(ThyBlackMan.com) People have ranted and raved about the brilliant and inspirational speech given by President Barack Obama in Selma. I applaud the president’s willingness to speak, and we know that such speeches can serve to inspire those who care about the future of this country.
However, it is also important for black people to look beyond words to see if those words are followed by tangible action that has a real impact on the lives of black people, who endure the kind of torture that has led observers to determine that we are arguably the most racist industrialized nation in the world.
The president spoke about the importance of protecting voting rights for African Americans, which are meaningful. At the same time, I can’t help but notice how often the Democrats focus almost solely on voting rights when it comes to black people, which ironically help to keep the Democrats in power. But when it comes to dealing with issues that many black people care about (devastating levels of black unemployment, our kids dying in the streets and historic levels of tortuous incarceration), the Democrats have almost nothing to say.
I hope President Barack Obama follows up his Selma speech with deliberate action to free a few thousand political prisoners who remain incarcerated due to the War On Drugs. I know one man, Mario Loyd, who is a non violent, first time offender who received 15 life sentences for a non violent possession and conspiracy charge in 1989. He had a newborn daughter at the time he was sent away, and she can’t recall one second of seeing her father outside of prison walls. 
Not only did the feds put Mario in prison for the rest of his life; they also incarcerated his sister, his brother and his mother, all of whom had children of their own. Two out of three of his incarcerated loved ones died while Mario was in prison, and he was not allowed to attend any of their funerals. His son was also murdered in the very same neighborhood where his father once sold drugs, making this an intergenerational curse. Mario was not allowed to attend his son’s funeral either.
To add insult to injury, Lloyd’s attorney, F Lee Bailey, was later disbarred in both Florida and Massachusetts for stealing the assets of his clients. Mario believes that his family’s money was stolen by Bailey too. So, unlike white families like the Kennedys, who became rich selling illegal contraband many years ago, Mario’s family wasn’t even able to keep any of the money that their father earned while risking his life on the street in order to feed his family.
Granted, Mario did beak the law, and he knows this. He paid for his mistakes with a quarter-century of his life. But given that thousands of white men possess cocaine everyday and get no time at all, I argue that it’s time for men like Mario to come home to their children. Even the president agrees with much of what I’m saying, since he’s said so during numerous speeches in the past.
The War on Drugs was one of the most egregious crimes against humanity committed against any group of people in the world. During a recent conversation I had with Michelle Alexander, author of “The New Jim Crow,” we both agreed that African Americans deserve full reparations for the trillions of dollars in wealth and community/family devastation that has occurred since the War on Drugs started many years ago.
President Barack Obama could help end this torture with the stroke of a pen. That is a fundamental fact. Speeches are nice, but action is critical. Courage is mandatory for our first black president to be remembered as something more than a man who took advantage of every photo op, but sprinted away from any form of accountability to the people who got him into office.
Black people are the most incarcerated group of people in the world. When I travel the globe, people are astonished to hear that we incarcerate more black men than South Africa did during the height of Apartheid. There are more black men in prison today than there were in slavery in 1850. Nearly every statistical indicator imaginable proves, beyond any doubt, that this system is tortuous, racially biased and destructive to communities, families and our society. Something has GOT to give.
President Obama, through the power of the pardon, has the ability to help end this holocaust. He doesn’t need to wait for Congress. He doesn’t need anybody’s permission. He doesn’t need evidence that this is a serious problem, since we all agree that it is.
So, Mr. President, I humbly submit that, after you give this speech about how black people can keep voting for the Democrats, you actually give them something worth voting for. Send men like Mario Lloyd home to their families and help us end this devastating system.
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.
