User talk:Johnsonjerry96/sandbox

Article evaluation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Davis I feel that the Wiki page on Angela Davis is good in most ways, but perpetuates a narrative that diminishes her story as a woman who fought for freedom. The Wiki page states solid facts regarding her life from adolescence to adulthood and lists her many accomplishments and awards. Although the facts are correct, the way they are stated tell a story that makes her seem like she is a bad person. In the trial she goes into heavy detail onto why she owns the weapons, for the most part, Wiki leaves this out and she is seen as a crazy black lady with guns. Secondly, her related experience that is talked about most has to do with Anti-US rhetoric such as her involvement with Russia and Cuba. Although this page is factually correct, I feel that the person writing this felt as is she was guilty and painted her as a communist. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnsonjerry96 (talk • contribs) 04:24, 20 April 2018 (UTC)

Ferguson vs. Charleston
I will be talking about Ferguson vs. Charleston, which was a court case that made it illegal for public hospitals to drug test women's urine samples while administering pregnancy test without a warrant.

Background I will start by giving a background of the drug testing that were taking place in South Carolina, and the communities they were affecting. After going into detail about the time period of that test were being administered I will write 2 subsections.

Effects on Black Women I will cover the discrimination that black women, and women of color faced during these test, the long-term effects of imprisonment and problems that come from the separation from their children.

Effects on Black Families After going into detail about how women were affected by drug testing before Ferguson vs. Charleston, I will talk about the family, specifically the children. I will go into detail about what happened to the children after they were taken, and how that creates a cycle of poverty within itself.

Ferguson v. City of Charleston
Targeting Black Women The practice of drug testing women to ensure that their children were raised in a safe environment turned out to be punitive rather than helping the mother and the child. The late 80’s and early 90’s are seen as the height of The War on Drugs and pushed for zero tolerance and maximum punishment. This period intersected with the shift of the pro-life movement’s strategy to embrace fetal rights rather than focus on an anti-abortion campaign. Within a matter of time, 60 percent of everyone behind bars in Federal Penitentiaries were there because of drug involvement. The War on Drugs successfully banished strong male role models from the African American household but were yet to incarcerate black women at the same rate. The Medical University of South Carolina attempted to do so by using their patient’s period test as drug test unbeknown to them. MUSC was the hub for testing pregnant women’s urine samples in the state of South Carolina, it also happened to be the only hospital in Greenville County that treated poor people. During the height of women being arrested at MUSC from failing a drug test, all but one were black, and the nurse purposely puts a note that the child’s father was of African American descent. Although black women were arrested at a rate infinitely higher than white women, a study later showed that pregnant African American women and pregnant white women use drugs at a similar rate(41). The government was as responsible for the targeting of black women as much as the hospital was. It was known that the leading cause of mental retardation in children was because of fetal alcohol syndrome, but banning alcohol was not politically feasible. Instead, they chose to target the crack epidemic, which was associated with black people. Ignoring the causes of what affected children the most, and putting the blame on African America women allowed the government to place black women in the center of those incarcerated because of the War on Drugs. During the beginning of the testing, women were given no second chances. For those who tested positive, or whose children tested positive after birth, were arrested without time to recover from labor, and commonly charged with distribution of drugs to a minor, and child neglect. An amnesty program was presented after protest occurred but changed little about the arrest. Women who tested positive were still shackled to their bed with handcuffs but were handed two letters instead of being hauled off to jail. One letter was the option to join a substance abuse program, and the other indicated that if the mother failed to comply with substance abuse counseling their child would be taken away and they would be arrested by police and prosecuted by the Office of the Solicitor(Roberts, Unshackling Black Motherhood, supra note 7, at 94).

Effects on Black Women At the time of Ferguson’s arrest, there had not been a residential drug treatment facility that was created to cater to pregnant women. Pre-existing social inequalities lead African American women’s drug test results to be reported to the government at a rate ten times higher than white women(42). Ferguson v. City of Charleston leveled the playing field by stopping involuntary drug testing in public hospitals, which disproportionally hurt black women. African American women are treated at public hospitals, have probation officers, welfare caseworkers, and are subject to governmental supervision at rates higher than white women because of their likelihood to live below the poverty line. These factors all contribute to their drug tests being easier to detect by governmental agencies and police.

Before Ferguson v. City of Charleston Before Ferguson v. City of Charleston, black women were disproportionately arrested immediately after delivering their children. This allowed the government to control and monitor the African American population by placing them into yet another perpetual cycle of systematic observation and oppression. The lack of treatment facilities that catered to pregnant women in the state of South Carolina meant that these women were placed into facilities that were meant to treat substance abusers of all kinds. These programs treated pregnant women as convicted felons and further fueled the War on Drugs by placing people who were victims of their circumstances under governmental control, and blacklisted them from society. Before Ferguson v. City of Charleston, the children of women who were convicted of distributing drugs to a minor, and child neglect had a fate that was arguably worse than their mother. After the mother was arrested, the Medical University of South Carolina placed the children into a perpetual cycle of governmental supervision by making no arrangements for their transportation or childcare. They left childcare up to the state, and governmental authorities, this fed the statistic that black people are more likely to be monitored by the government than their white counterparts.

After Ferguson v. City of Charleston Furguson v. City of Charleston made it illegal for public hospitals to involuntarily drug test patients, which created a better environment for children and mothers. Doctors, nurses, and the government were unable to place women and children in prison systems, and foster care, which are two entities that lesson the odds of escaping poverty. Although women were reunited with their children, Ferguson v. City of Charleston placed a stigma on drug treatment and prenatal care, which contradicted the alleged goals of the program. The state of South Carolina witnessed the decline of pregnant women who entered into drug treatment facilities following the Supreme Court decision. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnsonjerry96 (talk • contribs) 20:52, 6 May 2018 (UTC)