More Black Men Now in Prison System than Were Enslaved

www.laprogressive.com...

"“More African American men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began,” Michelle Alexander told a standing room only house at the Pasadena Main Library this past Wednesday, the first of many jarring points she made in a riveting presentation."

“Most of that increase is due to the War on Drugs, a war waged almost exclusively in poor communities of color,” she said, even though studies have shown that whites use and sell illegal drugs at rates equal to or above blacks. In some black inner-city communities, four of five black youth can expect to be caught up in the criminal justice system during their lifetimes."

(click the link if you are interested in reading the whole article)

reply to post by ReadyPower


That doesn't surprise me, I remember hearing that 1 in 5 black men are in jail at any given moment.

(2009 - incarceration rates for people of color) "Mass arrests and incarceration of people of color – largely due to drug law violations46 – have hobbled families and communities by stigmatizing and removing substantial numbers of men and women. In the late 1990s, nearly one in three African-American men aged 20-29 were under criminal justice supervision, 47 while more than two out of five had been incarcerated – substantially more than had been incarcerated a decade earlier and orders of magnitudes higher than that for the general population.48 Today, 1 in 15 African-American children and 1 in 42 Latino children have a parent in prison, compared to 1 in 111 white children.49 In some areas, a large majority of African-American men – 55 percent in Chicago, for example50 – are labeled felons for life, and, as a result, may be prevented from voting and accessing public housing, student loans and other public assistance."

They should stop commiting crimes, prison isn't good.

:/

No surprise and is somewhat common knowledge. People will divert attention away from the problem of prohibition and pretend that is a drug problem and thus a reason to arrest people. Anyone in their right mind knows it is a health issue if anything and NOT a legal problem. I hope people start resisting arrest on a grand scale and force the laws to change.

That's because a lot of black people are poor. If you get arrested, and are poor, you are screwed, no matter what color. Public defenders for the most part are in the DA's pocket, they put on a good show of defending if they have to, but normally they are just twisting your arm to cop a plea.

Although quite a few in prisons right now are quite possibly innocent and just victims of racial profiling, slaves were innocent of any crime.

this topic is already being covered here
abovetopsecret.com...

I tried to explain this talking point to a friend of mine, and when I said, "slavery wasn't that bad when all things are considered and compared to how it is now", he gave me the strangest look.

If this report is accurate it is fabulous irony.

We want to be free!

Okay, your free, now go to jail as a free man!


Great stuff.


And of course I am not condoning it, just pointing out how ignorant people when they have their "freedoms".

Originally posted by jude11
Although quite a few in prisons right now are quite possibly innocent and just victims of racial profiling, slaves were innocent of any crime.

Slaves were guilty into being born into poverty. In Africa, they could have been a fallen tribe. So they were guilty of losing a skirmish or war.

Black people born today are guilty of the same thing. Being born into poverty or victims of "the war on crime".


I see absolutely no differences in the parallels. To say that all of a sudden, a large percentage of one population of an ethnicity became "criminal" overnight is BS.
Criminal law is designed. It's not magic. And they choose who to prosecute. If you are friends with an insider in the finance industry (an I mean actual insider, not blind tools) you will hear just how prolific fraud is. But is it enforced to the degree that drugs are?

riiight.

reply to post by boncho


I see what you're getting at but at least they arn't lynching and gunning people down now (oh, wait...).

Also, there may be more black people in prison now than were slaves but what about ratio wise? Most black people back then were slaves, most black people now are not in jail.

maybe just maybe if they quit robbing liqueur stores they wouldn't be in jail..............?

OJ had money and got away with double murder. He got all his money sucked out of him through lawsuit. Now he can't even get away with robbery. That should tell you a little something about our "justice system". Got money to hire a huge lawfirm bigwig, then you will likely get off.

I remember this being posted a few days but i'll say it again i blame the Hip Hop culture.

Originally posted by Viking9019
I remember this being posted a few days but i'll say it again

i blame the Hip Hop culture.

What about rock and roll culture or psychedelic/hippie culture? Lots of anti establishment and substance use found within there too. Maybe the government has no business telling people what they may or may not not consume?

Originally posted by Artanis667
reply to post by boncho

 

I see what you're getting at but at least they arn't lynching and gunning people down now (oh, wait...).

Also, there may be more black people in prison now than were slaves but what about ratio wise? Most black people back then were slaves, most black people now are not in jail.

edit on 2-4-2011 by Artanis667 because: (no reason given)

I'll give you that. The comparison is kind of arbitrary. Although, I'd rather know I was a slave and work around it than think I'm free and still be a slave to a system.

Slavery was bad but it is misrepresented in the history books. And it still goes on today in other forms. Just appeasement of masses we have now.

reply to post by Viking9019


No doubt though the hip hop culture was largely created by poor people. Hip hop, rap, often lyrics of doing what ever it takes to make it out of the ghetto and do something with your life. Not usually through educational institutions but you have to understand there is a certain mentality that "I can't".

You are a poor black child / teen, the streets are what you know. You know what people in the area pay for. You might be able to land a job a mc donalds but as far as being a successful business man? No way, not going to happen, you can't do it. The only way would be through rap, hip hop, R&B, sports, or if you're not talented that way, crime. But in your mind, the chances of you being sucessful in anything else are slim to none. Be realistic, making it as a rapper is 100% more likely than being a doctor. Lol, I know its hard to grasp but its an easy mentality to be in. Especially if the legal system and society has started labling you as a criminal.

Everyone wants to make it, how far are they willing to go to get out of those dirty projects and be able to help out their families? That's all most poor people really want, dispite the tough fascades. Im not talking about bums, im talking about poor families. You gotta be tough to make it in this world from so low, no one cares about you, you have to sell yourself in any way you can just for a possible dream of a better life.

reply to post by Viking9019


That is foolish.... That is like when christians were calling rock and roll the devil. Come on now.... I listen to a select bit of hip hop, I am mostly a metalhead now. I used to be a wigger, rap only back in the day, it didn't possess me and turn me into a gangbanger. I agree most rap is crap now, but it was not much different when I was young. Just my perspective changed really. They are rapping about what they see in life(some of them), the rest are rapping about what the real rappers rapped about, because they know it sells.

The only reason anyone says # about hip hop and rap, because now suburban white boys listen to it and try to emulate it. That is when it became a problem.

Originally posted by ReadyPower
www.laprogressive.com...


“Most of that increase is due to the War on Drugs, ...four of five black youth can expect to be caught up in the criminal justice system during their lifetimes."

edit on 2-4-2011 by ReadyPower because: (no reason given)

I dare say that the above quote from the OP is not consistant with the ratio of criminality between blacks and whites as claimed earlier in the OP's quote. (Actually, this sentence is incorrect within itself if you examine it.)

Interesting considering that the history of the police can be traced back to white bounty hunters searching for runaway slaves.