Black men in the system

After 22 years of incarceration Troy Davis was denied his American right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness after an application for a stay was denied in the 11th hour in less than 40 words by the United States Supreme Court.

Although his trial was highly publicized and eventually internationalized he was but one of 846,000 black men currently being held in America's prison system. This is a problem.

This is a problem because African- Americans make up 12.6 percent of the total United States population and make up almost half of the prison population.

One must start to wonder if this is deliberate. One's wonder turns to suspicion when prisons are being privatized allowing incarceration to become a business rather than a means of justice.

One must also take into account political agendas and their results, such as the War on Drugs and who it benefits and victimizes.

After contemplation the answer becomes painstakingly obvious. This initiative wages war on low class neighborhoods where drugs are readily available. In an environment where the economic recession effect is most felt, survivors survive by any means necessary.

In such cases of survival the punishment for being apprehended with the possession of drug paraphernalia is unrealistic.

According to LegalMatch.com violators of crack cocaine offenses can receive up to life in prison and have to pay court fines up to $500,000.

On top of this the media glorifies these predicaments as the only way for a black male to "make it." The undermining of this reality leads our brother, fathers, uncles, cousins, and sons to chase the street dream.

This system perpetuates a deadly cycle that consumes our communities. This system is in place to keep black men subservient and under control, but is kept in place by the way black men choose to live their life.

Because of the absence of an older black male in life young black men often get older but never grow up. This causes them to look for guidance in the black males in their life:

The gangsters, pimps, and ex-convicts. These people attempt to chase the fame of the black American entertainer who raps about relations with multiple women, millions of dollars' worth of jewelry, and constant bragging of overflowing bank accounts.

This pipe dream has one of two destinations: the graveyard or jail cell.

Only a few are able to record their past and sell millions of records. The media  creation of what a black man could be is disrespectful to what a black man should be.

It is true that the ownership of material things determines your monetary value it does not determine your value as a human being. To overcome this system black men must value qualities.

They must value honesty over deceit, individualism over conformity, wisdom over narrow-mindedness, courage over rashness and death over dishonor.

None of these qualities can be obtained without integrity and self- discipline, once obtained black men will be equipped for the leadership roles they were designed for.

Black men should contribute to the construction of their community vs. the destruction, must be a provider, and must remain poised in times of adversity.

If you do not possess the qualities of a man you cannot perform a man's duties. You must become a man before you can become a father; this ensures the future of our race.

I understand that there are preexisting situations and that individuals are doing all they can to ensure the survival of their family, this is an attempt to prevent those situations arising before they should.