We Need Justice in Benton Harbor by Dorothy Pinkney

[excerpts]...On highways and in neighborhoods in the city of Benton Harbor people are regularly subjected to stop and search procedures based on racially biased drug courier profiles for just being black...schools are segregated and profoundly unequal...more than before Brown vs. Board of Ed...one-third of all Black men in their twenties are either behind bars or on parole in Benton Harbor because of corruption in the Berrien County court system.

The promise of fair and equal treatment for Black people remains frustratingly elusive in the city of Benton Harbor, Michigan, especially in Berrien County. Our schools are segregated and profoundly unequal, more than before the U.S. Supreme Court 1954 decision in Brown versus the Board of Education. Equal, adequate, public education is far from a reality in Benton Harbor. The city has substantially fewer resources than white schools in every area from teacher qualification to money spent on school books. This is because of the inequality in school funding, which is based on property taxes. The federal government must provide equal funding for every child.

As far as the so called “war on drugs” in Benton Harbor, police officer Andrew Collins and Berrien County prosecutors knew drugs were being planted on Benton Harbor residents. Over one hundred people were sent to jail or prison because of this. The war on crime disproportionately targets Black men and one-third of all Black men in their twenties are either behind bars or on parole in the city of Benton Harbor because of the corruption in the Berrien County court system.

On highways and in neighborhoods in the city of Benton Harbor people are regularly subjected to stop and search procedures based on racially biased drug courier profiles for just being black. Frederick Douglas’s question of making good the promise of the Constitution must be answered with a resounding yes! By any means necessary, for all of our people. So you must keep your mind on your freedom and freedom on your mind.

DONATE TO BENTON HARBOR VICTORY

Rev. Pinkney was released from tether in an Appellate Court victory. But he still must pay court costs, aimed at breaking a defendant, in the amount of $6,405. Send donations to BANCO, 1940 Union St., Benton Harbor, MI 49022
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