African American Men And The United States Prison System

African American Men and the United States Prison System There is a racial connection between the United States criminal justice system and the overrepresentation of black men in the United States prison system. There are over 2 million people in the U.S. prison system exceeding that of any other nation and represents 25% of the world’s prisoners (The Sentencing Project, 2016). According to Prison Policy Initiative, African American communities are the most impacted with African American men representing nearly 40% of all U.S. prisoners, though African Americans represent less than 13% of the U.S. population (Wagner Rabuy, 2016). In fact, African American males are six times more likely to be incarcerated than white males (The†¦show more content†¦20). Thus, African Americans were still enslaved. The Jim Crow era, 1877 through the 1950s, ushered in still another wave of unfair imprisonment for black people. Minor offenses continued to be disproportionately enforced and carried excessive sentences. Once again, this proved that prison sentences did not fit the actual crime, but rather were a form of deliberate racial control targeting men and women of color. Alexander (2012) further points out that the aggressive enforcement of these minor criminal offenses opened up an enormous market for convict leasing, in which prisoners were contracted out as laborers to the highest private bidder (p. 31). Essentially, African Americans continued to be slaves of the state for the duration of their prison term. During the 1960s, the civil rights movement gained momentum and led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, officially ending segregation in the United States. The same movement was also responsible for the Supreme Court’s decision to institute laws that protected the rights of arrested individuals through Miranda rights and the right to legal representation. Although strides were made, the election of President Nixon proved to be a detriment to the movement, as he set out to make good on what he called his â€Å"law and order† campaign. Eventually, Nixon’s former domestic policy chief, John Ehrlichman, confessed to Harper’s writerShow MoreRelatedDisproportionate Incarceration of African Americans Essay1673 Words   |  7 PagesDisproportionate Incarceration of African Americans The disproportionate numbers of African Americans in the prison system is a very serious issue, which is not usually discussed in its totality. However, it is quite important to address the matter because it ultimately will have an effect on African Americans as a whole. Of the many tribulations that plague Americans today, the increase in the amount of African American men and women in prisons is unbelievable. 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