Baltimore Youth Rally to Demand Schools, Not Prisons

Opponents of a new $104 million juvenile jail have been calling on Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to reconsider its construction since 2005, when the facility was first suggested. But, last weekend it came to a head when hundreds of people, mostly juveniles themselves, protested the planned facility, cutting the lock on a proposed construction site and driving their signs into the ground.

Chants of “liberation not incarceration” and “education not incarceration” were heard as members of the community showed their disdain for a city that can’t find the money to maintain community centers or police salaries but can easily find millions needed to lock up kids.

With some of the city’s high schools reporting a mere 35.6 percent graduation rate and it being named as the 4th worst city for youths, it’s no surprise that the building of this new 230 bed facility is a hot issue.

The facility would hold kids being tried as adults. These juveniles are currently being held in the Baltimore City Detention Center, the same building holding adults. And while this is unacceptable, building a brand new facility that will hold even more children is hardly the answer.

Building a new juvenile prison makes about as much sense as reserving a park bench in case of homelessness--planning on the worst case scenario rather than taking steps to prevent the hardship in the first place. Instead of this twisted logic, activists are calling on officials to adjust their policies when it comes to sending kids into the adult criminal justice system—addressing the issue before it’s an issue.

The Just Kids Partnership released a study last month showing just how ineffective the adult court system is for juveniles. Their research showed children processed in the adult system are more likely to be raped, beaten and to commit suicide than those in juvenile facilities. Also, the vast majority of these kids being held pending trial are eventually acquitted or sent back to juvenile court, meaning they spent months and sometimes more than a year behind bars for charges that were eventually dropped or lessened. The adult court system also doesn’t prevent crime as some would have you believe, instead actually increasing recidivism among juvenile offenders.

The impact of current policies on African American youth is particularly troubling. Black youth are more likely to be arrested and charged as adults than their white counterparts despite very similar crime rates across the races. Fifty percent of Maryland youth arrested are African American, despite their population only accounting for 29 percent of youth in the state overall.

Anyone who’s spent time around teenagers (or remembers being one themselves) knows it can take a lot to get apathetic kids concerned about social justice issues. But the youth in Baltimore see their chances of success dwindling as the city began considering this newest facility long before the kids that would reside there were ever born. And this makes them rightfully concerned.

The Baltimore Algebra Project is just one of the grassroots organizations that helped get last weekend's Youth Justice Rally off the ground. Made up of juveniles, the group is dedicated to creating leaders by tutoring and getting involved where needed to advance the standing of Baltimore youth. Other groups like Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, Sisters 4 Sisters, and Kinetics Faith and Justice Network were also involved.

Over the past five years people within the community have written letters, made phone calls, and marched in opposition to the detention facility. This latest effort was planned to coincide with election times in hopes of bringing added attention to the issue. O’Malley won reelection on Tuesday and now has a chance to show he is committed to the youth of Baltimore City -- to their success and not their demise.

Here at Change.org the Campaign for Youth Justice has started a petition pleading with Governor O’Malley to not only reconsider the facility, but to make significant changes to the juvenile justice system in general. Join them and the Baltimore youth in taking a stand against the new jail.

Photo Credit: Seth Sawyers