Three Strikes You're Out
DeRay Williams
Paperback
(Austin Macauley Publishing, Sept. 30, 2016)
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and Earth, and God created men and women of all walks of life equal, regardless of biological, social or ethnic orientation. America is God's land, and the church is its foundation, the very centrepiece that holds this great nation together, its solid rock. As Americans, we all must work together, and follow a higher moral calling to make this world Heaven on Earth for everyone.The Three Strike laws were supposedly designed to keep dangerous criminals off the street, but they served a more nefarious purpose; discriminating against black people and poor Americans who could not afford an adequate legal defence. They end up in prison for long periods of time, away from their families. The teenage boys without dads end up joining gangs, now we are spending more money on corrections, building more prisons than schools, firing teachers and hiring more prison guards.In Three Strikes, DeRay Williams explores how special interest groups have worked to undermine civil rights movements to protect their own interests. From slave owners resisting emancipation in order to protect their cheap workforce to health insurance companies paying millions in an attempt to block universal health care so that they can continue to charge excessive amounts for healthcare insurance. Health care is a moral issue, not a political debate, but a civil right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Americans are dying today because they can't afford adequate healthcare.DeRay also explores Presidents of the United States and civil rights in America; alongside the differences in social care and education drawing on his own experiences of living in both the North and South of the USA during the 1950s. He discusses the hardships faced by many in the South at the time, but also highlights their perseverance and resilience. Though this book discusses some of the darker sides of American history, it remains an optimistic and forward-looking treatise.
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