DUPREE IS VICTORIOUS AND GETS JOB BACK, BUT THERE IS A LARGER ISSUE THAT MUST BE EXPLORED

Youth Service Officer Dupree won his job back on September 1, 2016 after an arbitrator declared Connecticut Juvenile Training School fired him without cause. Now CJTS Plantation must give Dupree back pay plus any time lost. Let me refresh the memory of readers about the persecution of yet another black man at the CJTS Plantation. On April 1, 2015 YSO Dupree was working on the infamous Unit4D, known for  Supervisors who abuse Workers Compensation and are incompetence [ not to mention baking cookies while at work ]. A riot situation occurred in which incarcerated residents were out of control. YSO Dupree tried to restore rule of law on the Unit 4D and finally got involved in a hands on restraint. Dupree is a young muscular black man of over 200 pounds and has [in 4 years of working at that facility] never could be accused of being abusive toward residents, but all that changed on April 1, 2015. After the restraint took place a Greek Chorus led by Unit 4 D Supervisors- who are always applying overly maternal instincts to incarcerated males- and white male management, Dupree got singled out as the personification of the hulking black male out of control. The Child Advocates Office issued reports about Dupree's restraint, videos surfaced of supposedly bad restraints,while the local media showed up at Dupree's home looking for "dirty laundry" during interviews. Dupree lost his job, was found guilty in the court of public opinion, could not come out of his home because media trucks were outside.

For over one year Dupree languished in a Purgatory created by white management for the hulking black man. Instead of pointing out how the incompetence of Unit 4D Supervisors created unsafe conditions might be part of the reason(s) a riot took place- a time honored American tradition happened.. blame it on the big black male. If CJTS management and the Childs Advocate Office really looked into what happened on Unit 4D, empirical evidence would have pointed to Unit Supervisors more concerned with promoting motherly balms toward male residents and not rule of law. Ergo, the residents on Unit 4D were always in some sort of chaotic situation due to mismanagement by Unit Supervisors. Dupree provided cover for white management during all the uproar over improper restraints by YSOs. To be blunt white management covered their asses by sacrificing Dupree.

Now the moral arc of justice has swung in favor of Dupree, Sept.1, 2016 an arbitrator said "CJTS fired this man without cause." Yet the larger issue in this story is racism and how it pervades the CJTS environment. For over three decades the Department of Children and Families has faced allegations of racism from employees of color. For some unknown reason such allegations of racism at CJTS / within DCF are not addressed by the black or brown residents in Hartford. In 2010 five CJTS workers launched a class action lawsuit against DCF /CJTS alleging hostile workplace environment and racism. Disciplinary actions against people of color working within the DCF/ CJTS Plantation is hovering around 60%, while lower for other ethnic groups. While this blog celebrates the fact Dupree is reinstated to his job, what about the toxic atmosphere of white supremacy within the DCF/CJTS plantation allowing Dupree to be  lynched by policy / procedure?