Premium Essay

Massive Incarceration: a Racial Perspective

In:

Submitted By shamay7
Words 2328
Pages 10
Massive Incarceration: A Racial Perspective
Sociology 350N

Abstract
In 2010 there was a significant imbalance in the incarceration rate of males within the U.S.; these differences were among the ethnic groups of Caucasian (white), Hispanic and African American (black). In reference to the number of people incarcerated per 100,000 in their individual group, black males had the highest number of inmates, followed by Hispanic males; however, white males had the lowest number of prisoners (Wagner, 2012). We must ask the question “why”. Why and how is this occurring? The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world; so, is the system that was designed to protect and serve abusing its power. Some factors that can possibly be contributing to this disproportion is socioeconomic status, prejudices within the criminal justice system and power investments.

Massive Incarceration: A Racial Perspective
Introduction
Today the US makes up for about 5% of the world’s population and carries 25% of the world’s prisoners, this 20% difference shows that the US imprisons more people then actually living in the country (NAACP, 2015). This is the highest prison population when compared to other countries. Records show from 1980 to 2008, the number of individuals that have been incarcerated has quadrupled from 500,000 to 2.3 million (NAACP, 2015). During that time frame crime & poverty rates have also increased dramatically, while unemployment & educational reading and test scores have declined. This is a major issues that congress and national leaders are trying to combat and improve upon. However, when looking at the amount of individuals within the correctional system, are these leaders really doing what they were appointed to do or just masking the problem. According to the NAACP, when combining the number of people in prison and jail with

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Interconnecting Reflection Paper

...at Northern European policies around incarceration rates I wanted to compare the two countries. Unsure of what I wanted to research in the archives, and how this trip could later develop into another paper I needed to write, I started to piece things together as I began to recall articles read over the last two semesters in STPEC in order to bridge together the bigger picture of social and economic injustices impacting communities of color and working class populations....

Words: 797 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Huckleberry Finn Slavery

...Huckleberry Finn is an ideal example of this inevitable battle with oneself. As he matured and blossomed within a racist American society, he was intrinsic to hearing racial slurs and opinions that were common in the time period. The people in Finn’s life hoped to “sivilize [him]” (Twain 3) with clean clothes, an education, and biased views that would turn him into a fitting young man. When Huckleberry escaped from that lifestyle by deceiving the outside world with his death, he evidently displayed the difference between his standards and the ones manifested by the community. His antipathy for the structure of American society suggested he was an abolitionist, but like expressed in Chapter 8, he did not fully accept being called one. “People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum – but that don’t make no difference” (Twain 45-46). The constant variation in Huckleberry’s tolerance...

Words: 831 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

It Takes a Nation of Millions

...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013 1 This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju ________________ Date 2 Abstract This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a result of the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs and the increase of mass incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in campaign known as the “War on Drugs,” which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses the impact of the War on Drugs and the criminal justice policies that have impacted the life chances of Black youth nationwide and calls for a new social movement...

Words: 19872 - Pages: 80

Premium Essay

It Takes a Nation

...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013     1     This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju                                                   ________________          Date   2     A bstract                    This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in camp which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses...

Words: 18864 - Pages: 76

Premium Essay

Disparity of Healthcare for Aids/Hiv Patients

...brief highlights underexplored explanations for these disparities and outlines possible solutions to begin addressing them. Oftentimes, popular culture has offered unfortunately erroneous explanations for the stark racial disparate impact of HIV/ AIDS. The mass media, for example, has suggested that black men “on the down low” infect black women by secretly sleeping with male partners, acting as a bisexual “bridge” between gay and straight communities. But public health scholars have found little support for this theory. Many may assume that black people suffer from greater HIV prevalence because they are considered less sexually responsible than whites. Yet several studies have shown that black women and black men who have sex with men—the two groups most severely impacted by HIV/AIDS—have similar numbers of sexual partners and use condoms as often as their white counterparts. Thus, behavioral risk factors, while important, cannot fully explain the racial disparity. Instead, the racial HIV gap and the racial health gap in general, is strongly correlated with the racial wealth gap, which in turn is the direct outcome of both historical and contemporary processes of segregation in housing, education, employment, and health care as well as racially skewed mass incarceration. In this way,...

