Watson

Anthony Watson
ETHS 2410
African American Studies
Eric Robertson
May 7, 2016, 2016

Mandatory Vocational Training for African-American Inmates: We Took Their Freedom; Now
Lets Give Them a Skill
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him
how to fish and you feed him for his life time.
-Chinese proverb
The rate of incarceration for black males is 1 in every 15 compared to 1 in every 106 for
white males, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that 1 in 3 black men can expect to go to
prison in their lifetime. Considering the disproportionate rate of incarceration for black males it
is not surprising that African American are the highest group that populate American prisons.
Combined with the criminal justice systems inability to develop effective rehabilitation
programs, which address, greater education, substance abuse, anti-criminal behavioral training
and job skills, the current prison system is not preparing African-Americans to re-enter society as
productive citizens. I am certain that without drastic improvements to our prison education
system the problem will accelerate. My position is that all American prison systems should enact
mandatory vocational training for all African-American inmates because this would reduce the
rate of recidivism and prepare them to re-enter society as productive citizens, and eliminate
unproductive time while incarcerated.
I do not take this position because I am African-American or to be a champion against the
injustices perpetrated against my race. I take this position because I have experienced the failings

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of the criminal justice system first hand and am compelled to seek a change that will enable
black men to come out of prison equipped to succeed.
I believe the voice of Gerald Gaes is vital to the cause of requiring jails and prisons to
mandate vocational training for inmates in order to facilitate their rehabilitation and reduce
recidivism. Gerald Gaes gathered years of research supporting the need for vocational training
for prisoners and now advocates for greater funding for these programs. His vast experience as a
criminal justice consultant and years as the Director of the Office of Research and Evaluation for
the Federal Bureau of Prisons gives me confidence in his expertise that I will use to support my
paper.
One of the research articles Dr. Gaes wrote examined the effects of vocational, and
apprentice training on prisoners once they leave prison. He quotes a statement from the Senate
Judiciary Committee, which authorized legislation for the funding of prison industry in 1930.
The statement reads, If there is any hope for reformation and rehabiliton of those convicted of
crimes, it will be founded upon the accusation by the prisoner of the requesist skill and
knowledge to peruse a useful occupation and the development of the habits of industry (Gaes
32).
Even though Congress has been motivated to support vocational training for prisoners
over the years, they have now changed course and are cutting funding. The United States
Congress made dramatic cut to prison education programs in 2011, 2012, and 2013. They cut the
grants known as the Specter funds, which helped state prisons fund post-secondary programs for
prisoners.
I get the fact that Congress is accountable to their voters, and cutting the budget builds a
community of loyal constituents. The majority of these politicians build their platforms on

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growing the economy and cutting costs. There are several problems with this line of thinking that
cutting education for prisoner will save our nation money. First, the longer someone stays in
prison the more cost to the taxpayer. Second, the less a prisoner has to offer to society the more
dangerous they become.
I value financial responsibility especially where government agencies are involved, but
the statistics show the cost of incarcerating an individual are high and there must be some way to
lower those cost. There are studies that show every dollar spent on prisoner education saves four
to five dollars on their incarceration.
My proposal is to enact mandatory vocational training for African American inmates in
all prison systems throughout the United States; this article upholds the necessity of such
programs. Three years after the policies implementation, prison administrators and school
district officials agreed that the decision (to require everyone without a high school diploma or
equivalent to attend school) had been a good one. Along with increasing the number of inmates
earing a GED, security had been enhanced by providing more inmates with constructive
activities (Glover 105).
The state of Arkansas prison system in 1997 begin a program requiring all inmates
without a high school diploma or equivalent to attend classes to achieve their diploma. Officials
designed the program when Federal courts ruled that Arkansas prison system violated
constitutional rights of prisoners and required solutions. A board determined that its prisons had a
legal and moral obligation to rehabilitate its prisoners. Their goals were to reduce violence and
allow inmates to receive diplomas. The argument is logical, siting higher education for inmates
provided greater security for the prisons and ethical in its appeal to the moral obligation the
Arkansas prison system had to its inmates and to society.

