So,
we can check off racism as one social problem solved? Right?
√ Racism—taken care of…
Not
really.
Even though we elected a
black man for president in 2008.
Did it again in 2012.
Did it again in 2012.
And even though Oprah Winfrey
is one of the wealthiest and most respected women in America—
Consider
the following:
Which country incarcerates
the largest number of its racial and ethnic minorities?
___ China
___
Russia
___
Iran
___
United States
No
other country in the world incarcerates so many of its racial or ethnic
minorities as the United States. The US imprisons a larger percentage of its
black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid.
The
US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, surpassing Russia,
China, and Iran. In Germany, 93 people are in prison for every 100,000 adults
and children. In the US, the rate is 750 per 100,000.
I
know what you’re thinking…
But Isn’t That Because of
the War on Drugs?
The
drug war does account for most of the increase in our prison population.
But
if you think the War on Drugs began because of crack cocaine…think again.
President Reagan announced the War on Drugs in 1982, before crack cocaine
became an issue in neighborhoods or the media.
Drug
crime was actually decreasing when the War on Drugs began.
Check This Out—
Studies
show that people of all colors use and sell drugs at similar rates. Even though
studies indicate that white youth are involved in drug crime at a higher rate
than youth of color, our jails and prisons are overflowing with black and brown
drug offenders.
So,
what’s going on?
Penal System or Social
Control?
In
1972 fewer than 350,000 people were in prisons and jails nationwide. Today—over
2 million.
One
in three young African American men will serve time in prison if current trends
continue.
In
some cities more than half of all young Black men are in prison or on probation
or parole.
The
primary targets of the American Penal system can be defined largely by race.
Crime
rates in other western countries are about the same as in the US.
While
incarceration rates in other western countries have decreased or remained the
same—
incarceration
rates in the US have mushroomed.
This mass
incarceration is more than just the criminal justice system.
There
is also the larger web of laws, rules, policies, and customs that control those
who are labeled criminals…even after they leave prison.
Mass
incarceration is the most damaging backlash against the Civil Rights Movement.
Life After Prison
This
system of control permanently blocks a huge percentage of the African American
community from participating in mainstream society.”
Former
inmates are often denied the right to vote, excluded from juries, kept from
jobs and housing, and relegated to a subordinated existence.
These
laws, regulations, and informal rules, all reinforced by social stigma, confine
former inmates to the margins of mainstream society much as second class
citizenship during the Jim Crow era.
What Can You Do?
For
a more in-depth discussion, read THE NEW JIM CROW: MASS INCARCERATION IN THE
AGE OF COLORBLINDNESS by legal scholar Michelle Alexander. Well-written,
informative, and well documented.
Check
it out at: www.amazon.com/New-Jim-Crow-Incarceration-Colorblindness/dp/1595586431
(Much of the information for this blog came from Alexander’s book.)
To
thrive, this system needs for each of us to remain indifferent.
Consider
writing letters to editors of local newspapers to alert others of the need for
penal reform.
Contact
your congressman to push for penal reform, especially ending the War on Drugs.
Agree?
Disagree? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you.
Chuck
