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THE ISSUE: South Carolinians and race

OUR OPINION: Different attitudes, differing realities by race; study offers insight

Study offers snapshot of race differences

By T&D Staff

The Institute for Public Service and Policy Research at the University of South Carolina has issued sobering results from a study of conditions in the state 50 years after the historic school desegregation ruling Brown vs. Board of Education.

The study examines conditions for blacks and whites in the areas of education, justice, public life, family and health, the economy and attitudes. It makes recommendations for improvement.

Even in acknowledging great progress in ending disparity among the races since the end of segregation, the report's title is its conclusion: "And miles to go before I sleep."

Not the least of obstacles to change is difference in the way blacks and whites view current conditions. If there is no agreement even that there is a problem, how can the problem be solved?

The study found blacks and whites see public policy issues very differently.

n Blacks are more likely than whites to distrust state government (only 16 percent of blacks trust government most of the time, while the number is 32 percent for whites.)

n Yet blacks are more likely to believe the state should do more to help solve the state problems (75 percent among blacks to 50 percent for whites).

n "Blacks also view the state's efforts to provide health care to the poor less positively that do whites, and whites are significantly more likely than blacks to rate their communities positively as a place to live."

Nowhere is there more disparity in attitude and reality on the ground, however, than in the arena of justice.

Even in acknowledging that employment of African-Americans in law enforcement has grown tremendously in 50 years, "incarceration of African-Americans has grown to such an extent that one has to describe it as a serious and dangerous problem," the report states.

"Over the past 50 years, the African-American population of the state has declined from 38 percent to under 30 percent while the number of African-Americans who are incarcerated has grown from 58 percent to over 70 percent of the inmates in the custody of South Carolina prisons."

Conclusion: "The picture is bleak and requires attention to all aspects of the criminal justice system, from arrest to conviction to incarceration."

Differences in how to address crime and punishment are pronounced, with attitudes about the death penalty an indicator. The study found that four of five white South Carolinians favor the death penalty while a majority, 54 percent, of blacks opposes capital punishment.

It is in its "justice" recommendations that the study provides real food for thought for the state's leaders:

n The state should reevaluate its "war on drugs" and "get tough on crime" policies. There should be a serious examination of why the state incarcerates so many more blacks than whites.

"This is compounded when 22 percent of its adults prisoners are serving time primarily for drug law violations." Blacks may use drugs at a higher rate than whites, "but blacks are the people being sent to prison for drug law violations."

The state should find resources to treat people with drug problems and consider alternatives to incarceration for minor drug offenses.

n The state should re-examine its approach to juvenile corrections. Alternative schools and educational opportunities are recommended for children now being sent to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

And, "family court judges, who are overwhelmingly white, should stop incarcerating children simply because they will not attend school. ... The state should enforce truancy laws through the schools and not the courts. Truancy can be more effectively dealt with through alternatives to incarceration than the courts."

n "South Carolina should produce more African-American lawyers and ultimately create more opportunities for African-American lawyers to become solicitors and judges. ... In particular, the General Assembly needs to consciously and conscientiously use its authority to increase the number of black judges in the state."

As much as there may be disagreement and differing perceptions, it is clear that the state locking up such a high percentage of African-Americans is a problem. Addressing it from aspects of life long before the judicial system is involved will be crucial to solution. The USC study is worth a close look by lawmakers.