National News

Behind bars, faith and discipline are tools for survival

By Michael Z. Muhammad -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Dec 14, 2017 - 2:59:06 PM

What's your opinion on this article?

According to the NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet, Black people were 2.3 million, or 34 percent, of the total 6.8 million corrections population in America.

prison-faith-discipline_12-05-2017.jpg
Prisoners are evacuated from the Polk County Jail annex, June 13, 2008, in Des Moines, Iowa. Officials issued a voluntary evacuation order for low-lying areas of downtown Des Moines and other neighborhoods bordering the Des Moines river. Photo: AP/Wide World photos
Blacks are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of Whites. The imprisonment rate for Black women is twice that of White women. Black and Hispanics make up approximately 32 percent of the U.S. population but comprised 56 percent of all incarcerated people in 2015.  In a disaster or basic problems, like lack of air conditioning during a period of intense heat, this vulnerable population is often and easily forgotten.

In “Prisons and Disasters,” published by Melissa A. Savilonis through the National Institute of Corrections, the writer noted, “Prisoners are a vulnerable subset of our population, often underrepresented, poor, or a member of a marginalized group. Prisoners require protection during disasters, as they do not have the capability or freedom to make independent decisions to protect themselves. However, they seem to be a forgotten subset of our population when it comes to emergency management.”

Ms. Savilonis continued, “In fact, pets have received far superior treatment and care than prisoners during disasters. With the majority of prisons across the country facing limited funding, staffing shortages, and a lack of resources, emergency management planning has fallen to the side. Without some form of Federal oversight or guidance, correctional facilities across the country will remain unprepared to respond to and recover from disasters, failing at their duty to protect prisoners, as well as the public.”

“When disaster strikes, things can easily go awry,” wrote Hanna Kozlowska in “What Happens to Prison Inmates when Natural Disaster Strikes.”

“In 2009, Galveston County, Texas did not evacuate its jail in preparation for Hurricane Ike, and about 1,000 detainees suffered through dismal sanitary conditions, according to a report from the advocacy group Texas Civil Rights Project. The water supply was limited, as was food and access to medication and medical personnel.”

“During Hurricane Katrina, the situation was even worse. More than 6,500 prisoners—men, women, and children—were abandoned at the Orleans Parish Prison by the authorities. They didn’t have access to food, water or ventilation. Some, including a 13-year-old girl in juvenile detention, were locked in their cells where water, often contaminated by sewage, would rise to their chests. This went on for several days, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union,” she added.

Keith Veronese, writing for Quatrz, said, “In the face of Hurricane Irene, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused to evacuate Rikers Island, home to over 12,000 inmates, including juvenile detainees and prisoners with severe mental illnesses. The New York Times later revealed that no evacuation contingency plan exists for Rikers Island.”

“There simply is no quick way to move inmates safely. A recent test of current disaster management policies at New Jersey’s Bayside State Prison involving strip searching and loading 30 inmates into a transfer bus took over an hour. From this test, the officers at Bayside would need six hours and a full staff to load its 223 prisoners safely for transfers along with their records. If a disaster is imminent or ongoing, safe moving according to disaster protocols will be difficult (and likely not happen), even with a full guard staff.”

Joseph X Frazier provided a firsthand survival account to The Final Call. “Experiencing hurricane conditions while incarcerated in Federal Prison can be quite concerning. The Bureau of Prison’s (BOP) paramount concern is the security of the inmate population; our safety was obviously secondary,” he wrote in response to questions.

“The anxiety was high amongst prison staff and inmate population. Depending on the ferocity of the storm, many inmates were relocated to another institution outside the storm’s path, but a small contingent remained and this only happened after the BOP learned the hard way.”

“Hurricanes are not weather systems to just ride out. I have seen the power out for days, and water flooding the dorms, toilets backup because of a complete plumbing break down. We survived on cold bag lunches and whatever personal canteen stored in your locker. Yes, locked in a cell enduring, the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning; hoping the officer on duty will be courageous enough to risk his life to save yours and the fellow inmates,” he continued.

“How I survived? As Believers, we believed in disaster preparedness, so we maintained a small kit of food and medicine. We learned how to make fire with batteries and small makeshift stoves to heat water if necessary. We also kept copious Nation of Islam literature to read and study,” said Brother Joseph X. He was incarcerated at FCI Miami and FCI Coleman during hurricane season from 2000 to 2012.

“Greed and immorality,” according to Nation of Islam Student Prison Minister Abdullah Muhammad, are at the root of the prison system’s failures. “The politicians are the ones that participate and pass oppressive, slave making policies. So why should they care for you after you are locked up? We are considered the dregs of society. They pass these wicked laws to fill up the prisons, and they never had any compassion or feelings towards those incarcerated in the first place,” he concluded.

“The scholars’ research would show racist policies that target Black men, women and children beginning with the U.S. president and Joint Chiefs of Staff. Scholars’ research would discover how many inmates have died or have not been found after disasters.”

“As an incarcerated Believer, (and) student followers of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, we are faced with and often come face-to-face with several challenges in our transition from living in a life of constant despair and discomfort that are a direct result of poor choices and at the root of these poor choices is the lack of knowledge of self,” said Brother Zachariah Muhammad.

The guidance of Minister Farrakhan “gives us an entire new outlook on life, our minds begin to clear, our thinking becomes sharp, our spirits renewed and revitalized and we in become a whole new human beings. This process is called ‘The Resurrection’ both mental, moral, emotional and psychological.”

“During the time of incarceration the environment is ever challenging with people from many different walks of life, different mental and emotional states of mind, different outlooks on life, different political, philosophical and religious or ideological perspectives, this includes both the incarcerated and those that have the responsibility of governing the incarcerated,” he explained.

One area of focus that saved me was How To Eat To Live dietary program designed to develop new spirit of endurance and patience, said Brother Zachariah Muhammad.

How To Eat to Live and the discipline and patience are paramount in times of special deprivation, like disasters, placement in isolation or when institutions are on lockdown with little or no movement.

“I only had one option during (lockdown) and that option was to refuse accepting a meal that contained pork despite what others from other religious communities partook in. And I owe it all to the How To Eat To Live dietary laws and program of The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad,” he said.

“This divine dietary law gave me the strength, fortitude and the tenacity to stand firm with clarity and clairvoyance with the decision that I have made and, of course, this came with more challenges that were very easy to overcome due to the disciplining effect of restraining, fasting (abstinence of food) by practicing eating once daily,” said Zachariah Muhammad.