At the September meeting of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Baltimore City State’s Attorney, Patricia Jessamy, made the case for her re-election. Touting her years of experience and multi-faceted approach for engaging crime in Baltimore, Jessamy criticized her challenger in the race, Gregg Bernstein, by saying, “he doesn’t think a prosecutor’s office should have anything to do with prevention, intervention, or treatment.” She furthered added, “if he is elected he will be taking us back 60 years!”
It’s a message that resonates well within the American Afrikan community of Baltimore. We have long understood and experienced the minority community’s strategy as it relates to “public safety.” Their strategy has primarily focused on incarceration and the criminalization of Black people. The majority community experienced this most recently under the regime of former Baltimore mayor, Martin O’Malley. His “zero-tolerance” policy saw thousands of people illegally arrested in Baltimore. Thanks to the courageous leadership of Delegate Jill P. Carter (D-41), Dr. Marvin Cheatham (former president of the Baltimore City Branch of the NAACP), and others, advocates won an illegal arrest lawsuit against the Baltimore City Police Department earlier this year.
However, Martin O’Malley’s push for more incarceration of Baltimore’s majority community continues. Currently, he is preparing to build a $104 million dollar prison for Baltimore’s Afrikan youth with construction slated to begin on Friday, October 1, 2010; just two weeks after primary elections in Maryland. (He is counting on the Afrikan community in Baltimore to march around in Irish green and vote for him anyway despite the fact that he wishes to lock up their children!)
To many in Baltimore’s American Afrikan community, Gregg Bernstein represents a continuation and extension of O’Malley’s reach in the city. With a Bernstein win, O’Malley would have another ally to add to his Baltimore political machine – already having the unconditional support of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The fact that Gregg Bernstein’s wife, Sheryl Bernstein, is the Director of Criminal Justice in the Baltimore Mayor’s Office is just another disconcerting feature of this election race. [SOURCE: Jewish Times] A Governor who has the Mayor, many city council members, members of the Mayor’s Office, many of the city’s pastors, and the City’s State’s Attorney all in his pocket spells more bad news for Baltimore’s Black community.
Instead of addressing the root causes of crime in Baltimore as Jessamy recommends; Bernstein would be another arrow in the quiver of Martin O’Malley’s “lock ‘em all up” strategy.
The Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Baltimore & Vicinity is expected to endorse Patricia Jessamy for Baltimore City State’s Attorney and will join many others in encouraging Baltimore’s Black community in particular to do the same.
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How about trying to win a race without race-baiting or having a church jeopardize its 501(c)(3) exempt status?
Has Jessamy's alleged emphasis on "prevention, intervention, and treatment" accomplished anything? If not, maybe the State's Attorney's office should focus on prosecution and leave those other things to those with appropriate training and ability.
It's disappointing to see clergy not only support but engage in race baiting. I'm pretty sure that's not the teaching of Jesus.
Who has "race-baited" anymore than Bernstein? Code words are still bait. "Soft on Crime", still means "they let the black people go". The young man who was stabbed walking home from the train station is the only thing Bernstein is running on. When the rally was held in Charles Village where people of all races attended, all in attendance were voicing there displeasure with crime in the city. A mere few days later, when an elderly black man was murdered right outside a church on North Ave. where he worked and lived, another rally was held, but the same whites who were outraged days before, could not be found attending this rally. So I ask you, where is the outrage when blacks are killed? There is none. So don't be so smug to think that people don't see right through racism.. Sorry to say, but the young man who was stabbed life is no more important than any other decent human being on this earth. Of any color. Bernstein should be ashamed of how he is running his campaign. Low politics at its best, appealing to low minded hearts.
I think some writers are overlooking the obvious: Mr. Bernstein took a hard line on crime, because he knew it would resonate well in the white community. It is easy to stir up fears real and imagined with that kind of rhetoric. I think he is hoping for a small turnout in the Black community and a strong turnout among the people he has focused on. I will be following the results with great interest to see if the people buy his act.