The Disproportionate Number of African-American Males Incarcerated Within the United States
The disproportionate number of African-American males incarcerated within the United States is a difficult social dilemma that needs to be more fully understood and addressed. This paper will explore the mass incarceration of African-American men. The paper will look into the prevalence, causes, consequences, and offer solutions to this crisis. Specifically, seeking to find what factors have created such high levels of criminal justice control for African-American males, and explore the impact on the family and community.
Incarceration is immense in the United States. Since the 1980s, the United States has experienced a massive increase in incarceration. The overall rate has increased from 139 prisoners per hundred thousand US residents in 1980 to 502 prisoners per hundred thousand US residents in 2009, a 260 percent increase (JobsandtheEconomy, 2011). On December 31, 2010 state and federal correctional authorities had jurisdiction over 1,605,127 prisoners (United States Department of Justice, 2011). Astounding is the fact that there are more than a million and a half Americans behind bars today. Although high, the true startling figure is the inequitable amount of Americans that are incarcerated with black skin.
According to the US Department of Justice, by the end of 2010 black non-Hispanic males had an imprisonment rate seven times higher than white non-Hispanic males (United States Department of Justice, 2011). In fact, when comparing the three major races in the United States, a 2005 study conducted by The Sentencing Project found that “African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six (5.6) times the rate of whites” (Mauer & King, 2010). In November 2010 this lead to the United Nations Human Rights Council, which is responsible for examining the human rights records of all 192 UN member countries to condemn the United States on a wide assortment of civil right abuses.
In particular, the human rights groups slammed the US prison systems.
Incarceration is immense in the United States. Since the 1980s, the United States has experienced a massive increase in incarceration. The overall rate has increased from 139 prisoners per hundred thousand US residents in 1980 to 502 prisoners per hundred thousand US residents in 2009, a 260 percent increase (JobsandtheEconomy, 2011). On December 31, 2010 state and federal correctional authorities had jurisdiction over 1,605,127 prisoners (United States Department of Justice, 2011). Astounding is the fact that there are more than a million and a half Americans behind bars today. Although high, the true startling figure is the inequitable amount of Americans that are incarcerated with black skin.
According to the US Department of Justice, by the end of 2010 black non-Hispanic males had an imprisonment rate seven times higher than white non-Hispanic males (United States Department of Justice, 2011). In fact, when comparing the three major races in the United States, a 2005 study conducted by The Sentencing Project found that “African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six (5.6) times the rate of whites” (Mauer & King, 2010). In November 2010 this lead to the United Nations Human Rights Council, which is responsible for examining the human rights records of all 192 UN member countries to condemn the United States on a wide assortment of civil right abuses.
In particular, the human rights groups slammed the US prison systems.