If I can hold on to something positive to come out of the impending Trump administration, it may be that the policies that are about to be implemented might galvanize people to become more activist-oriented.
I was very proud to see the NAACP conducting a sit-in in Sen. Jeff Sessions’ Alabama office to draw attention to his problematic nomination as U.S. attorney general. While I have heard many young people dismiss old guard civil rights resistance tactics as being no longer relevant, I point to this example and say, watch and take notes. This was a timely act of civil disobedience that garnered a lot of national attention.
Another possible positive effect of the impending Trump administration is that his communication strategy of tweeting nonsensical and unsubstantiated perspectives will hopefully lead people to look more closely at facts, rather than believing his hyperbole. Looking at data allows one to understand issues from a holistic and informed lens, and a true leader makes decisions based on concrete information, especially when they know those decisions will effect people. A good leader will also surround themselves with a diverse group of people with strong backgrounds, not just with those who will go along to get along. This should happen at all levels of government, and this is most obvious when it comes to the criminal justice system, a point of focus in our community given the spike in homicides and the missteps when it comes to equitable prosecution policies, regardless of victim.
Let’s take this most recent example: We have 37-year-old Shana Taylor, white single-parent mother of a daughter, serving as a counselor at Longfellow Middle School, who was so desperate that she went after two male students at the alternative school where she worked, on numerous occasions in multiple locations, and even engaged in sexting with these children. Just based on the demographics of the school, I’m just assuming that these students were Black.
How in the world did Taylor — a 37-year-old school counselor who said she would take full responsibility for her predatory behavior targeting two males, 16 and 17 years old, with whom she engaged in sexual acts and intercourse — receive a mere six years of home confinement? Perhaps the answer lies in the stats when it comes to how these decisions are made and who makes them.
In a study funded and published in 2015 by the Women Donors Network, the data indicated that 95 percent of elected prosecutors are white, and that more than 60 percent of the nation’s 50 states have zero Black prosecutors. An interesting article on Slate.com regarding this study suggests that this near-total absence of Black prosecutors results in systemic bias, which is especially critical when it comes to addressing our mass incarceration issue, as well as the obvious discrepancies in holding police officers and other public servants, such as the Shana Taylors in our schools, accountable for their crimes. We can elect a prosecutor in this county who has our best interest.
Dr. Terri Jett is an associate professor of political science and special assistant to the provost for diversity and inclusivity at Butler University. Comments can be sent to tjett@butler.edu.
