Course Project
LeAnne Aragon
SOC350
Gail Rognan
April 14, 2012

Introduction Sharp differences in drug arrest rates in different U.S. cities show that much of the racial disparity is the result of decisions by local law enforcement officials to concentrate enforcement in minority inner-city neighborhoods rather than, for instance, in majority white suburbs (Disproportionate Incarceration. 2009). The proof of this lies in the data that one in nine black men between the ages of 25-29 are incarcerated compared to one in 30 other men of the same age. Why? The purpose of this paper is to investigate how racial discrimination in the justice system still exists and how it correlates to the misconception that drug abuse and drug dealing activity is more prevalent among African American males in this age group. Another factor to be addressed is how society has victimized the black man in the “get tough on crime” and the “war on drug” movements. And finally, this paper will address how continued discrimination affects peoples’ ability to change.
Race and Imprisonment in the United States
Statistics show that African-American men make up 13.6 percent of the U.S. population and 40.2 percent of the U.S. prison population. Even though rates of drug use and selling are similar across the races, people of color are far more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated for drug law violations than are whites. Michelle Alexander, the author of "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," wrote “ there are more African American men in prison and jail, or on probation and parole, than were slaves before the start of the Civil War” (Alexander, 2012, p. 118). Some blame the ‘war on drugs’ movement; others say it’s the ‘get tough on crime’ movement that is purposefully focusing on low income areas because they are easy targets. Yet others, like Charlene Muhammad, say that “A new American slave trade is booming.” Ms. Mohammad contends that this slave trade is linked to the profits that the prison system accumulates from using prisoners as cheap labor and for the outrageous charges they impose upon the inmates and families for their basic necessities (Muhammad, 2008).
Whatever the reason, black men between the ages of 25-29, more than any other race, are being shuttled into prisons, branded as criminals and felons, and then when they're released, they're relegated to a permanent second-class status, stripped of the very rights supposedly won in the civil rights movement (Alexander, 2012).
Targeted Communities
The war on drugs is a war on the minorities and the poor (Kain, 2012). Although it has been established that both white and minorities use and sell drugs with approximately the same frequency, blacks and other minorities are taking the hit. Why is this?
Racial profiling, the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin, ("Racial Profiling," 2009, para. 1) is one reason for why African Americans are being arrested and sentenced more than whites. African Americans are more likely to be stopped, searched and charged with a crime than any other race. Also the instances of arrest in lower socio-economic neighborhoods is greater due to more police patrolling in predominately black and minority communities than in other areas .
What is interesting is that today police no longer have to have a reason to believe someone in engaged in criminal activity in order to stop and search them. Because people are easily intimidated by police, they will readily consent to being searched. Who is going to say no to a cop with his hand on his gun saying, “Can I frisk you?” Likewise, police are targeting black and brown drivers for minor traffic offenses like failure to signal and then tearing their cars apart looking for drugs. But where is this happening?
It is undoubtedly not an everyday occurrence in white middle class neighborhoods or on college campuses. However, it is happening in poor communities, predominantly ones of color.
Disparities in the Justice System
Law enforcement practices alone do not account for the extensive social disparities noted in criminal justice outcomes (Mauer, 2010). Low-income, minority defendants are at a disadvantage due to not being able to hire their own defense counsel; court appointed attorneys have high caseloads and limited resources. Another drawback is that many of these offenders are without telephones. Owning a telephone is one factor used in making a recommendation so that the court can stay in contact with the defendant. But for persons who do not own a phone, this seemingly innocuous requirement becomes an obstacle to pretrial release (“Justice for all?” para.13). Furthermore, at sentencing these defendants have no outside resources to enter a treatment program as a plea agreement. Another commonly known disparity created in the sentencing standards is the lengthier sentences for drug charges on crack cocaine that creates racial disparities because crack cocaine is cheaper to obtain than the powder cocaine. Until last year when President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act that narrows the crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity from 100:1 to 18:1 and for the first time eliminates the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine (“Obama Signs Bill,” 2010, para. 1) minorities, mostly African American males between the ages of 25-29, were sentenced to 5 years for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine and 10 years for trafficking. In contrast, the majority of white males in the same age bracket were sentenced to 5 years for possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine and 10 years for trafficking. Also the number of convictions of white males was significantly less due to their ability to hire their own defense attorneys and arrange for treatment in drug rehabilitation centers.
What does this all mean?
What this means is that people of color are no more likely to use or sell drugs than middle- class whites, they just pay a higher price. It means that the poor who are locked away in prisons for 5-10 years on felony drug charges get released back into the streets with less resources than before they got arrested and convicted. It means that they have to check the little box on every job application that asks if they’ve ever been convicted of a felony, and that they are now ineligible for public housing for a minimum of 5 years. In addition, they are automatically disqualified from receiving food stamps. These labeled felons are most assuredly going to find themselves back behind bars – it’s just a matter of time.
How can people be expected to change when we give them nothing – no resources and no hope? These men, newly released from prison that can’t get jobs, have no place to live, and receive no help from anyone are doomed. Their families and friends are afraid to help them because they, too, are poor and rely on public housing, food stamps and minimal income. They fear losing what little they have and so they turn their backs. Helpless and hopeless these men head to the streets. With no home and unable to obtain employment they feel defeated. Many of these men are now without healthcare unable to get needed medications. They hang their heads in shame. They are outcasts. They turn to the only friends they know –drugs. Drugs mask the pain; dealing buys more drugs, cigarettes and food. What choice do they have?

Conclusion
Poor, black communities are branded. It is believed that because you are a person of color and live in a poor neighborhood, you accept crime and drug use and going to prison as part of the “norm”. This couldn’t be further from the truth. These are people, just like you and I, who want decent jobs, nice homes, and good education for their children. They want the same rights and the same opportunities as the young white man from middle-class suburbia who was arrested on the same drug possession charges; he was able to retain a private attorney who most-probably entered him into a plea agreement where his charges were dropped from a felony to a misdemeanor. He, maybe, performed community service, did some time in a rehab facility and is back in college laughing with his friends about his little escapade and how he trumped the system.
Michelle Alexander writes, “No other country in the world disenfranchises people who are released from prison in a manner even remotely resembling the United States” (Alexander, 2012, p. 153). How sad is this? In conclusion, the effects of discrimination are long-lasting. It causes feelings of worthlessness, believing that one’s talents, skills or abilities will forever go unnoticed, and sensing that no matter what you do to try to change things, you’ll never succeed because you are who you are – or who people perceive you to be. For these young men, this is life. You try to survive either inside or outside of the prison walls.

References
Alexander, M. (2012). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (“Rev.” ed.). New York, NY: The New Press.
Disproportionate Incarceration. (2009). In Encyclopedia of Race and Crime. Retrieved from credoreference.com/entry/sagerc/disproportionate_incarceration
Kain, E. (2012). Race and the War on Drugs. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com
Mauer, M. (2010). Justice for All? Challenging Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System. Human Rights, 37(4), 14-16.
Muhammad, C. (2008, March 20). America’s Black Slavery: Black Men in Prison. The Final Call. Retrieved from http://thefinalcall.com
President Obama Signs Bill Reducing Cocaine Sentencing Disparity. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org
Racial Profiling: Definition. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org
Williams, J. (2011, February 9). Racial disparities in the criminal justice system. North Carolina Bar Association newsletter. Retrieved from http://criminaljustice.ncbar.org/newletters