Tatyana Gamble

Dr.Wynne

English 102

17 March 2017

Mass Incarceration of African Americans

Mass incarceration is a serious issue within the African American community. The

NAACP has said that 1 in 100 African American women are in prison and one in six black men

had been incarcerated as of 2001. In 2016, African Americans make up more than half of the

prisons population in the U.S. You may ask yourself: Why is that? To answer that question

and fully explain the severity of the issue, you need to know the answer to four important

questions.

1. Does the U.S. police department or justice system target African American communities

through use of specific tactics or laws?

2. Does racial profiling, before arrest, play a big role in the immense number of incarcerated

African Americans in comparison to other races?

3.What are the increased rates of mass incarceration of African Americans and can these rates

be used to predict future issues?

4. In what ways is mass incarceration detrimental to the African American community?

The following literature review will enlighten people on how the mass incarceration of

African Americans is a serious issue that has hurt the African American community, occurred

overtime through specific tactics and laws, and is predicted to proceed in the future.

Does the U.S. police target African American communities through use of specific

tactics or laws?
Under the United States Police Department officers are required to do a certain amount of

traffic stops. A study in Arizona shows that during 2006-2007, the state highway patrol was

significantly more likely to stop African Americans and Hispanics than Whites on all the

highways studied.( The Reality of Racial Profiling). These traffic stops were occurring

more with African Americans and within their communities. Another example of racial

profiling in the stop-and-frisk context is provided by Jackson, Tennessee. In Jackson, police

conduct what they term "field interviews" in which they stop, interview, and may photograph

pedestrians and bystanders when an officer has "reasonable suspicion to believe a crime has

occurred [or] is about to occur or is investigating a crime ( The Reality of Racial Profiling).

Most of these suspicions were based off of negative stereotypes that some officers

preconceived before the person is stopped. Another law that was implemented that targeted

African Americans was The War on Drugs. Former president Nixon declared a War on

Drugs in 1971, but Ronald Reagan implemented the war more aggressively in 1982. This is

shown in the documentary the 13th, During this time crack was being introduce into the

African American community rapidly. The documentary explained that crack was found in

black communities, whereas cocaine was more common in the white communities. The

purpose of the War on Drugs was to extinguish all use of drugs, especially crack, and the

users of the drug. Many of the scholars from the documentary felt as though the War on

Drugs targeted the African American community. On the other hand, Ronald Reagan felt as
 though drugs were a constant temptation for millions of Americans ( Ronald Reagan) so

the War on drugs was going to fight a serious issue in America: drug abuse.

Does racial profiling, before arrest, play a big role in the immense number of incarcerated

African Americans in comparison to other races?

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that racial profiling violates the constitutional

requirement that all persons be accorded equal protection of the law. (The Leadership

Conference) Even though this is stated it doesnt stop officers from the contrary. African

Americans are being racially profiled and stopped at higher rate, which leads to mass

incarceration of African Americans. Per 10,000 residents, the Black stop rate was 3,400 stops

higher than the White stop rate, and the Hispanic stop rate was almost 360 stops higher. (The

Leadership Conference). African Americans have a plethora of negative stereotypes, which is

correlated with racial profiling. Social psychological studies provide evidence that police apply

a cognitive schema that views that ambiguous behaviors of African Americans as suspicious and

potentially criminal. (Michael C. Ponder) This may cause officers to be more attracted to

African Americans, especially if the officer believes that that African American doesnt belong in

that environment. Albert J. Meehan explains that The practice of racial profiling is inextricably

not only to race, but to officers conception of place, of what should typically occur in an area

and who belongs, as well as where they belong.

On the contrary, some believe that racial profiling is not used within the arrest process, for it

doesnt pose as an issue or cause of mass incarceration. survey of 1,087 police chiefs found that

60% believed that racially biased policing was not a problem in their jurisdictions, whereas an

additional 29% said it was only a minor problem (Fridell 2001).

