Systemic, Implicit, Covert and Overt Bias
Here at California Correctional Institution (CCI) I’ve been housed on C yard in building 1 over 9 months. In all that time, and I was told for at least 2 additional years, this building has refused to hire any Black prisoners as porters. Correctional Officers have interfered with elections held to pick Black MAC/IAC (Men’s/Inmate Advisory Council) representatives. Picking who they want over who the Black prisoners living in the building vote for, usually of the uncle Tom more effective variety.
I have brought this inequality issue up verbally and in the CDCR 22 form: request for interview. Verbally i’ve been told that i’m on the short list for over 90 days while all other races have been hired for that position in that time. I’ve been told that the fact that they’ve hired every other race continuously doesn’t mean that they are personally racist, to which I responded by pointing out the obvious hiring practices having either racial bias or a selective preference. I’ve shown and proved that in the rules and regulations of the Title 15, Section 3041.1.(7) which states: “Ethnic balance, ethnic balance is achieved by having the facilities white, Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and other identified ethnicities in the inmate population proportionately represented in the number of paid assignments at the facility.” Even when written on the CDCR 22 form which never got a response from Clearborn nor Trye but carbon copies were sent to the Ombudsman Ms. Sara Smith who I met with on three separate times addressing issues consistent with these aforementioned issues, yet there is not change on the lines of inequality when it comes to Black prisoners.
Seriously when we look at the practices of racism in prisons in the era of civil rights we see the exact same mentalities at work, the “slow change” and “just wait” mantras for black opportunities, equal treatment and even now blacks are double that of whites in unemployment in this country and sadly this is also true for black prisoners in building 1 on C yard at CCI.
