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Review of Being Poor: The Cycle of Injustice

February 21, 2017 / By Linda Hughes

For some reason, I have avoided exploring and educating myself about the racial injustice problem of mass incarceration. Maybe I’m not ready for the weight of yet another racial issue. I’ve had the book The New Jim Crow for over a year, but have yet to read it.  

When I was flipping through the TV stations recently, I came upon a documentary on WCNY (our PBS station) about a 21-year old African-American man in Albany, and, of course, it caught my attention. The interviewer, Susan Arbetter, opened the show saying, “Imagine going to work every day, not knowing if you’ll be picked up by the police or not. That’s a reality for many black men…”  

Jameer Green was on his lunch break from work and was on his way to Stewart’s to get some lunch. He was stopped by police and told there had been a robbery nearby and that he fit the description. The police took him to the station. Fortunately, Jameer has an AWESOME boss who didn’t fire him for not returning to work or not calling him. How many low-wage earning employees have that blessing?

The documentary was eye-opening for me and helped explain how so many young men of color end up in the judicial system and in prisons. I think God was tapping me on the shoulder to get going with this issue. I encourage you to see the video. It’s called Being Poor: the Cycle of Injustice. It’s 10 minutes long; click here to view it.