“I consider myself neither morally nor legally bound to obey laws that were made by a group of white ‘lawmakers’ who did not let my people be represented in making those laws. Nor can we be expected to have confidence in the white man’s courts, which interpret and enforce those laws. He makes all the laws, drags us before his courts, he accuses us, and sits in judgment over us.”
– H. Rap Brown-Imam Jamil Al-amin
The overwhelming majority of the judges in the U.S. are white, upper class, and have no interest or knowledge of Black culture. During the times of traditional slavery, not only were we judged by white judges, but all white people had the power to judge our people. After being judged, they inflicted any punishment they felt was in order at that particular time. Lashes with the whip, lynching, and cruelty beyond belief were all too common for many of our innocent ancestors.
Today, at the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center, the judging and mass sentencing of our people continuously feeds the modern-day slave industrial complex.
Black people are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly 5 times the rate of white people. One in 5 Black men born in 2001 is likely to be imprisoned at some point in their life. Black women are imprisoned at 2 times the rate of white women.
In 1985, Chief Justice Warren Burger personally advocated the building and sustainment of the slave industrial complex. He gave a public speech that said, “We must turn warehouses into factories with fences.” I believe that Blacks will never get the same treatment as whites when standing in front of a white judge.
“All Black people in prison-whatever prison they’re in, whatever their crimes were, are political prisoners. They are political prisoners because the system has dealt with them differently than whites. White people get the benefit of every law, every loophole, and the benefit of being judged by a jury of their peers. Black people don’t get those benefits, and it’s the conscious political decision that Blacks don’t have those benefits.” George Jackson, Soledad Brother
Throughout major cities in the U.S., the courts are overflowing with Black men, women, and youth being coerced into plea bargains to reduce sentencing. Over 90% of all convictions in the inner cities are a result of pleas. During this time, the state prosecutor and the attorney (who is usually a public defender) have agreed to a deal or bargain. In Philadelphia, a delicious private lunch meeting at Reading Terminal Market is the most common place where deals for the outcome of cases are made.
In the racist court system, (2 %) of appeals are delib- erately granted in new trials, acquittals, and overturned sentences to strategically and deliberately produce a sense of false hope to those who have been caught in the massive judicial web.
One of the most ironic and hypocritical aspects of the lives of Black judges is the fact that many of them have had negative experiences with the law. Our brilliant brother, Mumia Abu-Jamal, brought a significant story to light in his powerful book “Live from Death Row.”
Mumia informs us that in 1993, a Black woman had her car window shattered by a Pennsylvania Highway Patrol cop during a traffic detour. Afterward, she was forcibly snatched out of her car, handcuffed, and arrested. During the detour, she didn’t move her car fast enough and refused to roll down her window to the officer’s demand. The fact that she was a prominent lawyer and the wife of a State Senator did not prevent her from being treated with extreme cruelty. Her name is Renee Hughes, and she would eventually become a Common Pleas Judge herself.
“There are Black judges who are so godly in their dark ascendance, so remote in the social distance, their imagination separates them from their kith and kin of melanin, that they joyously believe themselves to be the charter members of the Black Bourgeoise status-conscious impostors by self-appointment-they are so white in their imitation of life and their reaction to Black defendants that they are known as Afro-Saxons.” Judge Bruce Wright
Baba Khabyr Hadas is a Pan-African educator, Garveyite, and author of several books on Black Nationalism. Hadas teaches African History and culture at Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School, founded by Baba John Skief in 1972.
**********
Thank you for reading this article on scoopusamedia.com. To read additional articles of interest, please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