Words: 5868 - Pages: 24

Premium Essay

Civil Liberties

...Intro: After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, President Bush and Congress reacted quickly and within one week of the attacks had adopted a joint resolution that gave the President the authority to use military force against any group or individual that was deemed to have any association with the al Qaeda terrorist network; specifically, any group or individual across the globe who was suspected of helping to aid in the planning of the attacks on the United States was now subject to the policing of the United States government (Jackson, 2010). This resolution and vow by President Bush and Congress to take on the war against terrorism resulted in massive military, law enforcement, and intelligence missions being launched in the Middle East and around other parts of the globe. These military and policing efforts resulted in thousands of detentions of citizens and non-citizens as potential suspects, however, in many cases, individuals being detained did not have formal charges placed against them, and they were merely being held on "suspicion" (Jackson, 2010). The most prominent example of indefinite detention of individuals is seen at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba (GITMO). This pattern of indefinite detention of individuals who in many cases have never been charged with a crime has led to a multitude of legal challenges as prisoners have attempted to evoke their rights of habeas corpus in an attempt to get U.S. Federal Courts to hear their cases (Jackson, 2010)...

Words: 2111 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Civil Liberties

...Intro: After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, President Bush and Congress reacted quickly and within one week of the attacks had adopted a joint resolution that gave the President the authority to use military force against any group or individual that was deemed to have any association with the al Qaeda terrorist network; specifically, any group or individual across the globe who was suspected of helping to aid in the planning of the attacks on the United States was now subject to the policing of the United States government (Jackson, 2010). This resolution and vow by President Bush and Congress to take on the war against terrorism resulted in massive military, law enforcement, and intelligence missions being launched in the Middle East and around other parts of the globe. These military and policing efforts resulted in thousands of detentions of citizens and non-citizens as potential suspects, however, in many cases, individuals being detained did not have formal charges placed against them, and they were merely being held on "suspicion" (Jackson, 2010). The most prominent example of indefinite detention of individuals is seen at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba (GITMO). This pattern of indefinite detention of individuals who in many cases have never been charged with a crime has led to a multitude of legal challenges as prisoners have attempted to evoke their rights of habeas corpus in an attempt to get U.S. Federal Courts to hear their cases (Jackson, 2010)...

Words: 2111 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Nelson Mandela

...Perseverance and Integrity in the Face of Trials and Tribulations: Nelson Mandela’s Role in the Realization of Racial Equality and Freedom in South Africa Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………..2 Chaos and Dissension in South Africa…………………………………………...3 Mandela – The Charismatic Leader……………………………………………….5 Iconic Image of Integrity and Perseverance………...…………………….………6 Uniting the African National Congress……………..………………………....….9 Mandela Takes Reconciliatory Action…………….………………………….….11 Mandela’s Unique Advantage ……………………..……………………….……13 Conclusion……………………………….…………..……………………………15 Bibliography……………………………….…………..………………………….16 Introduction The iconic figure of Nelson Mandela stands today as a perpetual symbol of perseverance in the long battle to dismantle apartheid. It was a battle for which he was “prepared to die for,” a struggle against not only white domination but also black domination.[1] However, as the apartheid era drew to a close, Mandela’s crusade for a democratic “rainbow nation”[2] looked despairingly unattainable as South Africa came perilously close to descending into utter chaos. Nevertheless, Mandela, long time anti-apartheid activist and leader in the African National Congress (ANC), continued the struggle for his dream of a multicultural nation. Some have expressed the opinion that though the African National Congress was without a doubt instrumental...

