As I See It: High Rate of Black Incarceration Is Challenge To Us All

WorkingForChange ^ | 4.18.03 | Cynthia Tucker

[fight_truth_decay]

With little protest from its crime-weary citizens, the United States has become the prison camp of the Western world, locking up 2 million of its population. Young black men are a disproportionate number of the inmates. Among men between 20 and 34, 1.4 percent of white men and 4 percent of Hispanic men are behind bars. But 12 percent of black men in that same age group are incarcerated, according to the Justice Department.

That is a stunning statistic. No community can survive the effective loss of so many of its young men.

And the 12 percent figure manages to minimize the crisis, since it is a snapshot of the prison population over any given day. According to Allen Beck, chief demographer for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly 30 percent of black men will be incarcerated during their lives.

Yet you hear little outcry from civil rights advocates. Al Sharpton has campaigned against slavery in Sudan. Jesse Jackson battles gender segregation at Augusta National. Georgia civil rights activist Tyrone Brooks protests the possible return of the Confederate battle flag to the state Capitol.

But the high rate of incarceration -- which is decimating the black working class -- is not the central focus of civil rights advocates. How could that be? It is the single most daunting challenge to black America today because it creates the conditions that lead to other failures.

Already, nearly 70 percent of black children are born outside the bonds of marriage -- leaving those children more vulnerable to educational failure, drug abuse and early parenthood themselves. A community is in trouble when children born to two-parent families represent a minority.

But with so many men of marriageable age behind bars, there is little hope for rebuilding the black family structure. Even when released from prison, those men will make poor prospects for marriage. With criminal histories, they will not easily find good jobs. Moreover, hard time in prison often turns a bad criminal into a worse one -- a man who will be disinclined to rejoin society on any but the most destructive terms.

Clearly, there are among black prisoners many violent felons who deserve their sentences. They are men who rob, murder, rape and maim, making war zones of their neighborhoods. The presence of violent predators not only endangers the lives of law-abiding citizens, but it also ruins economic prospects. Down-at-the-heels neighborhoods have a chance at rebirth only when their streets are safe.

But America's criminal justice system does a poor job of separating the hardened criminal from the minor offender with a shot at rehabilitation -- especially if the offenders are black. Research shows that black men are more likely to be imprisoned for minor offenses, while white men are more likely to be given probation for the same crimes.

This impulse to imprison black men now stretches to include the man-child. Frightened by a few highly publicized juvenile crimes, politicians began imposing harsher sanctions on juvenile offenders in the early 1990s. Predictably, the lash has fallen more frequently on black and brown boys than white.

Among young people who have never been to a juvenile prison, blacks are more than six times as likely as whites to be sentenced by juvenile courts to prison time, according to a 2000 report, "And Justice for Some," issued by the Justice Department and several foundations. For those charged with drug offenses, black youths are 48 times more likely than whites to be sentenced to juvenile prisons, the report said.

It is now possible to visit black neighborhoods where most of the young men have disappeared, where families spend their Sundays visiting their incarcerated loved ones, where boys believe going to prison is a rite of manhood. Those neighborhoods cannot hope to offer their residents a route into the American mainstream.

The epidemic of incarceration ought to be the full-time preoccupation of every civil rights group -- indeed, every human rights group -- in the country. It represents a grave threat to the future not only of black America but to all of America.

Cynthia Tucker is editorial page editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She can be reached by e-mail: cynthia@ajc.com.

[freebilly]

Among persons convicted of drug felonies in state courts, whites were less likely than African-Americans to be sent to prison. Thirty-three percent (33%) of convicted white defendants received a prison sentence, while 51% of African-American defendants received prison sentences.

The world's smallest violin is now playing....

[fight_truth_decay]

Al Sharpton has campaigned against slavery in Sudan

Al Sharpton NEVER fought against slavery in the Sudan. That is a LIE.

Rev. Al Sharpton's recent trip to the Sudan, which was financed by Christian Solidarity International, Rev. Sharpton revealed that he was informed of instances of forced labor occurring among rebel groups in Southern Sudan....it is also Christian Solidarity International that supports the SPLA who are known "slave" traders themselves. For years CSI has called for international support of the SPLA after it has been documented by the US State Department and human rights organizations that the group was abducting young boys and women in the South and forcing them to labor, among other things.

