FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2002
Washington, DC – Hilary O. Shelton, Director
of the NAACP Washington Bureau, commended the Building Blocks for Youth
initiative and Michigan State University’s Institute for Children, Youth,
and Families for the release of the important new report issued today, “¿Donde
Esta La Justicia? A Call to Action on Behalf of Latino and Latina Youth in the
U.S. Justice System.” The report shows that Latino and Latina youth receive
more punitive treatment than their Caucasian peers, even when charged with the
same types of offenses. In addition, the report shows that available data
actually under-counts disparities because most states fail to accurately
identify Latino youth in their data collection, usually counting them as
White.
“I join today with my friends in the civil rights
and children’s advocacy communities, including the National Council of La
Raza (NCLR), the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF),
the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and the Youth Law Center’s
Building Blocks for Youth initiative, to call attention to the findings in
this important new report on Latino youth in the justice system” said Mr.
Shelton. “We have known for a while that children of color, specifically
Hispanic American and African American youth, are treated differently by the
American judicial system. As this report shows, Latino youth are 13 times as
likely to be incarcerated as a Caucasian peer charged with a similar or
identical drug offense. Furthermore, these same Latino youths are then, on
average, held 5 months longer than white youth. We clearly see once again that
ethnic and racial minority children in America are not being treated fairly by
our juvenile justice system.”
Mr. Shelton went on to recall a similar study
conducted by Building Blocks for Youth two years ago which revealed that when
African American and Caucasian youth were charged with the same offenses,
African American youth with no prior admissions were six times as likely to be
incarcerated than their white counterparts with identical records.
“Given the racial disparities that clearly exist, it
is almost impossible for any American of conscience to say that our legal
system is living up to the creed of ‘equal justice under the law.’”
“The NAACP joins with the Youth Law Center and our
partners in the civil rights community in calling for action to address this
rampant unfairness,” concluded Mr. Shelton. “We are calling on the Federal
and state judicial systems around the country to aggressively address the many
factors that lead to the disparate treatment of ethnic minority youth. We also
need to ensure that sufficient resources are devoted to collect adequate data,
and that coordinated efforts are undertaken to guarantee that ‘justice and
equality’ are achieved for all youth, regardless of their skin color.”
Founded in 1909, The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s oldest and largest
civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout
the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in
their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal
opportunity in the public and private sectors.
Contact: NAACP Washington Bureau 202-638-2269