Words: 4642 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

Holocaust

...4823: The Holocaust/ the Shoah Final Paper December 12, 2013 The Comparative Analysis of the Holocaust Ethnic cleansing and genocide are considered to coexist in a spectrum of assaults on nations or religio-ethnic groups. These threats were more prominent during the 20th century which caused massive violations of human rights and jeopardized the overall security of humans. Determinants of ethnic cleansing and genocide root from socio-political factors influenced by deeply embedded ideologies which are manifested by political leaders of specific regime types. During World War II, German authorities targeted Jews and other minority groups like the gypsies and Pols due to their perceived racial inferiority. The German ideology in attempt to eradicate these auxiliary groups led to the conflict known as the Shoah. The Shoah is the biblical word meaning destruction and it is the standard Hebrew term for the murder of European Jewry. The Shoah was the systematic, bureaucratic and state sponsored persecution of six million Jews. Comparable to other ethnic based genocides, Germans believed they were racially superior and that Jews were inferior; and deemed a threat to the “German racial community” resulting in their mass murder. Various interpretations of the Shoah has given rise to similar attitudes and opinions regarding its historical events. The Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database, is one of the largest resources of its kind which includes millions of personal records from...

Words: 3519 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Crime

...Necessity knows no law. Bần cùng sinh đạo tặc. In December 2008, just a few months after the U.S. financial system imploded, New York City was hit by a flurry of bank robberies. On the Monday before New Year’s, four banks were attacked in an hour-and-a-half; one daytime raid took place just steps from the Lincoln Center in downtown Manhattan. The week before, San Diego had seen four bank holdups in a single day. Criminologists wondered if the holiday spree was the first sign of a looming crime wave in recession-battered America. Take an uptick in poverty and economic misery, toss in budget cuts to police departments across the country, and that should be a blueprint for chaos—right? Except, as it turns out, the exact opposite occurred. According to FBI statistics, crime rates went down across the board in 2009. Way down. Murder, rape, robbery, assault, auto theft—plummeted, one and all. Then, this week, the FBI released preliminary data for the first six months of 2010, and again the same pattern emerged. Violent crimes and property crimes alike have been falling in every region of the country. What gives? Have experts just completely misunderstood what causes people to commit crimes?   There's certainly no shortage of theories for why crime rates have gone down over the past two years. The simplest is that crime just isn’t closely related to economic conditions. Consider, after all, the two big crime epidemics in the twentieth century—the first took root in the late 1960s...

Words: 10363 - Pages: 42

Free Essay

Ban the Box: Employment Discrimination and the Ex - Offender

...THE EMPLOYER AND THE EX-OFFENDER: THE DISCRIMINATORY EFFECTS OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………… 3 II. OFFENDER AND EX OFFENDER HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES………….. 5 A. LEGAL HISTORY OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EX OFFENDERS ……… 5 B. THE NUMBER OF EX OFFENDERS IS RAPIDLY INCREASING .............................................................................8 C. IMPACT OF CONVICTION ON EMPLOYABILITY OF EX OFFENDERS ................................................................. 10 III. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AID IN THE DISPROPORTIONATE EXCLUSION OF
 MINORITIES ………………………………………………………………………………… 13 A. EMPLOYERS ARE PREJUDICED UPON FINDING CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS .................................................. 13 B. BLACKS AND LATINOS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE WORK FORCE DUE TO STIGMAS OF MINORITY STATUS AND CRIMINAL RECORD ....................................................................................................................... 15 IV. HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY TURNS ON EMPLOYER HIRING PRACTICES INFLUENCED BY CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS………………………………………………………………………………………… 18 A. THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION ATTEMPTS TO PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED GUIDANCE ON CONDUCTING CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AND SUBSEQUENT HIRING PRACTICES ..................................................................................................................... 18 B. NOTABLE LEGAL ACTION STEMMING...

