Adult black males are nearly 12 times as likely to be imprisoned for drug convictions as adult white men.
Why are blacks punished for drug crimes more often than whites?
Even though blacks and whites use illegal drugs at roughly equal rates, blacks are more likely to end up in prison as a result. Apart from crowding prisons, one result is a devastating impact on the lives of black men: adult black males are nearly 12 times as likely to be imprisoned for drug convictions as adult white men.
Two new reports, issued Monday by the Sentencing Project in Washington and by Human Rights Watch in New York, say the racial disparities reflect, in large part, an overwhelming focus of law enforcement on drug use in low-income urban areas, with arrests and incarceration the main weapon.
Why are African Americans punished for drug crimes more often than whites? And what should be done?
Thoughts
you are so wrong
Submitted on May 18th, 2008 by AnonymousTO: Wow! Let's see here what is,
Sorry to tell you that you are so wrong. The percentage of blacks on welfare are much greater then the white race.
Blacks make up 14% of our nation compare to 50% for whites.
Blacks make up 39.8 % of all people on welfare compare to 38.8% for whites.
Now do the math. 1 out of 4 blacks are on welfare. This should not hurt you it should wake you up.
the real issue
Submitted on May 6th, 2008 by Anonymousthe united states has more people incarcerated than any other country including china. yes MORE people not per cappa but actual number of citizenry. this is an abomination. there are over two million americans in prison and at least a quarter of them are in there for non violent crimes such as drugs. per cappa the number is even more disturbing. at least 1,100 people per 100,000. china is around 700 per 100,000; russia 500 per 100,000; western europe has less than 200 per 100,000. sure crime rates have dropped. i would imagine if we put a prohibition on alcohol; which represents at least half a million deaths a year in this country not to mention 90% of all fatal traffic accidents we'd find a reduction in traffic accidents, wouldn't that be great? yes but we know it doesn't work and it certainly goes against the grain of all conservative ideals of the political right with laissez faire government. and the number of white people imprisoned would sky rocket. imprisoning tens of millions of people would make the streets safe but that's not the way this country works. so why the prohibition on drugs? race is why. it gives law enforcement "probable cause" to impinge on people of color and their 4th amendment rights. get real. heather's argument is so ridiculous and flies in the face of true non racist conservative values. two suggestions read the history on drug prohibition and then read the bill of rights. it would be enlightening especially for a political commentator.
Wow! Let's see here what is
Submitted on May 6th, 2008 by AnonymousWow! Let's see here what is going on! SUPPOSED unfair prosecution. SUPPOSED unfair prosectuion. WOW! The depth of the paradigm some live in is very distrubing. For one: My father is black and went to Columbia University and worked for IBM. My mother stayed home until I was about 15 so yes you are partially correct. Fathers in the home is important. Here's Where you go wrong.
First I would like to get out of the way that one little pet peeve of mine, most people on welfare programs and such are white. A HIGHER percentage of the black community may be but overall....
Everyone seems to ignore that racism has layed the groundwork for these issues facing the black community. I would be hard pressed to say otherwise. I am not low income and never have been and never will. Yet I still have seen the effects of RACIAL ISSUES. I've seen it from the police and I have talked to black police officers who have echoed the same. And yes white officers too. My girlfriend is white, the only one I've dated, very sweet, honest beautiful girl. We met at work and liked each others company and kept it going... ANYWAY she was involved with a cop before me and he tried to start trouble with me because I was black. He would follow me around and harrass me and he even used "NIGGER" once or twice...No big deal...that word would only offend one so I chuckled the few times he said it. HE hung around racist cops and admitted that he let white people off for breaking the law and very rarely gave the same to a black person. It was what he enjoyed.
2- My PARENTS both in their 60's driving a 2005(in 2006) Crown Victoria came to my apt to give me some money. My father has a bad knee so I came down to the car and he gave me a couple of hundred dollars and left. A cop saw this and followed my father thinking it was some "drug deal" and pulled him over. OK I can understand I guess. He questioned my father about what he was doing. My father said " giving my son some money" blah blah blah. The cop then requested to search the car so on and so forth. My father is a nerd and has NEVER even had a car wreck, doesn't drink nothing, doesn't speed a complete goody two shoes.
This by itself is really nothing. You are probably thinking "so what?".
3) I have had many white friends my culter is white really I listen to rock music and so fourth... I highschool these white kids would steal from clothing stores and CD stores and so one. How they did it they would get one of their black "friends" from the ghetto to go into the store a few min before hand and then go in a take whate they wanted. The security would be so tuned in to the black male that they did not even notice these clean cut preppy boys stealing from them.
point is if cops are looking to find blacks in trouble they will. if cops looks to find white people in trouble they will too. white kids do different drugs yes. look you will find. You people are amazingly clouding reality with some seriously flawed thinking. Wow.
Learned helplessness
Submitted on May 6th, 2008 by AnonymousHeather MacDonald is only partially right when she says this focus on supposed unfair prosecution and incarceration "worsens black alienation and further defers a real solution to the black crime problem." I would add that it is itself a cause of that black crime. When the liberal elites and their anointed black leaders create a mindset where the black community believes that their lives are mostly determined by outside pernicious forces, they discourage blacks from the realization that the most important things, by far, that will determine the success of their lives are what they do, the choices and decisions they make. You can take just a handful of indicators in that regard and see that when blacks do the right things, it overwhelming results in good life outcomes. Casting the responsibility for people's fate outside of themselves is extremely destructive, creating a victim culture. And those who see themselves as victims tend to quite often become real victimizers. On the other hand, when people take positive control of their lives, it has the effect of removing the inclination to do the wrong things. It is the "race industry and its elite enablers" that are the most pernicious force in the black community.
The Overlooked Family Dynamics
Submitted on May 6th, 2008 by CNThe break down of the black family unit, more specifically, the father image absence in the family equation.
In drastic contrast to those black men who are presently aged 60 yrs and above, who WERE responsible hard working, value based, contributors to society. More importantly, they were the roll molders that any young person could admire.
The overwheleming children who are bought into the world by young black american woman is alarming, and the end product is a difficult task to revert the current statics.
Any single parent raising a child to become a productive citizen is challanging, but to think that the apple is going to fall far from the tree is navie.
Peace, CN, The Passerby