The statement “well if they [Black people] stop committing so much
crime then [they wouldn’t get harassed or arrested soo much]” is ridiculous and
ignorant, although I believe most Americans share that uninformed opinion. I
know different for the following reasons:
1. There is a
lack of correlation between crime and punishment. Although U.S. crime rates
have been on par with other Western countries our rate of incarceration has
skyrocketed (interesting since people were not committing more crime). For
example, our crime rates in the 60’s were matching those of Germany and while
our incarceration rate quadrupled in the 90’s, Germany’s remained stat quo. Our
crime rates as of late are below the international norm; however, we have an
incarceration rate 6-10 times greater than any other “developed” nation. What
this means is that we have created and maintained a prison industrial complex.
We have a system of laws, policies and enforcement created to
disproportionately incarcerate a segment of the U.S. population (Black and
latin@ people).
2. 40% of
Black people incarcerated are there for non violent drug offenses. So is it
that Black people sell and use wild crazy amounts of drugs, more so than White
people? No. Though you may think so if you tune into any form of mainstream
media, because they have been demonizing Black folks since slavery. All races
use and sell drugs at similar rates. For example in 2000 the National Institute
on Drug Abuse did a study that showed that white students where 8 times more
likely to use crack than black students and 7 times more likely to use cocaine.
So no drugs are not only a Black or brown problem.
3. Drug
dealers aren’t just in the hood; they come in all shapes and sizes. Most White
people buy from White dealers, yet there is a discrepancy in rates that Blacks
and Whites are imprisoned.
In short it’s about who the police choose
to stop and why; and what happens to that person once arrested and in the
system. Are they told to plead guilty by their court appointed attorney, just
because the odds are against them, innocence be damned. Black people especially
poor and working class Black men are pushed into the prison industrial complex
at disproportionate rates to their White counterparts who are committing the
same kinds of crime at a greater rate! This is not only my academic conclusion
but my personal experience having been stopped, questioned and stopped &
frisked numerous times with no just or probable cause. Hope this was
enlightening.
All the statistical information came from
the research and citation of Michelle Alexander’s book “The New Jim Crow.”
Alexander is a civil rights advocate and litigator and has worked with the
A.C.L.U..
Here are some other interesting points in
her book, just the tip of the iceberg:
*In her book, “The New Jim Crow,” Michelle
Alexander states that the U.S. has a racial caste system that “stigmatizes a
racial group and locks them into an inferior position by law and custom.” “The
term mass incarceration refers not only to the criminal justice system but also
to the larger web of laws, rules, policies and customs that control those
labeled criminals in and out of prison. Once released, former prisoners enter a
hidden underworld of legalized discrimination and permanent social exclusion.
They are members of America’s new undercaste.”
**”The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its Black
population than South Africa did at the height of Apartheid.”
If you’re really interested in this subject here is a link
to the book!
http://www.amazon.com/New-Jim-Crow-Incarceration-Colorblindness/dp/1595581030/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324259753&sr=1-1
