Gregory Freeman: Wasted Lives: Far Too Many. PD 3/2/1990

Headline: WASTED LIVES: FAR TOO MANY
Reporter: GREGORY FREEMAN

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Fri., Mar. 2, 1990
Section: WAR PAGE, Page: 1C, Edition: FIVE STAR

A NEW STUDY that says that almost one of every four young black males is behind bars or on probation or parole needs to shake up a lot of people.
     The staggering figures come from a report by The Sentencing Project, a non-profit group that promotes sentencing reform. The report says that last year, 609,690 black males between the ages of 20 and 29 were under the control of the criminal justice system. The figure represents 23 percent of the entire black male population for that age group and exceeds the number of black men - of all ages - enrolled in college.
      Those figures ought to be of interest to everyone. We're all paying to incarcerate these young men. We're paying to arrest them, send them through the courts system and then imprison them, not to mention feed them and take care of them while they're in jail.
     But the figures also ought to be of special interest to blacks. ''We now risk the possibility of writing off an entire generation of black men from leading productive lives, '' says Marc Mauer, the author of the report and assistant director of The Sentencing Project.

The figures point out a crisis in black America - one of families and of education.
A drowning man can wait in the water for someone else to realize eventually that he's in distress and pull him out. Or he can try to swim or do whatever is necessary to save himself. It's time for blacks to learn to swim.

There is a tremendous need for parents to take more of an interest in their children. Young men don't simply wake up one day and become criminals. Morals and ethics are taught at a young age. And if children don't learn them from their parents, chances are they won't learn them.
If the problem is to be turned around, even the busiest parents must take the time to work with their children and teach them that there are better ways to achieve what they want than by taking it from someone else. Parents must provide what used to be called ''home training.''
That's not all. The ''live fast, die young'' syndrome is present among many young black men today. And for a group of people that has as many problems as African-Americans, that's a syndrome that simply can't be tolerated. Parents must instill in their youngsters a sense of worth. Young people have to be taught that they can do something worthwhile with their lives, but only if they set their minds to it. And they've got to learn that that's not going to be achieved if they spend their days selling drugs, using them or trying to come up with ways to take money from others so they can buy them.

The education systems of major urban areas also have a tremendous responsibility. They are in a position to help mold many of these young people before they reach the ages where they may face jail terms. But in too many instances, these systems have failed these young men. Bushels of money have been spent on enormous bureaucracies, magnet school systems and programs that seem to change yearly. But in school system after school system, most of the money isn't being applied to the basics - textbooks, materials, even paint for school walls.
In St. Louis, for instance, a factionalized School Board spends a lot of time bickering about such issues as school desegregation and whether the superintendent of schools is showing the board the ''respect'' it deserves, while most students aren't getting the respect and the education that they deserve. Certainly, the favored programs - the magnet schools, for instance - get a great deal of attention. But many of the other schools suffer from serious problems and are getting little, if any, attention.
Many education systems seem to have forgotten about the kids

So what can be done? How should the crisis be combated?
I don't pretend to have a crystal ball that will tell us the definitive way out of the forest. But I have some ideas. Among them:

Parents must endeavor to pick up skills in being parents. They don't necessarily come naturally. But courses are taught, books have been written, and there are various ways to learn how to be a good parent.
Education systems must be prepared to pick up the slack when parents fail to teach their kids right from wrong. Students have got to learn that ''right'' means more than ''whatever I can do without getting caught.''
Jobs must be available for youngsters who want to work. It's easy for young men to sell drugs, and most of them know that. But if alternatives are there, some of them will choose the more legitimate line of work.
Black men who are doing well must be willing to serve as role models for others. So many black households are without father figures these days. But it's important for young men to realize that it's not hopeless. Those who are in positions to work with young men should do so.

Twenty-three percent - the proportion of young black men in jail or involved in the criminal justice system - is too high a figure to tolerate.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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