THE PECULIAR PATRIOT ™ 2012 PRISON PIN-UP CALENDAR 
The United States has over 2.4 million people, or 1 out of every 100 residents, incarcerated within its borders and it is the leading Prison Super Power in the world. Take the 2.4 million people incarcerated, serving long, and in many cases unjust sentences, and multiply it by the number of family members on “the other side of the wall” who are directly affected by each incarcerated person living away from their family and their community, and the numbers are staggering. Add to that, nationally there are over 9 million people who are on probation and parole. This is more than a problem, it is a crisis, an epidemic that has reached critical mass, disproportionately affecting Black and Brown people, crippling communities of color, and it is the children who suffer the most. In New York City alone, 98% of all youth incarcerated are Black and Brown youth of color. And 98% of New York State adult prison facilities are disproportionately in rural white districts. Since 1985 (at the height of the crack siege and the “War on Drugs”) the number of people incarcerated increased 113% and it is a well-known fact that Black people are incarcerated 2-3 times longer for crack, than whites are for powder cocaine. In fact, between 1986 and 1991, the African American incarceration rate increased 456%, with people serving outrageous double-digit-to-life sentences for non-violent crimes. Overall, 90% of criminal defendants usually plead guilty without a trial because they can’t afford a lawyer and hope for judicial leniency. The statistics go on and on, revealing disturbing evidence of a draconian system disproportionately aimed at criminalizing Black, Brown, and poor people. And yes, even the children. On June 22, 2011 the United States Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a federal resolution declaring the War on Drugs a failed policy that is driving over-incarceration and racial disparities.
I, Betsy LaQuanda Ross aka The Peculiar Patriot, recognize the renegade concrete jungle troops, the wayward warriors, the urban street soldiers and dormant revolutionaries who are affected by this “War on Drugs”, and this “War on Poor People”. Activate, you sleeping giants! Wake up, refocus and redirect that potent powerful energy and give birth to your true divine self, so we can resurrect a strong Black family and rebuild our community. We need you! This calendar project is a salute to every fallen soldier and every mother, wife, daughter, niece, grandmother, aunt cousin, father, husband, son, nephew, grandfather, uncle and friend who has lovingly and loyally trooped a bid with a soldier navigating their love between barbed wire to stay connected. Soldier…hold your head, stay focused, you’ll win. And to you Peculiar Patriots who support our troops, THANK YOU! I salute your love and strength. Keep believing, because with Love and ancestral strength we will turn this thing around.
One Love,
Betsy LaQuanda Ross aka The Peculiar Patriot
