Eve Abrams: The human stories behind mass incarceration
إيف أبرامز: القَصَص الإنسانية وراء السجن الجماعي
Eve Abrams makes radio stories, mostly about her adopted hometown, New Orleans. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
thrown into the back of a squad car
confusing system
more people than any other nation
أناساً أكثر من أية دولة أخرى
is likely what we see on TV.
ما نراه على شاشة التلفاز على الأرجح.
Before my son went to jail,
didn't do it and this person is innocent."
لم يفعلها، إنه بريء."
or you dismiss them,
أو أن تتجاهلهم،
who deserve to be in prison.
يستحقون أن يقبعوا بالسجن.
people that's in jail.
خلف القضبان.
is one of those innocent people.
من هؤلاء الأبرياء.
on a manslaughter charge.
من أصل 30 عاماً بتهمة القتل.
evidence in the case.
on the basis of eyewitness testimony,
إلى شهادة شاهد عيان فحسب،
isn't as reliable
was first used to free innocent people,
لأول مرة لإطلاق سراح الأبرياء،
were based on eyewitness testimony.
كانت ترتكز على شهادة شاهد العيان.
prosecuted McKinley's case
الذي تابَع مكتبه قضية ماكينلي
corruption charges.
ذو الـ30 عاماً،
of 30 years stepped down,
from McKinley's case came forward
into testifying by the district attorneys,
ضغطوا عليهم للإدلاء بشهاداتهم،
the threat of jail time.
ما يزال ماكينلي بالسجن.
for me to imagine
people are locked up
حول نسبة الأشخاص خلف القضبان
to around 87,000 people:
the roughly half a million people
النصف مليون شخص
للخروج من السجن
for weeks upon months,
have family on the outside.
missed my high school graduation
لم يحضر أخي حفل تخرجي من المدرسة الثانوية
he went to jail.
كان، في واقع الأمر، في السجن.
at the wrong time.
when he ended up going to jail,
في كل مرة انتهى به الأمر بالسجن،
or did he just get taken to jail?
أم أنه أخذ إلى السجن فقط؟
when I went to her college classroom
عندما ذهبت إلى صفها بالجامعة
Troylynn Robertson,
ترويلين روبرتسون،
that you went through
كورتني ويليامز مع كل ما مررت به
I would tell you when you have them,
سأخبرك عندما ترزقين أطفالاً
that will initially come to mind is love
to raise them
about the boogeyman,
أطفالنا عن الغول،
الذين يجب أن نتوخى الحذر منهم،
how to watch out for the judicial system.
من النظام القضائي.
our criminal legal system
يتبعها نظامنا القضائي الجنائي
people of color,
لغير البيض،
like Kortney to know about it.
أن يعرف شباب مثل كورتني عن هذا الأمر.
to talk to students about "Unprisoned,"
لأحدث الطلاب عن برنامج "انبريزوند"،
of the young people I spoke with
الذين تحدثت معهم
is like finding out where he's at,
on my first birthday.
Casey Foundation,
incarcerated rose 500 percent
قد ارتفع إلى 500%
will see a parent incarcerated
أحد والديه يقاد إلى السجن
affects African American children.
الأطفال الأمريكيين من أصول إفريقية.
will see their dad go off to prison.
والده يقاد إلى السجن.
of one in 30 for white children.
1 من كل 30 طفل أبيض.
success of both inmates and their children
يحدد النجاح المستقبلي للنزلاء وأطفالهم
during the parent's incarceration,
اعتقال هؤلاء الآباء،
can cost 20 to 30 times more
تكلف السجناء أكثر من 20 أو 30 مرة
keep in touch through letters.
للتواصل بواسطة الرسائل.
that kept it real with me.
the last time I seen you.
can't you believe it?
walk across the stage.
because I know it's boring in there.
لأني أعلم أن الحياة مملة هناك.
من المرحلة الثانوية.
tucked into the frame
that there's a good reason
to properly turn,
بالشكل الصحيح،
in school look really different
بالمدرسة تختلف كثيراً عن الواقع
and jails and courtrooms.
into that courtroom and you're just --
تدخل إلى قاعة المحكمة فتحس...
and it still catches your breath.
