By DIANE XAVIER
The Dallas Examiner
There is an alarming statistic that 1 out of 4 African American males will serve prison time at one point or another in their lifetime, according to the 13th, a Netflix documentary written and directed by Ava DuVernay.
DuVernay, a trailblazing African American female filmmaker, researched the history of racial inequality apparent in the United States in her film and concluded that today’s prison system consists mostly of African Americans.
The documentary was named after the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1865 and led to the abolition of slavery. The amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Four female African American judges in Dallas County were startled by the reality of the film when they watched it in 2016 and decided to do something to effect change where they usually encounter people of color in their courtrooms.
To prevent future generations of African American youth ending up in the courtroom or incarcerated at a disproportionate rate, judges Shequitta Kelly, Amber Givens, Lisa Green and Stephanie Huff created Pipeline to Possibilities.
Also known as P2P, the nonprofit organization is an initiative committed to educating youth on various aspects of the justice system and inspiring youth to become leaders in society. Funded mostly through donations and by the judges themselves, the ladies take time to speak to youth at various high schools and middle schools in South Dallas who live in high-risk areas and educate them on how to avoid and stay out of the criminal justice system.
On Aug. 25, the public was invited to a special screening at the Angelika Theater to see the judges featured in the Apple TV documentary called Dear Ava. In the film, DuVernay thanked the judges for their work and expressed how she was happy to learn that her film inspired them to start P2P.
Givens said the goal of the organization is to decrease the school to prison pipeline system and instead create possibilities for youth for a great future and become leaders in their communities instead.
“It’s the eighth episode and it’s a tribute to Ava for her inspiring us to create a Pipeline to Possibilities,” Givens said. “The judges in Dallas County are trying to get the message out here tonight. Just in general, all of us are in our own corners of the world and can impact society. So we stepped off the bench to do that by making sure that we disrupt the pipeline from prison or from the schools to prison. So we’re disrupting that pipeline. How do you disrupt it? By going into the inner city schools and teaching them about the criminal justice system.”
She said as a judge she deals with all types of cases from misdemeanor assault to capital murder.
“I love my job and I’m in the criminal justice system because my brother was actually incarcerated twice and so it impacted my life very early,” she said.
Before the audience viewed a preview of the film, a discussion regarding the organization was held with a panel that included former DISD school board member Bernadette Nutall; Antong Lucky, president of Urban Specialist, a nonprofit that helps youth stay off the streets; and Gary Walker, who was falsely accused of murder and was incarcerated at 15 years old and was released in 2013.
“Serving on the school board, they talk so much about the pipeline to prison, and I was so happy when the judges came and named their organization Pipeline to Possibilities because all our students have possibilities, and when I think about it, I think we are giving them hope,” Nutall said. “Our students, we don’t need to talk to them about going to prison but give them the options and opportunities and this is the possibility to see their futures.”
The school to prison system was considered a common narrative in Dallas in the 1990s for high school student in the inner city, according to the panel moderator, Russell Wilson II, a defense attorney.
“There was a very high dropout rate, high juvenile incarceration and criminal justice malfunctions,” Wilson said. “Like the corporation EXXON, we wanted to redirect that pipeline and create hope for our youth.”
Lucky, who served prison time while his daughter was just a baby, discussed how it is important to have a courtroom and a justice system with people who look like him and have better representation.
“In 1997, I stood in a courtroom with a judge who didn’t look like me, and I remember asking my attorney, who was White, and it was an all-White jury trial because back then in the hood, you thought if you got a White attorney, they could communicate better to the White establishment because that was the thought in the hood at that time,” Lucky said. “I paid this lawyer $20,000, and I was innocent, and he told me we had nothing to worry about. But then I asked him, how do you feel, and he responded that most likely you are going to get a jury made up of mostly middle-aged White people who will not be able to identify with a kid from South Dallas. Then told me that I was going to have a White prosecutor who will be willing to fry you and a judge who will have no connection to you.”
The lawyer told Lucky that they could go in and try, but after Lucky’s friend – who was also facing similar charges and was being tried at the same time – got 20 years, Lucky told his lawyer that he would rather serve probation and said he can’t serve 20 years like his friend did.
“The judge never looked up at me during my trial and told me that I am a menace to society,” Lucky reflected. “He told me that I was a menace to society and deserved prison. My daughter was born May 7, and it was May 21 in 1997 and this judge sent me to prison. And now, to see judges who look like me who can understand that kid from South Dallas that had to deal with all of the trauma and obstacles stacked against him and can apply fairly to my situation is important.”
Lucky spoke with a group of teenagers who were recently in Green’s court, whose records she expunged and told them the importance of having a judge that looks like them and told them it was a blessing and told them how blessed they are to have a second chance by having their record expunged.
Walker, who sold drugs at a young age, was falsely accused of murder as an adolescent. During the event, he told his story of overcoming incarceration as a youth.
He said he sold drugs to a lady that owed him $20. After she paid him, she left his home and was mysteriously murdered.
“I remember getting a call the next day from a friend that told me that that lady who owed me $20 had gotten killed and that there was a rumor, and her family was saying that it was me who committed the crime. And so me and a childhood friend of mine who knew it wasn’t me who committed the crime, visited the family and the family was upset and wouldn’t listen to our story. They started the case and got me and my childhood friend and locked us up. I was a juvenile and he was 17 at the time and they sent him to the county,” Walker stated.
Walker said he had no clue about the laws and at the time, a private investigator was looking at the case.
“I remember saying to myself that these people don’t care about me, and they wanted blood,” Walker said. “They sent me to prison. I got 55 years and did 21 years.”
Walker was released in 2013 and said during his prison time there were times he wanted to give up for being falsely accused of murder.
“I felt helpless a lot, but I knew God protected me because I believed in God and my innocence,” Walker said. “I was 15 years old and being in prison with all these killers, rapists and all types of cases, but I realized that that system, I hated it and made me so bitter when I got in prison. I told myself what that courthouse does to me, nobody can hurt me. It was hard and devastating. It was my family. We all gave up on the justice system, but I ended up listening to my brother right here [Lucky], he was a breath of fresh air. He was always letting me know there was hope.”
After Lucky was released, he helped Walker with his case. Walker ended up working with a private investigator and was eventually freed.
Walker started working with Lucky’s nonprofit, Urban Specialist, which helped him reintegrate into society.
“Working with them was really helping me more, and I got to go back and meet with lawyers and judges, and now it looks so different,” Walker said. “If I would have had mentors back then, I would have never gone to prison. Then, in the courthouse, if I could have had these people, I don’t believe I would have gone to prison. They would have got deeper into what happened, it wouldn’t have been surface like bam, bam, bam, you’ve got 55 years in prison. We are going to forget about you all. I don’t believe they expected me to survive because prison is out there to destroy you physically and emotionally. It is just you. With these judges now, they are down with it. They are down to help you rehabilitate and get out here and reintegrate into society and be somebody and help your family and others. You all now have me believing in the justice system because I gave up at one point.”