Sigma Day on Capitol Hill

Dear Brothers of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity,

For far too long our country has been steeped in violence and lack of support and policies to help our children and families succeed. Teen dating violence is ending far too many young lives today. Violence in communities have devastated and traumatized children and families and to make matters worse, we are facing a high school student dropout rate in communities of color that affects the overall economy with a loss in hundreds of billions of dollars in productivity, decrease in property values as well as enormous social costs and disruption in social services. That’s why Men of Sigma will join together on September 18-20,2012 for Sigma Day on the Hill for three days of activities to bring national attention to the issues facing our communities and ending far too many lives before they are even started.

THE PROBLEM

“A comparison of Intimate Partner Violence rates between teens and adults reveals that teens are at higher risk of intimate partner abuse” and according to the Centers for Disease Control “Violence is a serious public health problem in the U.S. In 2007, more than 18,000 people were victims of homicide and more than 34,000 took their own life.” The highest rates of homicide are in the African-American community where homicide is the leading cause of death for black boys and men between the ages of 15-24. Researchers in a 2012 report released by America’s Promise also found that graduation rates for blacks fell behind every demographic by race; 91.8 percent of Asian students, 82 percent of whites, 65.9 percent of Hispanics and 63.5 percent of blacks.
These statistics paint a pretty dismal picture for what we are facing in our country, but our lives will not improve unless we do something about it.

SIGMA MEN ANSWERS THE CALL

Sigma Day on the Hill along with its partners, allies and Sigma Beta Club will bring national attention to prevent teen dating violence; prevent or alleviate community violence with support to children adolescents, teachers, families, and community leaders on the principles and practice of nonviolence; and to help reduce the high school student dropout rate, especially in communities of color. Click here to register today!
For more information click here or email sigmadayonthehill@gmail.com.

Bro. Darryl T. Williams	Bro. Jacob Gillison
International Director of Social Action	Sigma Day on the Hill Committee Chairman

Social Justice and Juvenile Court

from L-R: Percy Bradley, Soror Lisa Jones Johnson, State Rep Henri Brooks, and brother, Rev. Dr. Andre Johnson

On Sunday, July 29, at 10:00am, Nu Iota Sigma, along with the Social Justice Ministry at Gifts of Life Ministries, sponsored an informational session with State Representative Henri Brooks. She addressed issues concerning the Juvenile Court in Shelby County in Tennessee. Brooks shared information made public by the United States Justice Department who say, "Black youths arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, (are) much more likely than white juveniles to be jailed and tried as adults." Further, she mentioned the scathing review of 66,000 cases that revealed, "serious and systemic failures" in the way youthful offenders were treated. Also the review found:

• African-American children were treated "differently and harshly,"
• Black juveniles who were arrested in Memphis and surrounding Shelby County were twice as likely as whites to be detained in jail and twice as likely to be recommended for transfer to adult court, where a conviction generally brings harsher punishment.
• Failed to protect juvenile suspects from self-incrimination
• A pattern of youths arrested without a warrant not getting timely hearings
• Inadequate protections for detained juveniles who were in danger of harming themselves
• A tendency for jailers to overuse physical restraints on juveniles.

The brothers of Nu Iota Sigma stand with the children and their families and will continue to support efforts to correct this egregious problem in our Juvenile Court System.

To read the report click here