وما يزال الأمر يكتم أنفاسي.
people of color here,"
"هناك الكثير من غير البيض هنا"
made up of 90 percent African Americans,
لا يشكّلون 90% من الأمريكيين الأفارقة
of the people who are in orange
من الأشخاص المرتدين للون البرتقالي
Engelberg isn't the only one noticing
محامي المساعدة القضائية، الوحيد من لاحظ
are in municipal court --
waiting to see the judge?
African-Americans, like me.
85 percent black.
in the box back there, who locked up.
في القفص بالخلف، وراء القضبان.
of white people in there.
85 percent African-American
growing up in America today
was about a troupe of dancers
كانت حول مجموعة من الراقصين
called "Hoods Up,"
in front of city council.
for that performance.
من التعليم الإعدادي خلال هذا العرض.
black with hoodies because Trayvon Martin,
مع الهوديز بسبب تريفون مارتن،
he was killed.
hoodies like Trayvon Martin.
مثل تريفون مارتن.
with that idea?
but I had stick through it though,
لكني استمررت رغم ذلك،
so they could notice what we do.
لكي يلاحظوا العمل الذي نقوم به.
was another choreographer and dancer
مصصم رقص وراقص آخر
people who look like him.
الذين يبدون مثله.
other black people may have done.
قد يكون ارتكبها أشخاص سود آخرون.
the police to look at you,
التي تود أن تنظر بها الشرطة إليك،
you're threatening?
a lot of black males
لكنه قال بإن الكثير من الذكور السود
that about me.
thing to do is to not pay attention --
legal system is working.
يعمل على ما يرام.
to question those assumptions,
عن مراجعة تلك الافتراضات،
learning about mass incarceration,
على البحث بموضوع الحبس الجماعي،
throws so many lives into chaos,
يتسبب بتدمير حياة العديد من الأشخاص،
has to be understanding.
to understand our connection to this issue
تحديد العلاقة التي تربطنا بهذه القضية
It's on our shoulders
الأمر يقع على عاتقنا
just closing that door
we've lived that history:
لقد عشنا ذلك، كما تعلمون،
closes their back on one section,
the pronouns "us" and "we"
who operate these systems
locking up innocent people
who fear being labeled "soft on crime,"
يخشون وصفهم بأنهم "متساهلين مع الجريمة"،
toward locking people up.
has fed a police culture
to conduct thorough investigations
لإجراء تحقيقات معمقة
of those investigations.
over the last couple of decades,
have both fell,
جرائم الممتلكات والعنف بالبلاد،
and cases they have filed has risen.
والقضايا التي أشرفوا عليها.
whether or not to take legal action
بتحريك الدعوى الجنائية من عدمه
a defendant potentially faces behind bars.
الذي قد يقضيه المدعى عليه خلف القضبان.
on prosecutors is defense.
لمراقبة المدعين العامين هي الدفاع.
المعصوبة العينان القابضة على ميزان
in our judicial system.
في نظامنا القضائي.
government-appointed attorneys.
من طرف الحكومة.
receive around 30 percent less funding
far outnumbering
Association recommends.
the guilty from the innocent
so heavily against defendants,
تجاه للمدعَى عليهم،
operates for we the people.
يعمل من أجلنا نحن، الناس.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Eve Abrams - Audio documentarianEve Abrams makes radio stories, mostly about her adopted hometown, New Orleans.
Why you should listen
Eve Abrams is an award-winning radio producer, writer, audio documentarian and educator. She produces the audio project Unprisoned, piloted through AIR’s Finding America initiative, which tells how mass incarceration affects people serving time outside and investigates why Louisiana is the world’s per-capita incarceration capital. Unprisoned received a Gabriel Award and was a 2017 Peabody Finalist. Abrams's 2015 documentary Along Saint Claude chronicles 300 years of change in New Orleans and received an Edward R. Murrow award. Her project Documenting Preservation Hall was exhibited at the Louisiana State Museum and became a book.
Abrams's writing appears in Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas, Fourth Genre and Louisiana Cultural Vistas, and her radio works can be heard on a host of national programs including "Morning Edition" and "Reveal." Abrams is a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Artist as Activist Fellow. She has been teaching for 25 years and currently teaches for the Society for Relief of Destitute Orphan Boys.
Eve Abrams | Speaker | TED.com