Columnist Jamala Rogers
One of the first pieces of advice I gave to Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. as his commissioner of youth was to purge the promotion of boot camps that I had heard him reference in a mayoral presentation. I told him that lining up non-violent teens at 5 a.m. to bark berating and obscene verbal assaults does not change behavior. In fact, not only does the environment lend itself to verbal, physical and sexual abuse by staff, it causes youth to become more aggressive, and recidivism rates do not drop.
Thousands of abused kids (and even a few deaths) later and, despite studies disputing their efficacy and outcomes, boot camps are still here as a solution to juvenile delinquency. Why? Because they are a money-maker.
To his credit, Mayor Bosley never mentioned boot camps again. We went on to bolster programs in the city’s recreation centers and in the community education centers.
We increased the number of summer jobs. We instituted the Mayor’s Youth Summer Camp, where hundreds of youth experienced a weekend camp experience. A federal grant brought services to gang members and other violent offenders. The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board created a newsletter and cable program that reflected the views and accomplishments of children and teens around the city.
More importantly, we attempted to create an environment where young people felt valued. It was nothing for the mayor to stop to talk to youth on city streets.
I thought about this as I see our North Side elected officials struggling with the issue of youth violence in our neighborhoods. I sent them a letter expressing concern about a few of the solutions being put forward, like cruising violations and bringing in the National Guard. I also offered ideas because I know, like boot camps, criminalizing youth for saggy pants and cruising will not address the problems. I’m all for tough love, but military methods have no place in youth development.
Let’s be clear. The National Guard is part of the U.S. military whose primary goal is to defend the homeland. Let’s be clear on whose home. Throughout our history, it has rarely been black homelands.
If you ask the average black person whether the National Guard conjures up positive or negative images, it will be the latter. The National Guard was called in to maintain segregated schools and colleges. The Guard was called in to contain rebellions after the 1968 assassination of Dr. King. The Guard kept black and poor folks in New Orleans from getting to safe, higher ground from the floods caused by levee breaks. Even the most recent encounters with the Guard in St. Louis were less than pleasant when the city experienced a power outage a couple of years ago.
I maintain that our community has a dual task of making our government more accountable but also to assert our own self-determination and address those issues pertinent to our survival. Our community has not done all it can do and should do before we call in the militia to take care of our problems. We have turned a deaf ear and blind eye to situations in our neighborhoods that now surround us like a science fiction-type algae. Our sensibilities towards one another are being strangled and our humanity is being tested.
Two simple questions could get us to a place of solution if we answer them with depth and sincerity: Why are children on the streets? In our problem-solving, is our solution good for children?
We are capable of coming up with intelligent, effective ways to deal with young people. But we can also let emotions and impatience drive us to solutions like boot camps that do more harm to our children than help and where we see no demonstrable improvements in the situation. Our misguided children need human interaction, not military intervention.