Black Men and Jail System

“We ain’t thugs for the sake of bein’ thugs. Nobody do that where we grew up at nigga, duh! The poverty line we not above. So I come in the mask and gloves ‘cause we ain’t feelin’ the love. We ain’t doin’ crime for the sake of doin’ crimes. We movin’ dimes ‘cause we ain’t doin’ fine. One out of three of us is locked up doin’ time. You know what this could do to a Nigga’s mind? My mind on my money, money on my mind. If you owe me ten dollars, you ain’t givin’ me nine! Yall ain’t give me 40 acres and a mule. So I got my glock 40 now I’m cool.” Jay-Z Imagine waking up every morning hungry. Rather than just driving down to your local fast food spot, you can not even afford a dollar hamburger from McDonald’s. Imagine falling asleep to the sound of gunfire, rather than the sound of crickets. These conditions sound like the middle of a war zone or third world country, but to the contrary, this is the environment that many black high school students live in. It may seem a little inappropriate to start a paper off with rap lyrics, but to properly represent the voice of young black males, it is extremely appropriate. The fact is that the young black male in today’s society is angry and resentful towards white people. The main reason is for the treatment of their slave ancestors. Seeing successful whites while they are struggling in the slums of America is not fair to the African-American community. Although there have been numerous pleas from black support groups like the NAACP for fair and equal treatment have fallen on deaf ears for these young men. As a result of this many of them have turned to crime. The rate at which black makes are being trapped in the prison system is very alarming. Today African Americans make up 62% of imprisoned drug offenders, although they are only 13.5 of the national population. One out of every 115 black makes enters prison each year on a felony drug conviction, compared with one out of every 1,150 white men according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Black youths are admitted to state correctional facilities for drug offenses at 48 times the rate of white youths according to a report by the Building Blocks for Youth initiative. This is obviously a problem. If a shortage can be created in the circuit of this problem, then the rate at which these young men are straying can be decreased. In the beginning of time humans roamed the earth just living and reproducing. The quote, “So easy a caveman can do it” has an implied meaning that humans were illogical at one time. As logic and discovery came into existence, we evolved into a purposeful society. A boat without a paddle doesn’t make sense anymore. Would soldiers in Iraq continue to fight if there freedom and liberties were not threatened? From rowing the boat to fighting for freedom the common thread is motivation. It is safe to assume that during our lives that the will even if not the want is essential for change to happen. Without some type of motivation, whether positive or negative, even the simplest task is meaningless. Psychology teaches that there are four methods to learning: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, extinction, and punishment. Positive reinforcement is adding something to a situation in order to create a good response. Negative reinforcement is taking something negative away in order to increase a response from someone or something. Extinction is removing something in order to decrease a certain behavior. Punishment is adding something in order to decrease a behavior. It is thought that African-American families use corporal punishment in excess. However by the time a child reaches the age of 13 spankings is pretty much not the answer. Punishment can also bring out other negative responses like anger or resentment. This tells us that solely using one of the four approaches to learning is not the answer. Maybe a more advanced prevention of criminal behavior should be put into place. Rather than just using a punishment extinction method like incarceration, some sort of positive reinforcement should be put into existence. The replacement of the punishment and extinction will decrease the cycle of African-American males ending up in the prison system. Reparations have been an ongoing debate for over 100 years. What needs to be understood is the mentality of the destitute African-American male. As the poor African-American male is examined, his environmental conditions must be taken into consideration as well. Growing up in the “hood” for a young black male is different than young males growing up in suburbia. In the “hood” black males are accustomed to seeing liquor stores and pawnshops on every block. The corner stores that have been abandoned are now the local crack spots. Also, it is fair to say most of them have seen a friend or family member killed.
He also has to learn the “laws of the hood”. He sees the local drug dealer with all the glitz, glamour, and money. The police try and stop him from getting his money thus becoming his enemy. His choices are now to work for minimum wage or become a corner lookout (with the pay being 10 times the minimum wage). Inner city choices are different. Society is not building high paying factories there. What the young black males sees is crime, drugs, eventually a ail cell, or death. What society needs is a solution that will allow the young black male to be able to prosper legitimately in society, perhaps a free education for those who maintain a standard GPA. It would cost no more than what it does to incarcerate a person. The government spends $38.2 billion to maintain the nation’s state correctional facilities. On one inmate per year, $22,650 was spent in 2001. This is roughly the cost of tuition at any number of colleges around the country. In conclusion, there is a society issue that needs to be addressed in our young African-American makes. Society thinks that we live in a society that has got it made. However this can’t be farther from the truth for our young black makes today. It is shocking and unacceptable. America pays its debts to others that it has wronged. Why not fix the relationship between society and the black male? The black race is a proud race of people and is not always looking for a handout as portrayed. Booker T. Washington said ,”I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.” As far as the obstacles the African-American race has overcome, why not assist in helping us overcome our largest obstacle of opportunity?