[cyborg]

One trip to the Sudan doesn't make a campaign. Sharpton realizes like many other race baiters that such issues don't get money and attention. I read the article. There have been many christians sending money to buy slaves' freedom. One person I used to listen to was a Ethiopian Jew named William Levi, Operation Nehemiah Trumpet Call. Also, Curtis Sliwa and the Anti-Slavery group has done much in the way of activism on behalf of Sudanese slaves.

SPLA... used to be a such a good group. They've gone the way of many civil rights group... outdated,outliving their usefulness.

[glockmeister40]

Young black men are a disproportionate number of the inmates.

Young black men commit a disproportionate number of the crimes.

Prison is the best place for them. At least while they're locked up they can not victimize the rest of us.

Yes, it is very expensive to keep them in prison. It would cost society more if they were loose on the streets.

[Trickyguy]

Let me see...prisons full of Africans and Mexicans....not
Swedes...federal government encourages the first and excludes the second...hmmm....I think I see a problem here...

[fight_truth_decay]

One trip to the Sudan doesn't make a campaign

I didn't explain myself well. I was referencing 2 statements previously made- one from the body of the text and to the comment made. I agree, it takes more than one visit to be a FIGHT for something and I questioned even the CAMPAIGN when it is financed throught a group who's hands may be dirty as well. Sharpton is said by observers in the Sudan; however, to be the only civil rights leader that has raised questions on slavery issues by the SPLA as well; but then if he has such questions, why did he accept their financing to make such a trip?

[fight_truth_decay]

I agree with 'you do the crime, you do the time'; but I feel EQUAL justice for all and I see BIG BUSINESS in come instances within the prison system. It costs society more than what is just the obvious.

Respectfully
F_T_D

[goldstategop]

Agreed. Its easy to blame Whitey and the system for locking up large numbers of black men as Cynthia Tucker does. Its also a straw man argument. What it deflects attention from is what is leading all these black men to be locked up in the first place? If the black community spent more time answering this question and changing conditions in the black community, a lot fewer black men would need to be locked up to begin with. As usual Cindy is so blinded by rage she can't see what's in front of her and tell fellow blacks that its time to wake up and take steps to keep young black males from pursuing a life of crime. Of course that would mean having to take some responsibility for one's own plight and the reigning credo of liberalism is someone else is at fault for your problems. Until that mindset changes, high numbers of black men will continue to be locked up in prisons across America and I for one don't have a problem with it. Its what needs to be done to keep society safe, especially inner city black neighborhoods, no matter how terrible it might look for TV. Too bad Cindy and her ilk still don't get it.

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[Blueflag]

"statistics" like the following should give one pause -- to understnad their veracity and to explore the 'why?' behind the stats.

At face value they imply a systemic bias. I'd like to understand the truth.

---

"Research shows that black men are more likely to be imprisoned for minor offenses, while white men are more likely to be given probation for the same crimes.

Cynthia Tucker inflammatory hyperbole follows --

This impulse to imprison black men now stretches to include the man-child. Frightened by a few highly publicized juvenile crimes, politicians began imposing harsher sanctions on juvenile offenders in the early 1990s. Predictably, the lash has fallen more frequently on black and brown boys than white.

---

Like to know the 'why' behind this as well.

Among young people who have never been to a juvenile prison, blacks are more than six times as likely as whites to be sentenced by juvenile courts to prison time, according to a 2000 report, "And Justice for Some," issued by the Justice Department and several foundations. For those charged with drug offenses, black youths are 48 times more likely than whites to be sentenced to juvenile prisons, the report said. "

[alrea]

The tragedy is not that these people are somehow (inferentially for no reason of their own) in prison. It is that they got sent to prison because they did not learn civilized behavior. The errors are in their parents, their schools, their institutions (such as churches, etc.), and in their communities generally.

Over 80% of the African American males in prison come from single parent families. Here is the crime factory.

Something is keeping activists, churches, schools, institutions... from bringing this fact up. It's a culture of unprotected sex that is driving this violent crime explosion.

[PaxMacian]

"30 percent of black men will be incarcerated during their lives"

Hmmmmm! Loss of voting rights from felony possession charges is the sole purpose of the WOD. Anybody remember that 2/3 of a person thing in the constitution? Looks like its back again. Courtesy of the War on Drugs.

[LaraCroft]

No as the quote says, blacks and whites commit the SAME crime, white gets probation, black gets jail. Whats so difficult to understand about that being wrong?

