--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, the terrible thing right now, and I…" description: "\"Well, the terrible thing right now, and I don't know the statistics, but there's a growing concern in some communities about how rapidly people are sen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/anna-deavere-smith-4847_about_well-the-terrible-thing-right-now-and-i_2995505.png" --- # Well, the terrible thing right now, and I don't know the… ![“Well, the terrible thing right now, and I don't know the statistics, but there's a growing concern in some communities about how rapidly people are sent from school to jail, how quickly they're put into the criminal justice system. And of course the rapidly growing number of brown people, both men…” quote by Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/anna-deavere-smith-4847_about_well-the-terrible-thing-right-now-and-i_2995505.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/anna-deavere-smith-4847_about_well-the-terrible-thing-right-now-and-i_2995505.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/anna-deavere-smith-4847_about_well-the-terrible-thing-right-now-and-i_2995505.png) > “Well, the terrible thing right now, and I don't know the statistics, but there's a growing concern in some communities about how rapidly people are sent from school to jail, how quickly they're put into the criminal justice system. And of course the rapidly growing number of brown people, both men and women, in prison. And this is terrible.” [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rapid school‑to‑prison pipelines disproportionately affect brown communities, creating systemic injustice. **In simple terms:** School‑to‑prison harms minorities. Key Takeaway Address systemic bias. Themes justice education racism systemic inequality Mood concerned urgent Type political social When to use this quote - policy making - social work - education reform Key Concepts mass incarceration policy reform community impact Questions to Reflect On - What reforms can break the pipeline? - How can communities support at‑risk youth? A Different Perspective Solutions require broad coalition building. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both/) [Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown/) [Communities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communities/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/course/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Criminal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal/) [Criminal justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-justice/) [Criminal justice system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-justice-system/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-concern-4729166/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [Jail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jail/) [Jail Quickly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jail-quickly-4729165/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-system/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Number](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/number/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prison Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-terrible-2487923/) [Put](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/put/) [Quickly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quickly/) [Quickly Criminal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quickly-criminal-4729167/) [Rapidly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapidly/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-now/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Sent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sent/) [Some](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/some/) [Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-thing/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [Well I certainly have learned and I hope I'm moving on and certainly two years of prison was a terrible punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-archer/well-i-certainly-have-learned-and-i-hope-i-m-moving-on-and-certainly/) [Jeffrey Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-archer/) > [We must walk rapidly but not run. 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