Words: 14524 - Pages: 59

Premium Essay

Broken Family

...Delinquency 1 The “Broken Home” or Broken Society A Sociological Study of Family Structure and Juvenile Delinquency By Hillary R. Sheehan Advised by Professor Chris Bickel SocS 461, 462 Senior Project Social Science Department College of Liberal Arts CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY Winter, 2010 © 2010 Hillary Sheehan Delinquency 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page Research Proposal…………………………………………………………………………3 Annotated Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...5 Outline……………………………………………………………………………………10 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..14 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………15 The “Broken Home”: Truth or Trend……………………………………………15 Statistics on Single-Parent Families and Juvenile Delinquency…………………21 Case Study……………………………………………………………………….23 Theories…………………………………………………………………………..27 Criticisms………………………………………………………………………...32 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….34 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..36 Delinquency 3 Research Proposal The goal of this research paper is to explore the topic of juvenile delinquency and to analyze the cause of such behavior. The topic of most interest is how the family structure plays a role in delinquent behavior and what can be said about the so called broken home. There is a lot of research in criminal justice that tries to explore the reasons behind people’s behavior and this paper is intending to address youth who have been involved in the system. By exploring this topic I hope to get a better...

Words: 9153 - Pages: 37

Free Essay

Pop Culture

...in the Making: Ethnic Relations and Indian Identities around Puget Sound, by Alexandra Harmon 4. Aztlán and Viet Nam: Chicano and Chicana Experiences of the War, edited by George Mariscal 5. Immigration and the Political Economy of Home: West Indian Brooklyn and American Indian Minneapolis, by Rachel Buff 6. Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Interests in the Middle East,1945–2000, by Melani McAlister 7. Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco’s Chinatown, by Nayan Shah 8. Japanese American Celebration and Conflict: A History of Ethnic Identity and Festival, 1934–1990, by Lon Kurashige 9. American Sensations: Class, Empire, and the Production of Popular Culture, by Shelley Streeby 10. Colored White: Transcending the Racial Past, by David R. Roediger 11. Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico, by Laura Briggs 12. meXicana Encounters: The Making of Social Identities on the Borderlands, by Rosa Linda Fregoso 13. Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight, by Eric Avila 14. Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom, by Tiya Miles 15. Cultural Moves: African Americans and the Politics of Representation, by Herman S. Gray Cultural Moves African Americans and the Politics of Representation Herman S. Gray UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley . Los Angeles . London Chapter 1 appeared as “The New Conditions of Black Cultural Production, Or Prefiguring of a Black Cultural...

Words: 98852 - Pages: 396

Free Essay

One Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.

...E SSAYS ON TWENTIETH-C ENTURY H ISTORY In the series Critical Perspectives on the Past, edited by Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig Also in this series: Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes, eds., Oral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD Allen Hunter, ed., Rethinking the Cold War Eric Foner, ed., The New American History. Revised and Expanded Edition E SSAYS ON _ T WENTIETH- C ENTURY H ISTORY Edited by ...

Words: 163893 - Pages: 656

Premium Essay

Introduction to Criminology

...Introduction To Criminology Prof. Dr. Ayman Elzeiny A-why criminology? There is very important and critical questions , impose it self at our minds. why do people get paid to study crime and criminal behavior , and why do people engage in this area of study ? There are a variety of answers of these questions, built around many kinds of concerns , like the anxiety, anger , and fear that are common responses to crime of the future crimes . former victims of crimes may contribute of showing the importance of studying criminology by, transferring them experience and feeling of anxiety, anger, and fear which Generated from crimes to other persons . Then the need to study criminology become at the forefront of priorities , to predict and control crime; the hope of preventing crime through individual and social reform the wish to understand and explain crime and societal reactions to it; and the simple desire to learn more about crime and what it can tell us about our society . Criminologists disagree, sometimes violently, about which of these kinds of concerns are most legitimate and important . So Criminology was the composite result of the thinking and endeavors of many people, and them desire to the understanding the individual behavior and deviation and the structuring of the social order . The study of crime has engaged the interest of many academic disciplines. Building on centuries of philosophical debate, systematic attempts to explain crime emerged...

Words: 8165 - Pages: 33