Summary Of What About Us By Sylvia Harvey

In her article “What About Us?”, Sylvia Harvey maintains that mass incarceration separates millions of kids from their parents. As the author herself puts it “Among the many collateral consequences of mass incarceration is its impact on children, and the number who are affected is staggering.” I’m of two minds about Harvey’s contention that extended family visitation should be reconsidered.
On the one hand, Harvey gives some convincing evidence that without extended family visitation, the majority of black families specifically are torn apart. For example, according to the author, one out of every 57 white kids have an incarcerated parent while one out of every nine black kids have an incarcerated parent. In addition, Harvey states that