Yessenia Sanchez, JS Major

On March 21, 2012, the Department of Justice Studies hosted the First Annual Human Rights Lecture featuring Jeffrey Ogbar, a professor at the University of Connecticut. Other panel guests included Abraham DeLeon (University of Texas, San Antonio),  Rafael Flores (Youth Uprising), Adisa Banjoko (Hip Hop Chess Federation), and Selina Teji (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice). The lecture series covered various topics, such as the drug war, hip-hop, and chess, and the connection of all these to human rights. This event was unlike others, in that it also served to announce the new minor in Human Rights, which will be available to all SJSU students in the Fall 2012 semester.

Ogbar opened the discussion by redefining human rights. He urged us to look at human rights issues not as something going on in third world countries, but in our own backyard as in the case of America’s war on drugs which has led to racism and violence in our communities. In an effort to rid society of the drug problem, the criminal justice system has adopted draconian laws which have only served to disproportionately target minorities, by giving them longer and tougher sentences if convicted of a drug offense. Such is the case of the 100 to 1 rule of powder vs. crack cocaine, discussed by Ogbar. Crack cocaine, which is more likely to be used by minorities, carries a longer sentence than powder cocaine, which is commonly used by whites. It is ironic, that the punishment is based on race rather than on the crime itself, considering that these two drugs are essentially the same. As noted by Ogbar, harsh sentencing policies not only lead to mass incarceration, but to violations inside prison, such as rape which is greatly ignored by prison officials. To prevent human rights violations against the invisible population of prisoners, Ogbar suggested for new and more effective policies that provide alternatives to incarceration as well as equal treatment to all.

Hip hop was said to relate to the drug war in that several artists, in their songs, have made reference to the drug trade. The issue with this relationship is that artists do not portray drug dealing as a negative issue; rather they glorify it. As a result, drug dealing comes to be seen as lucrative and as such provides incentives for people to engage in the drug trade; thus leading to drug-related violence. As suggested in the presentation, we need to build healthier communities and for this we need healthier messages that don’t bring our communities down. Chess, as suggested by one of the guest speakers, relates to hip hop because many rappers are presented playing chess in their music videos. Furthermore, chess is a game where “racial barriers are left behind and players develop tactics that can be applied to their life” (Banjoko). As one panel member said, “you can never move forward until you understand your position in life” (referring to both the game and real life). In this manner, chess helps those at the bottom to change their lives by encouraging them to think ahead with regards decisions in life.

Overall, this lecture series served to reshape the view of human rights. No longer will we attribute human rights struggles to something happening far away, but rather in our own neighborhoods. For this reason, we need to “create a habit of helping anyone that is at the bottom” trough effective policies that aim to end the drug war by approaching it through a public health perspective.