MLK Day in Des Moines, Iowa: Candidates, Community Leaders & a Conversation on What’s Next With Criminal Justice Reform

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I spent the day in Des Moines, Iowa participating in a series of meaningful conversations about racial equality and the steps we can take now to make our criminal justice system more equitable. 

The day began with Presidential hopefuls sharing their visions at the 2020 Iowa Brown and Black Presidential Forum, hosted by VICE News. Verizon was the proud sponsor of the Forum, which is one of the oldest non-partisan forums for Presidential candidates in the country, dedicated to focusing national attention on issues that matter most to the Latinx, African-American, Asian-American, and other communities of color.

The Forum was founded to ensure that candidates consider how their positions on a variety of issues may specifically affect people of color. It was an honor to spend time with the Brown and Black Forum founders, former Iowa State Senator Wayne Ford, who has dedicated his career to issues of social justice, and revered Des Moines community leader Mary Campos, who at 90 years young brought down the house when she movingly sang the national anthem to kick off the Forum.  

Following the Brown and Black Forum, I joined Judge Mark Bennett, Director of the Institute of Justice Reform and Innovation at Drake Law School, and others to discuss criminal justice reform, one of the most important civil rights issues of our time. The panel featured an inspiring group of Iowa leaders in the criminal justice system who provided first-hand accounts of strategies that are working and those that we need to change both nationally and in Iowa.

We discussed the consequences of mandatory sentencing guidelines and how they have led to mass incarceration. These policies have disproportionately affected people of color, and subjected them to longer sentences. Today, over 2 million people are behind bars in the U.S. and some 7 million people are under the supervision of the corrections system. These numbers are staggering. And they shouldn’t be. We’re breaking up families, weakening communities and failing to provide the rehabilitation necessary for people to become productive members of society. 

A key theme panelists raised was racial bias. It was disheartening to hear judges, public defenders, corrections officers, parole board leaders and a formerly incarcerated person detail how racial bias too often plagues every phase of our system. Wendy Samuelson, a juvenile public defender, gave examples of the racial bias her clients regularly face.

Panelists agreed that one way to reduce racial bias is to expand training opportunities for all personnel operating within our criminal justice system. For example, Helen Miller, the Chair of the Parole Board, implemented a rigorous training program for her staff and fellow Board members. Judge Bennett told us he trained 4000 federal and state judges on unconscious and implicit bias. Dr. Beth Skinner, head of Iowa Department of Corrections, spoke to the importance of diversifying the prison staff and noted that every person working in the prison system in Iowa is now required to go through implicit bias training. 

Dennis Henderson, who served twenty-five years in prison and is now working as program coordinator at a local medical center, highlighted the struggles that incarcerated people face when they return to society. He pointed to the lack of a support structure, particularly in the areas of housing, transportation and job opportunities, which are necessary for post prison success.    

Dr. King believed that strength came from a community working together. Improving our criminal justice system and rooting out racial bias is no easy task. It will take all of us to drive positive change. This weekend I saw how people dedicated to reform, working in the justice system, are taking meaningful steps to improve it and I was deeply moved and inspired by their dedication and commitment. When good people take action, we can transform the lives of millions of Americans. And by pursuing greater fairness and equality in our justice system we hope to honor Dr. King’s legacy.