Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, Founder of allthingsharlem.com, speaks about the issues of mass incarceration at this Tedx Talk.  

TEDx Talks -   This talk was given at TEDxColumbiaCollege in November of 2012 at Columbia University in New York City.  In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Did you know that New York City students are being criminalized for being late to school?  This process takes place when the NYPD sets up checkpoints at subway exits that are in close proximity to public schools.  They stop the students and ask them a series of personal questions and record that information.  This video took place in Harlem, NY at the 135th street station. 

Below are a few questions we had and posed in the video.  Let us know what your thoughts and feelings are on this NYPD practice.  Share your thoughts in the comments section or twitter #schooltoprisonpipeline.

Why are cops stopping students on their way to school when in all public schools there is an officer at the front desk?

This stop took about 10 minutes. Doesn't this practice make students later for school?

Could these stops deter students  from attending on days that they are running late?

What is being done with the information collected by the NYPD?

How do parents feel about their children being stopped and questioned without their consent?

Are these students commuting by train because there isn't a good school in their neighborhood?

One of the most disturbing parts of this video is that the students appear unfazed. These police abuses have become Normalized. But this is not normal!

If young suburban students were stopped by police on their way to school you would likely see fear and tears in their eyes. Followed up by outrage from parents and the school board.

Jury selction began today in the trial against George Zimmerman who shot and killed Trayvon Martin.  He is facing second-degree murder charges.  All eyes will be on this trial we're hoping that the Martin familiy will get justice. 

Below is a video we shot during the Million Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin in New York City.  The energy of the group was strong that day and we need more of this unity.  The words of the speaker in the video(Brian Jones) continue to ring true.  The perception of black and brown men being criminals has pervaded our society.  The murder of Trayvon Martin is yet another tragic result of this.  From racial profiling and stop and frisk to mass incarceration and the school to prison pipeline the list of other negative results of this supported structural racism are too many. 

If you can stomach it, take a look through some of the comments in response to this video under the youtube link.  This video went viral with over 50,000 views and 900 comments.  A very large amount of the comments are blatantly racist and extremely nasty. Though racist comments are not rare to youtube it's important to note the number of varied authors of these comments. 

NY1 - A Bronx judge has thrown out the indictment on manslaughter charges filed against the officer accused in the shooting death of Ramarley Graham, saying the grand jury was accidentally misled by the district attorney's office. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.

Constance Malcolm, the mother of Ramarley Graham, couldn't hide her feelings when Judge Stephen Barrett threw out the manslaughter indictment against police officer Richard Haste.

"You killed my God damn child, you son of a bitch," Malcolm yelled in the courtroom.

Haste shot and killed the unarmed teen last year. He said he thought Graham had a gun.

Judge Barrett said Bronx prosecutors made a major mistake in the grand jury process.

"I believe that inadvertently, the district attorney's instructions did mislead the jury," the judge said.

Officer Haste has said he chased Graham into the teen's home because other officers put over the police radio that the teen had a gun. Haste shot and killed Graham in the bathroom, but no gun was found.

Judge Barrett ruled that the grand jury should have been able to consider what other officers reported.

"In effect, the grand jury was told, by both commission and omission, that the communications of other officers to officer Haste were not relevant," Judge Barrett said. "That's my conclusion in reading this instruction, and that is error."

Outside court, supporters of Graham's family were outraged.

"We will continue to fight wherever this fight leads," said Franclot Graham, Ramarley Graham's father. "If we have to go to the Justice Department, then that's where we'll go."

"The people of Bronx County and the citizens of America will not go away, will not cease and desist against police violence, excessive force, against, obviously, murder," said Attorney Royce Russell.

Inside the courtroom, Haste didn't say a word, but his union said the judge made the right decision.

"No police officer ever wants to draw their weapon and be in this situation, so it's a difficult time for everyone," said Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

Everyone involved in the case knows it's likely to continue. Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said his office will decide if it will appeal the judge's ruling or present the case to another grand jury.

Following the decision, the Rev. Al Sharpton released a statement, saying, "This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice and an insult to the family and supporters of Ramarley Graham. We demand that a new grand jury is convened immediately and that the case is re-presented."

Story from NY1.Com

Message From Ramarley Graham's Mother

Dear Ramarley's supporters,

I am not sure if everyone is up to date as to what happened on the last court date but we were not given the impression that a trial will start anytime soon.  A trial date was not set due to some " TECHNICALITY".  Now, there was no technicality when this murderer illegally gained access to my building, ran upstairs, and kicked off my apartment door and murdered my son. There were no technicality when they were all smirking in my backyard because they did a good job murdering Ramarley in cold blood.  There were no technicality when at his first court appearance he was greeted with applaud by his fellow comrades.

