How Black and Brown Communities Are Destroyed By the System of Mass Incarceration

Vincent Garrett joins Simma on Everyday Conversations on Race to talk about race, mass incarceration and creating a "prison to school pipeline." A former addict and incarcerated felon, Vince has been clean from drugs for over twenty years.  He shares his experience of being released from prison, finding a mentor, getting his BA from UC Berkeley and being part of Underground Scholars, a program for the formerly incarcerated.  We talk about race, racism and mass incarceration and the unequal way Black and Brown people and White people are sentenced for the same crimes.  Vincent and his whole family were caught up in the crack epidemic in Oakland. He saw people around him being arrested and sent to prison for a few rocks of crack, while white people and upper income people in the Oakland Hills using powdered cocaine were ignored by law enforcement. He is now working towards a master's degree and is the program outreach and retention specialist for Restoring Our Communities (ROC), at Laney College. Vincent and ROC are working to advance the "Prison to School Pipeline," to ensure that formerly incarcerated people get what they need excel in college and in life. Additional topics are: Racial disparities and inequality in our society today Images of Black and other people of color in the media and how that contributes to mass incarceration Internalizing racism from outside messages Repairing the damage of mass incarceration and race