Mass Incarceration by tiffany whittington
Mass Incarceration The United States, often referred to as the land of the free, is home to the world’s largest population of imprisoned individuals, mostly consisting of individuals from minority communities. The problem of racial discrimination within the justice system has it’s roots in the practice of slavery, which created a racial hierarchy in America, and persisted even past slavery’s abolishment in 19865. White Americans found a way to keep Black people under their power, forcing them into servitude through the enforcement of racist laws that criminalized the behaviors of African Americans across the north and the south. Mass incarceration is one of the most pressing civil rights issues of the 21st century, yet receives little political and legislative attention. The Equal Justice Initiative reports that over 7 million Americans have become entangled in the United States’ current prison system representing a widespread problem that transcends political and racial divides. There must be action.
mass
incarceration: the facts and figures
the American prison system has been turned into an...
your favorite president supported
institutionalized racism (looking @ you white america)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) Johnson organized the Crime Commission which built prisons based on the growth of the black community
Johnson also increased the police presence in low-income black communities to create more “law-abiding” black men
Richard Nixon (1969-1974) Nixon’s war on drugs established mandatory minimums for drugrelated crimes bringing the prison population up from 300,000 to 2.3 million under his watch Nixon’s domestic policy chief later revealed Nixon started the war on crime to villainize black Americans in order to increase his own job security by disrupting the black community and it’s leaders
Ronald
Reagan (1981-1989)
Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act into law which penalized crack cocaine (often used in lower-income black communities) at a shockingly harsher rate that the powdered counterpart used in rich white communities
Under the Reagan Administration the prison population more than doubled, revealing just how damaging his policies were
Bill Clinton
(1993-2001)
Clinton signed the infamous Crime Bill into effect that created a “three-strike� system that dictated the mandatory minimum of a life sentence if a person committed 3 or more felonies
These mandatory minimums disproportionately affected black American populations, further increasing their entanglement in the corrupt U.S. prison system
how schools are failing black youth
The School to Prison Pipeline A huge source of mass incarceration is the disproportionate enforcement of punishments on young people of color. Starting as young as elementary school, minority students face higher rates of suspension and disciplinary action, with over 70 percent of students who are involved in school-related arrests or referred to law enforcement are black or Latino. Minors of color also represent almost 70 percent of juveniles in detention centers, and black youths were arrested two times more often than Caucasian equals. An increasing number of state budgets focus more on incarceration than education, and systems are not set in place in order to stop the continuation of crime into adulthood. This phenomena, deemed the school to prison pipeline, is defined by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund as the “funneling of students out of school and into the streets and the juvenile correction system perpetuates a cycle known as the ‘School-to-Prison-Pipeline,’ depriving children and youth of meaningful opportunities for education, future employment, and participation in our democracy.”
How this has been allowed
Felony Disenfranchisement This cycle of incarceration has not only contributed to the stripping of freedom for many Black Americans, but has also led to the stripping of voter rights from many. The trend of the revocation of voter rights for felons stemmed from a new draft of the Alabama constitution in 1901, in which the delegates met to “establish white supremacy by law.” The delegates, in an effort sidestep federal regulations that made banning voters just on the basis of race illegal, mandated that anyone convicted of a felony involving “moral turpitude” could not vote without government restoration of rights. As time passed, more and more states adopted similar constitutions restricting the right to vote to those without convictions of crimes they deemed “black.” One in thirteen African American citizens cannot vote under outdated felony voting restriction laws, compromising 38 percent of those stripped of voting rights. Although the Voting Rights Act of 1965 attempted to outlaw any voter discrimination based on race, felony voting restrictions persisted in 48 states after the passage of the act, despite their disproportionate impact on the black community. Many states including Virginia, have taken steps to restore voting rights to thousands, giving a voice to those silenced politically by the criminal justice system and discriminatory legislation.
solutions
One of the most effective solutions to the problem of mass incarceration is the abolishment of all prisons in America, popularized by activists like Angela Davis. Prison abolition movements see prison as a means only to remove able-bodied, employable individuals from communities who need them the most. Prison abolition-
ists seek to instill a rehabilitation focused reform system rather than a punitive system that just locks away those in need of help. The prison abolition movement has gained traction in many leftleaning social circles, but has seen little progress in impacting the minds of those with political power.
Political Activism: Americans can progress towards criminal justice reform by voting for politicians who are aware of the racism imbedded into the criminal justice system, and those with plans to address it. Voters should also take care to elect district attorneys that champion reform rather than the continuation of unequal and poor quality legal representation.
Social Reform: In order to invoke change, there needs to support for those already entangled in the corrupt system. People who live in prisons need support, and to be humanized in a world that attempts to deduct their entire existence down to one decision. By writing to the people in prisons through pen pal services, sharing the injustices that are discovered and published on social media, and offering support in the means of actual physical protests and monetary help, support can not just be discussed, but realized into action.
things we sponsor
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Glossary: Mass incarceration (n.) — the imprisonment of a large proportion of a population Disenfranchisement (n.) — the state of being deprived of a right or privilege, especially the right to vote. Institutionalized racism (n.) - Racial discrimination that has become established as normal behavior within a society or organization through the use of biased laws or practices
For Further Reading: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman Jr.
From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America by Elizabeth Hinton
Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People's Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time by James Kilgore