Locked Out and Locked Up: Youth Missing in Action From Obama's Stimulus Plan

By Henry A. Giroux, TruthOut.org. Posted February 21, 2009.

All of the talk about a post-racial society in light of Obama's election is meaningless as long as young people of color are disproportionally criminalized at younger and younger ages, allowed to disappear into the growing ranks of the criminal justice system and increasingly viewed as a racial threat to society rather than as a crucial social, political and economic investment. Obama's message of hope and responsibility seems empty unless he addresses the plight of poor white youth and youth of color and the growing youth-control complex. The race to incarcerate -- especially youth of color -- is a holdover and reminder that the legacy of apartheid is still with us and can be found in a society that now puts almost as many police in its schools as it does teachers, views the juvenile justice system as a crucial element in shaping the future of young people, and supports a crime complex that models schools for poor kids after prisons.

See more stories tagged with: class, race, rights, youth, prison, latino, african-american

Henry A. Giroux holds the Global TV Network chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Canada.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from Rights and Liberties! Sign up now »