 What are the increased rates of mass incarceration of African Americans and can these

rates be used to predict future issues?

It is a proven fact that African American now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3

million incarcerated population in the United States. (NAACP) The tactics, laws, and racial

profiling used by the police department, as discussed above, are responsible for the immense

number of incarcerated African Americans. There are two steps before a person is imprisoned.

The first step is when the officer arrest the criminal. As previously explained, officers racially

profile African Americans which leads to their arrest. The second step occurs after the arrest,

which is the conviction process. Between 1794 and 1835 in Philadelphia, roughly 72 percent of

black women who went before juries were convicted. They also had fewer of their cases

dismissed than any other group. (Kali Gross) This high number of convicted African American

Women leads to Robynn J.A. Cox research. Her research states that African-American and

Hispanic women were imprisoned at a rate of roughly 3 times and 1.5 times their White

counterparts respectively. This is caused by racial profiling which begins with the arrest and

unfortunately ends in the U.S. courts. Black males receive the same results when it comes to

conviction. One in six black men had been incarcerated as of 2001. If current trends continue,

one in three black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime

(NAACP)

In what ways is mass incarceration detrimental to the African American community?

Through the survey, I conducted, I was able to hear from a plethora of Hampton

University student explain how mass incarceration has had an impact on their lifes. Twenty HU

student were surveyed and seventy five percent of the students said that they felt mass

incarceration has had a negative impact on their lifes. On the survey, there was an open space
where the participant had the option to list those negative effects. These were some of the

answers: The incarceration of my brother and father has left my younger sibling with no male

role models. , When my mother was arrested my family fell apart., and Now that my dad

has been arrested, its hard for him to get a job. As seen from the survey results, incarceration

can have a negative effect on the families of the incarcerated. When a person is taken away from

a household due to incarceration, that household may struggle financially due to a lack of an

extra source of income. This is exemplified in Figure one.

Figure 1 NBC News

Even after an inmate is released from captivity, their family may still suffer financially because

there jail record will hurt their human capital, social capital, and socioeconomic status. Robynn

J.A. Cox, the assistant professor of the Economics Department of Spelman College, elaborated

more on this theory. She explained that If detained in prison, they may experience greater

deterioration of their human capital, a worsening of social capital, and shame within their
community and the labor market leading to a further decline in their socioeconomic status

resulting in greater participation in crime. Along with this issue, those that have committed

heinous crimes dont receive rehabilitation through the prison system , as two-thirds of

prisoners will offend again.(NAACP) . This is detrimental to the African American community

because after all of the people that are incarcerated get released, they will reenter the same

environment which will most likely lead them to hurting those in the community. Not only is

prison hurting the African American community financially, socially, and mentally, it is

physically hurting them as well. Jails and prisons are recognized as settings where societys

infectious diseases are highly concentrated (NAACP). Once released back into society, the

former inmates carry these diseases into their communities and homes.

Conclusion

The mass incarceration of African Americans isnt something to be taken lightly.

Statistics show that the rates are at an all-time high and are expected to increase. Overtime,

through racial profiling, laws, tactics, and sentencing, incarceration has had a detrimental impact

on the African American community financially, physically, and mentally. It is necessary that all

age groups, genders, ethnicities, and nationalities are aware of the issue in order to prevent

history from repeating itself.

 Work Cited

Cox, Robynn J.A. "The Impact of Mass Incarceration on the Lives of African American

Wome." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 2012.

Meehan, Albert J., and Michael C. Ponder. "Race and Place: The Ecology of Racial

Profiling African American Motorists." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 2006.

13th. Dir. Ava Duvernay. N.p., 2016. Web.
"Criminal Justice Fact Sheet." NAACP. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
"The Reality of Racial Profiling." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human

Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

Gross, Kali Nicole. "African American Women, Mass Incarceration, and the Politics of

Protection." N.p., 2015. Web.

Bazant, Micah. "African-American Women Face the Brunt of Mass Incarceration."

NBCNEWS. N.p., n.d. Web.