Literary Magazine
United Nations Testimony of Malik Gardner February 2008 — M. Gardner, Youth Participant
Thank you for allowing me to testify her today about racial discrimination in the juvenile justice system in the United States. My name is M. Gardner and I live in New York City. I am now 17 years old. In October 2006, when I was 15 years, I was convicted of a crime. Even though I was only 15, I was charged and sent to an adult court. I was arrested with my brother. We were both sent to a detention center where I stayed fo ra month. The detention center was full of kids like me, young black men. It is not surprising that detention centers are filled with black youth because of how the cops profile and target young black men, especially when we go into white or mostly white neighborhoods.
After a month in detention, the judge released me and gave me another chance. I was mandated to attend a program at the Center for Community Alternatives, called CCA> I had to participate in the program for a year. At first I didn’t know anything about the program. But the year went by very fast because CCA is an excellent program. I met many new great people and the staff took me many places and showed me that I could have a life that didn’t involve the streets or crime. I was lucky. Many of the kids in detention did not get out and eventually were sent upstate. In the U.S. young people, and especially young black mean are not given the opportunity to have a second chance. If they commit a crime, they are treated like adults and made to do their time. But that doesn’t really help them at all. That just messes up their education and their life. I don’t know a lot about the United Nations and treaty to End Racial Discrimination. But I can tell you that the United States has a long way to go. The United States government should face up to how many young black men are in prison. Most of us start in the juvenile justice system. To live up to the UN treaty, the United States should stop using detention and incarceration and support alternative programs that help young people achieve our dreams.