"Among young people who have never been to a juvenile prison, blacks are more than six times as likely as whites to be sentenced by juvenile courts to prison time, according to a 2000 report, "And Justice for Some," issued by the Justice Department and several foundations. For those charged with drug offenses, black youths are 48 times more likely than whites to be sentenced to juvenile prisons, the report said. "

[RipSawyer]

"It would be better to repeal most laws, except for ones involving harming another person, property crimes, or fraud."

Amen, brother, it certainly would be better. Never happen though.

[dark_lord]

No as the quote says, blacks and whites commit the SAME crime, white gets probation, black gets jail. Whats so difficult to understand about that being wrong?

Without further data one can come to different conclusions. One conclusion is that judges are racist, correct? But another possibility might be that the black teenagers have a much higher rate of previous legal violations, thus after several offenses they are sent to prison. If this were the case, then the "problem" is no problem. The white kids busted get probation because it is a first or 2nd offense, the black kids get jail because it is an 8th or 9th offense -- a previous record of graffiti "tagging", shoplifting, hanging with gangers at 3AM, etc.

The point is, without more data one cannot make a conclusion either way. But this 2nd example show that it is possible the different rates of incarceration are not due to racist judges.

[boop]

But prisoners are overwhelmingly male, period. Doesn't this represent sexism? Shouldn't we release male prisoners until there are only as many female prisoners? Why isn't this just as "logical"? Can we conclude that all males are discriminated against by bigoted judges? Are judges more lenient to females, aspecially if they have small children at home?

[VMI70]

"But the high rate of incarceration -- which is decimating the black working class..."

You have to work to have a "black working class", and therein lies the problem. There are plenty of jobs around. The problem is one has to show up every day, dress appropriately, and not have an attitude.

As an employer pointed out on an earlier thread, for her it is purely a business decision not to hire blacks, because if she fired them, then more often than not, she had to waste her time dealing with some kind of EOE complaint.

[VMI70]

"...high rate of poor education."

Go to your next local school board meeting. There you will find the origin of the "poor education".

If you can manage to survive the odor of musk perfume and cologne without retching, you will hear the board members murder the King's english as they complain that they don't have the resources (money) to correct the problem. It will be the sole subject on the agenda.

You will either laugh or cry. Whatever your reaction, it will be an enlightening experience.

[davisfh]

"No as the quote says, blacks and whites commit the SAME crime, white gets probation, black gets jail. Whats so difficult to understand about that being wrong?"

If that is what is really happening, then I have no problem understanding that to be wrong, Lara. I don't have the stats on this problem but I seriously suspect that a lot of these allegations are simply liberal excuses. It seems to me that if whites are being given lighter sentences or no jail time at all for crimes identical to those committed by blacks, then that is provable and verifiable and would, in short order, be stopped. I'm not from Missouri but I do have to be shown.

[Spook86]

I was surprised to see Ms. Tucker include that salient statistic, which goes a long way toward explaining the problem: the rate of illegitimate births in the African-American community. When seven out of ten black kids are born to an unwed mother, it's simply a recipie for social disaster. Incidentally, I'm now a public school teacher, and I see the seeds of this epidemic every day. You don't have to be a sociologist, psychologist, or anthropologist to spot kids raised in solid, two-parent homes, and those growing up in single-parent families. Sadly, most of the black kids in our school fall into that latter category. Not surprisingly, they have far more behavior and academic problems than kids raised in a traditional home. There is simply no substitute for the presence of a loving, caring involved father in a child's life.

Of course, Ms. Tucker has a different take on the problem. I'm sure she believes it can be solved with a new wave of government programs and intervention effort. Rubbish. What we need is individual responsibility and moral leadership within the African-American community. Too many black kids grow up idolizing "gangsta" rappers and irresponsible pro athletes, believing that success is merely a matter of dribbling a basketball, or creating a rap ditty that glorifies violence and thug behavior.

Ms. Tucker is right about one thing. This problem--and its root pathologies--is a problem everyone should be concerned about. Afterall, white kids are the biggest buyers of rap CDs, and have done as much as any group to popularize that type of music. And, lest we forget, the illegitimacy rate in white American is now about 20%--roughly the same level of the African-American community 40 years ago.

With whites representing 88% of the American population, the implication is clear. If the illegitimacy rate in white American ever approaches even 40%, this nation is finished...