WATERLOO - Community members joined a panel of legal professionals Thursday to address the disproportionate number of African Americans in Iowa's legal system.

David Goodson, founder of Social Action Inc., said exposing racism in Iowa courts, laws and police departments is the first step towards solving the problem.

"We've got to change the way we treat nonviolent offenders," he said, to a standing-room only crowd at Payne AME Church.

Rep. Deborah Berry, D-Waterloo, said those in the legal system must uphold the law, even when the law is inherently racist. She said mandatory sentencing for drug offenses force judges to lock up nonviolent offenders, many whom are black. Several judges on the panel expressed frustration over the requirements.

"You're having the rapists and murderers lumped into the same category as petty criminals and drug users," she said.

The panel, which also included correctional officers and a Waterloo Police Department captain, acknowledged racism exists in the system, and said changes must also be made at the community level.

A study by the Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C., released this summer found blacks are imprisoned at 13.6 times the white rate in Iowa, the widest disparity in the nation.

Nation of Islam Minister Michael Muhammad gave voice to the frustration in the black community when he turned to the panel and admonished them for furthering injustice.

"There has been an abuse of power," he said. "The most important part of leadership is to take responsibility for the failure for those you're responsible to lead."

District Court Judge Tom Bower said many in the legal community have been trying for years to address the issue. He cited an adult drug court program in Black Hawk County that uses strategies like positive reinforcement to rehabilitate repeat offenders. He said communities must also become more involved to address the social challenges African-American youth face.

"I don't see any reason why several of us can't step forward and be mentors," he said.

District Court Judge George Stigler proposed a more narrowly focused mentoring program that helps ensure people show up for court dates. He said offenders are more likely to be sentenced to jail time if they don't show up for their court date.

"There are too many people who set themselves on a bad course because they don't meet responsibilities," he said.

District Court Judge Steve Clarke said one of the ways to address the social ills at the heart of the problem is for more people to step forward to be foster and adoptive parents.

Most of the community leaders ultimately focused on racism as the core problem that creates the social and economic ills that lead young African Americans into the legal system.

"One of the questions I think white Americans have to deal with is, what am I doing to interrupt racism?" Goodson said.

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.