Page 11 - Kingdom News Edition 10 Online

A report conducted by the U.S. Department of Educa-
many in the age range of 21 to about 30 that are being tion (July 2016) stated that over the past three decades,
caught up in the system and then once they are re- state and local government expenditures on prisons
leased, there is not viable housing for them, obtaining and jails have increased about three times as fast as
employment is difficult. It’s like the system is setting spending on elementary and secondary education.
these young men up for failure by degrading their dig- This report continued to state that from 1989-90 to
nity. Many have lost hope, but something has to be 2012-13, state and local spending on corrections have
done to restore their hope and dignity.
increased by 89 percent, while state and local appro-
In 2001, Dr. Myles Munroe wrote a priations for higher education remained flat. In dollars,
book titled, Understanding the these statistics grew from $67 billion to $71 billion for
Purpose and Power of Men, a education and costs for corrections grew from $37 bil-
book for men and the women who lion to $71 billion.
love them. In it, he discusses that Another interesting
the male holds the key to the na- statistic shared in
tions – our nations are in crisis as this report was that
the man goes, so goes the family,
society and the world. Dr. Munroe states the problem the United States
has only 5 percent
is that men don’t have a clear idea of where they’re of the world’s pop-
going anymore, and the cause of this crisis is they are ulation, but more
suffering from a lost sense of identity. The conse- than 20 percent of
quences of this identity loss affects their families, the world’s incarcerated population. This report con-
their communities and the nation. The book was writ- firms the statistics from the 2003 study that two-thirds
ten in 2001, but today in 2018 going into 2019, this of state prison inmates have not completed high
crisis is growing at exponential rates.
school. I was amazed to read in this report that young
This young man we encountered was just one. The black men between the ages of 20 and 24 who do not
good, but still sad thing about this young man’s story have a high school diploma or GED have a greater
is that help is available to him only due to his previ- chance of being incarcerated then being employed.
ous “record.” Should he have had a clean record, help Researchers have conducted studies and found that a
isn’t as easily accessible to him. That seems back- 10 percent increase in high school graduation rates
ward, but according to Minister Johnson, that is the may result in a 9 percent decline in criminal arrest
pure truth of how our system operates. rates.

STATISTICS The bottom line, education is important. Encourage
the young people, especially the young men of your
As I began to write this article, I wanted to look at life to stay in school. Knowledge is power.
some of the statistical data related to those incarcer-
ated with the level of education. I found a study from **Source: State and Local Expenditures on Corrections and Educa-
tion, A Brief from the U.S. Department of Education, Policy and
2003 conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice. Program Studies Service (July 2016).
This national report stated that of all incarcerated citi-
zens in the United States, about 65 percent had not THE SOLUTION
received a high school diploma, with just over 41 per- Men need to know that they are
cent having dropped out and 23 percent obtaining a loved and that there is hope. While
GED. Almost 23 percent had obtained just a high watching a Goalcast Testimony of
school diploma, and 13 percent had gotten a postsec- Ian Humphrey, he spoke about the
ondary education. words spoken to him by his foster
mother. She would continually tell
him that he wouldn’t amount to any-
thing and told him he was stupid and basically just
speak death to him. After the death of his biological
mother, he started hanging around the wrong people,
the family members started speaking over his life say-
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. Education and Correctional ing he was going to end up just like his father who was
Populations April 15, 2003.
Kingdom News Magazine—December 2018 Volume 10 ~ Page 11