this nation's foster care system. The 87-page report, requested by US House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, is entitled African American Children in Foster Care: Additional HHS Assistance Needed to Help States Reduce the Proportion in Care.

The GAO report identifies the major factors believed to contribute to the over-representation of African American children in foster care, highlights efforts underway by public child welfare agencies around the country to address these dynamics and provides a set or recommendations for federal officials to consider and implement.

Visit IFCWB online now to read report.

The following text is taken from the first section of the report:

"A higher rate of poverty is among several factors contributing to the higher proportion of African American children entering and remaining in foster care. Families living in poverty have greater difficulty accessing housing, mental health, and other services needed to keep families stable and children safely at home. Bias or cultural misunderstandings and distrust between child welfare decision makers and the families they serve are also viewed as contributing to children's removal from their homes into foster care. African American children also stay in foster care longer because of difficulties in recruiting adoptive parents and a greater reliance on relatives to provide foster care who may be unwilling to terminate the parental rights of the child's parent--as required in adoption--or who need the financial subsidy they receive while the child is in foster care." (page 2)


You can also visit the following sites for additional information about this historic report...

Visit the United States Government Accountability Office directly for a report abstract and more background information.

Visit the US House Ways and Means Committee website for Congressman Charles Rangel's press release.

Read the report and join the discussion today!

(Click "comments" button just below.)

New "Perspective" essay posted... Read here.

Greetings,

We have posted a new essay on the IFCWB web site. This newest essay is entitled "Affirming Every Child’s Existence: Child Welfare Beyond Child Protection and Intervention." It is the fourth essay in the "Perspectives On Our Work" essay series.

For your convenience I have provided the text of the essay below. I am also providing a link so you can read more of the Perspectives series.

Please share your comments and feedback and we can talk more about it.

Thanks...


Affirming Every Child’s Existence: Child Welfare Beyond Child Protection and Intervention

Greetings, and thank you for reading this issue of our ongoing analysis and commentary publication.
Several months ago (October 9, 2006) I wrote an essay about the importance of permanency for children in foster care. One of the points I tried to make in that essay was that all children deserve to have their existence recognized in a positive, loving and affirming way by someone else somewhere in this world.

In that essay I reflected upon my experience growing up adopted. I reflected on the significance of the small things that many of us take for granted, such as going back home as an adult and seeing my childhood pictures hanging up on the wall and in photo albums in my parents’ house. As an adult, I continue to know that my reality matters to someone else in this world… that someone else in this world acknowledges and celebrates my very existence.

In that essay much of the tone and perspective was written in the context of permanency; more specifically my experience growing up adopted. In this essay I would like to reflect on this same dynamic, but broaden it to all children and families… not only children that were adopted, or families and children involved in this nation’s child protection and foster care systems.

As I have stated previously, everyone, at the most fundamental level, needs to know that their existence is acknowledged, affirmed and celebrated by someone else in this world.

There are many things that many of us take for granted as adults. Having meaningful relationships with other individuals is one of those things. We know that many children with foster care experience throughout this country, through no fault of their own, go through the rest of their lives without being able to effectively develop and sustain such relationships. This is but one relationship dynamic that frequently results from growing up in less stable, less supportive and less nurturing environments.

This experience is shared by many children and adults that have no foster care experience at all. Not all families that “stay together” necessarily provide the most nurturing and supportive environments.

When I refer to family and child well-being I am talking about more than just the well-being of families and children caught up in this nation’s child protection and foster care systems. I am talking about the well-being of all children, families and communities. We cannot assume that all children that grow up without child welfare system intervention in fact enjoy the benefits of a healthy, nurturing and affirming family environment. Most of us need not look very far to see this.

One of our collective challenges is to ensure that all children grow up in a supportive, nurturing and healthy environment. What institutional mechanisms do we have in place to support and enhance the developmental experiences of this large number of families and their children, especially poor and African American? All of us can play a role in making this a reality, including public child welfare systems throughout the country.

Indeed, no single person, organization or institution can do everything; however, every one of us can do something. And I suspect that many of us can do more than we are currently.

Public child welfare systems also have a role to play. Granted, this would mean a broadening of the mission and purpose of many of this nation’s public child welfare agencies/systems, but it is very much possible and necessary.
Public child welfare agencies throughout this country were created in the spirit of “saving children” from what “professionals” deemed (and still deem) to be unsafe home environments and unfit parents. The challenge of child welfare in this country has often been discussed within the context of how to most effectively and efficiently “protect” children from abusive and neglectful parents. Child welfare systems have not generally allocated substantial resources to support the development and strengthening of families not seen as needing emergency intervention. Nor has this even been a significant component of most public agencies’ broader mission and purpose.

Many public child welfare systems searching for ways to reduce racial disproportionality and racially disparate outcomes in their respective child welfare systems (to their credit) are beginning to explore these very dynamics within their respective child welfare systems. They are finding that diverting many families to appropriate community-based services and programs, before CPS intervention is deemed necessary, significantly improves the outcomes and well-being of the families and communities involved.

Indeed this speaks to a different role for most public child welfare systems. It requires public child welfare agencies to become more familiar with the strengths, assets and resources available within communities. It requires the public child welfare agency to develop partnerships with many of the community organizations, community leaders and community organizers they have up until now been less familiar with.

Moreover, it speaks to the need for greater flexibility by child welfare agencies (and human service systems more broadly) in deciding how to allocate resources to most effectively respond to the real needs of children and families… before a crisis emerges.

Public child welfare systems moving in this direction should be commended for their efforts, as well as encouraged to continue expanding these efforts. Other child welfare systems should be encouraged to move in this direction. Child welfare systems can not do it alone. Nor are they likely to sustain such efforts without the continuous oversight and pressure from the broader community and committed community-based organizations.

The challenge confronting us is clear. The sense of urgency is also clear to those of us close to this work. Let our collective action tell the story of our community’s determination and commitment to our families. Let our determination and collective action affirm the right of our children to exist and develop to their fullest potential. We can do this!

Note: If you know of any community-based programs or public agencies in your community that are doing exemplary work, please share that information with us. We would love to hear about it and share it with others via the Institute’s website.

What are your thoughts?

Welcome to our new Blog Spot!

Greetings!

Welcome to the Institute's new home in the blog world... the blogosphere.

We appreciate your visit and look forward to sharing information and exchanging ideas with you here in the near future.

Talk with you soon!

Oronde