Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jan 2006
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2006 St. Petersburg Times
Contact: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
Website: http://www.sptimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419
Author: Kirk Muse

KING'S DREAM DIDN'T INCLUDE PACKED JAILS

Re: Dr. King's voice set a nation in motion, guest column by Jack 
Levine, Jan. 16.

In 1963 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have 
a Dream" speech, we had about 200,000 prisoners in the United States. 
Today, largely because of our war on drugs policies, we have more 
than 2.2-million prisoners.

It's obvious that the so-called war on drugs is actually a war on 
(politically selected) people - and black people are those 
politically selected people.

Even though blacks and whites use illegal drugs at about the same 
rate, blacks are 13 times more likely to go to jail or prison for a 
so-called drug crime.

Where is the outrage? Where is the outrage from the black community? 
Where is outrage from the so-called black leaders? Where is the 
outrage from America? Where is the outrage from the rest of the world?

The whips and chains of slavery have been replaced with prison cages.

-- Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.