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An article by Nancy Nelson details an education program began by African American

prisoners, which I strongly support. Even though the five men were serving sentences from 25
years to life, they wanted to do something to help change what was happening to other African
American men (Nelson 263). The strength of this article is that the five inmates who started
this program have the vision to prepare inmates to be role models in prison and in their
communities when they go home. This is a pioneer program with cooperation between prison
officials and inmates to serves as a blue print for advancing programs that are more detailed.
Nelson writes They designed the program to help African American inmates develop a sense of
self-pride and self-worth as African Americans and to help them to make more appropriate life
choices by learning about African American history and accomplishments (Nelson 263).
Their vision is courageous because they comprehend the obstacles and resistance
maintaining this program will present, and the amount of help and resource required. The writer
details a logical position based on five inmates personal experience more so than statistical
evidence, and passionate in the fact that knowing they may never leave prison, they are
determined to help other African- Americans break the revolving door prison cycle.
Part of the reasoning in my idea to mandate vocational training for African-American
inmates is the necessity to maintain and encourage the humanity of prisoners. Listen to this
statement, The prisoners strive to be quiet, boring, and obedient in hopes that they can slip
through and get to the other side. They shun their individuality and any thoughts of happiness to
avoid the punishments of the system (Abrahams et al 67). This article uplifts the idea that all
prisoners should be able to express themselves through music in a positive manner. Their
incarceration does not deny them their place in humanity, and rehabilitation hinges on them
maintaining personal value. Music can be one form of vocational training that can propel them to

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success once they rejoin society, and break down many of the dark barriers in a violent and
oppressive prison system. But even though they have lost many of their rights, they have not
lost the right to music. Since engagements with music can be humanizing, and all humans
possess the potential to express themselves musically, it follows that including musical
experiences as part of rehabilitation is socially prudent and an ethical imperative (Abrahams et
al. 67).
My final scholarly source Josh Barker wrote a compelling piece advocating for the
education of inmates in prison. He interviewed Ben Haith founder and president of PeaceMakers
Foundation who advocates for anti-violence in the state of Connecticut. Ben proposes a National
College for inmates, which he believes, will help the prisoners make the most of their time and
allow them to be productive parts of their communities when they leave prison. He wants each
inmate to earn a college degree before completing his or her sentence. Haith said he wants to
make sure a program is in place requiring specified inmates to have some type of college degree
program as part of their plea bargaining process. His vision is to create a curriculum that allow
inmates to become social workers and mental health works ad work in the community upon their
release (Barker 32).
I propose each prisoner earn a vocational skill as opposed to a degree, which I believe
will allow them a greater chance of employment upon his or her release. We are both advocates
for greater education, and I know his idea translates to the vocational aspect of education. This
article makes a logical appeal siting statistical evidence that black male without a diploma are
more likely to be locked up, and are usually given longer prison sentence than whites for the
same crime. Therefore, it is critical to make a nationwide push to mandate education for all
African-American inmates.

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I reviewed a Hudson Link documentary that goes behind bars and speaks with the men
who are in the college programs ran in Sing Sing prison. They tell candid stories about their
lives, and how education changed them. These stories and the men that tell them are the exact
reason I champion vocational training for African American inmates.
Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison is a nonprofit organization that receives no
state or federal funding. They receive private funds and foundation grants, which supply some
200 men and women in New York State with college education opportunities. The strength of
this program is it has a less than one percent recidivism rate; the national average is 60% of all
prisoners return to prison.
Sing Signs education program received federally funds until Congress decided convicted
felons could no longer apply for Pell grants, and the governor of New York slashed education
funds for prisons. A volunteer recalls an inmate stating, When the education money dried up
they knew that hope would be scarce in the prison, and that education meant hope (Sing Sing).
Martin Luther King Jr. stated in his Letter From a Birmingham Jail We have waited for
more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights(King).I dont believe that
mandatory vocational for African Americans in prison is a right, but I do believe we have an
obligation to make every attempt to full rehabilitate our prison population. One strength of our
nation is to strive for equality under the law and justice for all our citizens. Education is one of
our greatest assets as a united people and our prisons citizens our part of our nation.

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Works Cited
Abrahams, Frank, Miranda M. Rowland, and Kristian C. Kohler. "Music Education Behind Bars:
Giving Voice to The Inmates and The Students Who Teach Them." Music Educators
Journal 98.4 (2012): 67-73. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
BARKER, CYRIL JOSH. "College for inmates: A nationwide push." New York Amsterdam
News 21 Feb. 2013: 32. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
Gaes, Gerald G., Saylor, William G. Training Inmates Through Work Participation and
Vocational and Apprenticeship Instruction. Corrections Management Quarterly (Spring
1997): 32-43. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
Glover, William V. "Successfully Implementing a Full Mandatory Attendance Policy in the

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Arkansas Department of Correction School District." Journal of Correctional Education
53.3 (2002): 101 105. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
King, Martin Luther Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail. Stanford Education Group. 18 Dec.
2000 Web. 26 April 2016.
Nelson, Nancy J. "The Design and Implementation of an Education Program for African
American Inmates." Journal of Correctional Education 58.3 (2007): 262-267. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
Exploring the Origins of Quotations. Quotation Investigator, 28 Aug. 2015. Web. 27 April
2016.
Sing Sing-Education Behind Bars-Part 1. Hudson Link, 2011. Web. 27 April 2016.

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