FBG, age 20 of McKeesport, PA, formerly of the North Side: poster child, statistic. In these times of supposed racial equality, this man emerged by crawling, scrapping, clawing his way up from the obscurity that lingered in the dark depths of his upbringing. In the stead of his drunken, unfit parents, responsibility for feeding his two younger siblings fell to him. He fulfilled this responsibility the only way he knew how- by walking a path familiar to youth of his generation, the previous generation and generations stretching back for uncounted dozens of years. A path endemic of his racial identity, fulfilling a stereotype common in the inner city. He began dealing drugs.
The unfortunate location of a Port Authority Busway Station provided the backdrop to his arrest. Unfortunate because of ‘public safety laws’ enacted as a result of 9/11, involving public transit and criminal activity. He was caught selling three grams of marijuana by the Port Authority Police.
What followed can only be described as series of farcical appearances in the halls of what is laughingly referred to in the black community as justice. Judged guilty despite his young age, lack of previous record, presence of extenuating circumstances, inexperienced public council and expression of remorse by the accused.
Not that FBG didn’t deserve to be in front of a judge. There are better things he could have been doing on that day in order to feed his family. Like work at a gas station, collect cans, become an “Environmental Engineer” (aka garbage man)- all of these could have provided what he needed- albeit months after the fact- but still, he should have done this as opposed to what could have netted the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time, right? Never mind the fact that unemployment among those of his racial heritage is four to five times higher than any other racial group.
Perhaps the logic of the situation is lost on me. I can’t sit here and pretend that there is justice in sending this man to prison for what he did. Particularly when I am also sitting next door to a house full of drug dealers and meth cookers. There is a constant parade of buyers who enjoy parking in front of my house- half of them coming up my steps because they can’t find the house number of their dealer. Do these people deserve to be put in prison for what they’re doing? Hell yes they do. But why, then, aren’t they put in prison despite almost 5 years of fairly regular ‘anonymous tips’ to the Pittsburgh Drug Task Force? From what I can tell, the only difference between my wonderful neighbors and FBG is that FBG is black and my neighbors are white (and so is their customer base). So you tell me: is that justice?
Again, FBG should not have been an exception- he should have been made to answer for his actions. Did he deserve to be persecuted- I mean- prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law under his circumstances? Hell no he didn’t. Community service and a light probationary term would have been sufficient. His motives alone should have been enough for the judiciary to recognize that he was a good candidate for rehabilitation. This is the only time that ‘blind justice’ is accurate as a term.
Moving forward to a time after his incarceration ended, we find FBG gainfully employed by the city’s new casino. It isn’t the perfect job, it isn’t likely to get him noticed, or recognized. But it is a job. A good job with benefits and steady pay.
FBG is no longer a “statistic” at this point- well maybe that isn’t true. He has beaten the odds against him by not going back to that ‘life’.
His aunt works for a family support agency in Allegheny County, which is affiliated with a youth support program. This program is designed to steward young people who have been in ‘the system’ of either foster care, juvenile justice or both, into a life of independent, productive living. In order to encourage these youth to become self-sufficient, the program hires only those who have themselves been through ‘the system’.
These youth support staff provide the only hope for kids who have been a part of ‘the system’ to avoid a life of crime. They are some of the best people one could hope to meet. Their supervisors hold them to a very high standard- a metric which they have all risen to meet. Their character is impeccable, their determination unmatched. With one voice, they work in unison to make the world a better place- one at-risk youth at a time. And they have succeeded where others have, in the past, failed.
It was FBG’s aunt who first told him about the youth support program and their never-ending need for qualified staff. He applied and got an interview- during which he confided that this is the kind of job that he can do exceedingly well. His passion was working with kids and helping to prevent ‘at risk’ youth from descending into a life of petty crime. He got the job.
I met him in context of his new job and I considered him a friend. Some of his co-workers had known him prior to his employment, and those who didn’t, became very close to him very quickly because of his outgoing personality. Many admired his commitment to his job and the common cause they were all working toward. I admired his strength of character for beating the odds against him and was inspired by his desire to make a better life for himself and to help others along the way.
Just as his career in what he termed ‘my dream job’ was beginning, a particularity of his past life circumstances popped up in human resources. Despite the efforts of his supervisors and the program’s director, FBG was released just after two months of being offered the position. It was an oversight on the part of the human resources director that led to the situation.
FBG’s supervisors were working to find him other employment either within the same agency, or within the same field. Their efforts were not guaranteed to produce results and the future wasn’t assured. Yet, they were determined to help this man because of who he was and because he was deserving of their efforts.
Two weeks after the unfortunate departure from his job, FBG was at his cousin’s house in Duquesne. His cousin had been known to deal drugs and it was his drugs that FBG was running when he was arrested as a minor. Nobody wanted to believe the worst- that he had gone back to his cousin to get back into the ‘life’. He did, after all, just loose his job.
Only a week before, there had been a shooting not far from the cousin’s house. As fate would have it, and in what police describe as retaliation for the events of the previous week, FBG’s cousin’s house was the target of a drive-by while FBG was standing in front of the targeted house.
FBG was caught in the melee, and was shot.
He drove himself to a gas station where he called for help.
We found out later that FBG had been pleading with his cousin to leave the ‘life’ and walk a better path, since that is what he was trying to do.
As a result of his injuries, FBG died.
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29 September 2011
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