When just being yourself is a radical act
By Miley Fletcher
For hundreds of years, racism, bigotry and discrimination have existed in society but especially within prison complexes. Black men, women and transgenders have been murdered, assaulted, placed in solitary confinement, restraint chairs and psychological observation cells — humiliated and abused by officers and staff alike.
The corruption begins at the head of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) when someone challenges higher ups. They say: “we’ll check into it,” or “well, you know so-and-so is not ‘all there.’” Meanwhile, the incarcerated person who complained gets a backlash of retaliation.