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| NAACP Wants to Set Up Utah Prison Branches |
| By Salt Lake Tribune |
| Published: 10/08/2001 |
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Under the banner, 'everybody deserves a second chance,' the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is lobbying Utah's prisons to let inmates create and run their own NAACP branches. The prison program is part of a national effort by the civil rights organization to turn back the tide of black males re-entering state and federal prisons, said Leon Jenkins, a Los Angeles attorney who is coordinating the program's launch in 10 Western states. Jenkins unveiled the initiative recently during the NAACP's tri-state convention in Salt Lake City. Jenkins, along with Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP's Utah chapter, met with state Department of Corrections officials to pitch the program. So far the state appears to be on board, said Jenkins, who returns later this month for a tour of the state prison. Once the corrections review board OKs the program, it's up to individual wardens to notify inmates of the opportunity. For a long time the NAACP focused mostly on preventing crime and the disproportionate incarceration of minorities, he said. But 'we also have an obligation to those incarcerated because sooner or later they're going to get out, and we don't want them to go back.' Studies have shown, however, that inmates need to be reached long before they are released, Jenkins said. The program takes a multifaceted approach to reform, stressing education, job preparation and literacy. Though organized under the same structure and supervised by volunteer members of regional NAACP chapters, the prison branches take on their own life, Jenkins said. Inmates are responsible for recruiting members, scheduling meetings, developing goals and, yes, paying dues. Though largely funded by the national organization, prison branch members must pay a $30 fee. Jenkins emphasized that the program is open to all inmates, regardless of gender or ethnicity. |
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