Jazz Hayden Speaking at NYC Canabis Parade 2013

By: Joseph "Jazz" Hayden

At a recent event against drug prohibition I was asked to speak, as I was asked to speak the year before.  Well, my views on drug prohibition have been consistently consistent----prohibition is sheer bull---t!  It is my opinion that the entire narrative around drugs in this country (and the world) has to be changed.  For far too long we have framed the discussion in terms of law and public policy.  It is time for a change because that conversation is not going anywhere.  The conversation has to be reframed in terms of “human rights” and an individuals inalienable right to choose what he/she can put in their bodies.  Noone should have the power to tell another human being what they can and cannot put in their bodies.  Each one of us is trapped in the “castle of our skins” for the duration of our short stay on this planet.  We feed, exercise, clothe, house, and take care of our bodies 24/7.  I watch the pharmaceutical commercials on television and I am amazed at the glaring contradictions in the way that pharmaceutical drugs are treated and the way that so-called “illicit” drugs are treated.  A pharmaceutical drug that has one possible beneficial effect, and fifteen side effects that can maim or kill you is presented to potential customers who are given this information so that they can make a choice.  The provision of all research information to the potential consumer and the leaving of the decision up to them is the way that all drugs should be treated.  Why isn’t this universally applied?  Why do we have so many human beings in cages for simply “self-medicating”, making choices about what to put in their bodies?  How do we rationalize designating them as “criminals” and branding them as second class citizens for the rest of their lives?  This is madness!  The human cost of this failed policy is horrendous!  The economic cost is off of the charts…

Drug War Statistics

Did you know....

Amount spent annually in the U.S. on the war on drugs: More than $51,000,000,000

Number of people arrested in 2011 in the U.S. on nonviolent drug charges: 1.53 million

Number of people arrested for a marijuana law violation in 2011: 757,969

• •              Number of those charged with marijuana law violations who were arrested for possession only: 663,032 (87 percent)

Number of Americans incarcerated in 2011 in federal, state and local prisons and jails: 2,266,800 or 1 in every 99.1 adults, the highest incarceration rate in the world

Fraction of people incarcerated for a drug offense in state prison that are black or Hispanic, although these groups use and sell drugs at similar rates as whites: 2/3

Number of states that allow the medical use of marijuana: 18 + District of Columbia

Estimated annual revenue that California would raise if it taxed and regulated the sale of marijuana: $1,400,000,000

Number of people killed in Mexico's drug war since 2006: 70,000+

Number of students who have lost federal financial aid eligibility because of a drug conviction: 200,000+

Number of people in the U.S. that died from an accidental drug overdose in 2009: 31,758

Tax revenue that drug legalization would yield annually, if currently-illegal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco: $46.7 billion

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that syringe access programs lower HIV incidence among people who inject drugs by: 80 percent

One-third of all AIDS cases in the U.S. have been caused by syringe sharing: 354,000 people

U.S. federal government support for syringe access programs: $0.00, thanks to a federal ban reinstated by Congress in 2011 that prohibits any federal assistance for them

More Resources

Get additional facts at the Drug War Facts website

Village Voice - From the church pulpit, like the Powells before him, the always crisply attired Butts has talked his way into a role as one of Harlem's key political power brokers—a position that is not without its benefits. In 1998, Butts endorsed the Republican incumbent governor, George Pataki. The following year, Pataki appointed him president of SUNY–Old Westbury, where he continues to earn $200,000 a year. And while he was a harsh critic of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, once calling him a "racist," Butts not only endorsed the Republican Michael Bloomberg, but has said hardly a word against his policies. Bloomberg's City Hall has lavished $68.6 million in government money on the organization, according to the city comptroller's office. The mayor himself has made repeated charitable donations to ADC, and once sat down at a fundraiser and wrote out a $1 million check on the spot. After Senator Hilary Clinton secured $1.5 million in earmarks for ADC, Butts endorsed her for president.

Mayoral candidates were invited to Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harem by the faith based community of New York City. The Ministers of many churches created a covenant with the mayoral candidates, demanding that they be included in discussions of all matters related to their communities.

The candidates discussed a range of issues including health care, mayoral control of the education system, and police community relations. Democratic candidates John Liu, Bill de Blasio, Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson all participated.

Videos

Faith community begins the event

Police violence in the community

Mayoral control of the education system 1/2