Jailed Dads & Daughters!
Here is an account of father-daughter love posted on the May 2nd page of ted.npr.org. Happily there is a kind Sheriff in Richmond County, VA. He believes that when family members are welcomed into jails, and reinforce their relationship with their imprisoned family member, there is less chance of recidivism. He wants people to stay out of jail.
Sometime ago, a large number of teen-aged girls, supported by their organization, Girls for a Change, wrote the Sheriff and asked if they could have their annual family-daughter dance in his jail so they could dance with their fathers.”Yes,” he responded. So sixteen girls dressed in their prettiest outfits met their 18 imprisoned fathers, dressed in shirts and ties, for an evening of hip-hop, waltzing and other dances to music produced by a D.J. The Dads were human again pulling out a chair, and extending their hand and leading their daughter in a dance. When the dance was over, the fathers discussed the importance of this event in their lives in the present and their wish to drive their daughters home in the future.
Last year, a group of teen-aged girls, supported by their organization, Girls for a Change, wrote the Sheriff and asked if they could have their annual family-daughter dance in his jail so they could dance with their fathers. “Yes,” he responded. So sixteen girls dressed in their prettiest outfits met their 18 imprisoned fathers, dressed in shirts and ties, for an evening of hip-hop, waltzing and other dances to music produced by a D.J. The Dads were human again pulling out a chair, and extending their hand and leading their daughter in a dance. When the dance was over, the fathers discussed the importance of this event in their lives in the present and their wish to drive their daughters home in the future.
This account of father daughter love was posted on May 2nd, 2014 on ted.npr.org/. Happily there is a kind Sherriff in Richmond County VA. He believes that when family members are welcomed into jails, and reinforce their relationship with their imprisoned family member, there is less chance of recidivism. He wants people to stay out of jail.
Too many young African American men are in jail. Many are targeted for minor, nonviolent drug offenses while their white counterparts go free. Thousands were in jail before this War on Drugs, millions are in jail now. In addition, prisoners are often moved from their home states to jails in other states where their families cannot visit them. The War on Drugs is a war on the family life of low income Americans, separating fathers and mothers from their children when they are most needed.
And why? Because they smoked pot at the wrong moment and in the wrong place, they refused to rat on a friend, or they had paraphernalia in their cars when stopped for a traffic violation. Should their skin color be white, and their parents able to afford a good lawyer, they avoid sentencing. Of 2.1 million inmates 40% are black, but they are only a little over 13 percent of our population. African Americans are imprisoned at 6 times the rate of Caucasians.
I can hear the guffaws of many voters reacting negatively to this humane event in prison. But readers, what about you? Will you join Promise the Children and sympathize with these young fathers? Many Republicans and Democrats support repeal of minimum sentencing. Go to Families Against Mandatory Minimums to take action.
