This year, we are celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the
Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th Anniversary of the March
on Washington. As African Americans, we are pleased that this
country has progressed from the forced enslavement of our race
to the removal of the Jim Crow laws and practices. We are also
celebrating the reelection of a man of African descent to a
second term as President of the United States. There is a lot to
celebrate in 2013, but there is still much work ahead. One area
that is seriously flawed and that requires the attention of more
than the progressive movement is the "justice system.” It is
commonly known that the U.S. incarcerates more of its citizens
than any other industrialized country. The fact that a
disproportionate number of the persons arrested, convicted and
imprisoned are African Americans is troubling. According to the
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in 2010, 4,347 of every
100,000 Black males were incarcerated in a state, federal or
local facility. This number is s