"States' rights are used as a cover up for human wrongs", a quote taken from the Treasurer of the NAACP (National Advancement of Colored People) Baker Lewis during a talk at Rhodes College February 11, 1964. The quote should sound dated, but unsurprisingly it could easily be applied to many topics today. Structural racism is held up in state policies, many of which use coded language for policies that would directly effect black citizens at a much higher rate that their white counterparts.
Due to a whole host of reasons, racial profiling and implicit bias at the top of the long list, black citizens are incarcerated at a much higher rate and kept in incarceration for longer periods of time than white citizens. State policies regarding education, housing, and employment for ex-offenders place them at a frightening disadvantage, whether their considered crimes were considered violent or nonviolent (although the discriminatory barriers facing "violent" crime offenders is another conversation). Ex-offenders in the state of Tennessee are barred from multiple job occupations. Many of which are trade jobs that require a certification or associates degree, and are slightly more accessible, although not nearly enough, than jobs that require bachelor degrees. According to the state of Tennessee, being "convicted of any crime indicating lack of good moral character" is reasonable grounds for suspension or revocation of licence or certificate.
These blatantly discriminatory laws effect public perception of ex-convicts. A license or certification doesn't have to be revoked to show the lasting effects being convicted has on job opportunity. A survey for employers spanning over many years in multiple large metropolitan areas states that "only about 40 percent of employers would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ hire applicants with criminal records". These numbers are staggering and with the racial disparities in incarceration place even more barriers for black Americans who have been through the "justice" system. These policies largely vary state by state but nevertheless, many are discriminatory to ex-convicts.
"WF Brings NAACP Treasurer to Speak on Social Problems." The Sou'Western [Memphis] February 14, 1964 Published: Page 2. Print.
https://mlk50.com/state-licensing-restrictions-keep-convicted-tennesseans-from-obtaining-jobs-a26e28242b38
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/31786/411683-The-Challenges-of-Prisoner-Reentry-Facts-and-Figures.PDF
https://www.tn.gov/lawsandpolicies/laws/laws-alarm-systems-contractors/62-32-301--short-title-11111111112111111.html
http://cepr.net/documents/publications/ex-offenders-2010-11.pdf
A blog dedicated to exploring the civil rights movement in Memphis, TN
I dislike the term "states' rights." In the U.S. it has always been coded language for discriminatory policies, at least since the Civil War. States do not have rights: citizens do. And oftentimes, state power is actualyl used to circumvent or undermine local power, as in the case of Tennessee punishing Memphis for removing confederate monuments.
ReplyDeleteChecks and balances between local, state, and federal governments are essential. States do not have primacy. Beware anyone who treats state power as the be all end all of constitutional government.
I certainly think that states should to a degree determine their laws and policies, but it has certainly been corrupted since the civil war. I hope we can find a better balance in the future.
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