Racial Injustice in America's Criminal Justice System
“We have not
faced our racial
history and
cannot tell the
truth about our
racial present.”
Michelle Alexander
Our role at KUMC
Informal book club – one piece of the pie
Educate ourselves and practice talking about racism
Peer facilitators
Spectrum of learning – no endpoint
Seek out additional support (books, videos, groups)
Moving on to intense topics
Healing space
The New Jim Crow
Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness
By Michelle Alexander
A
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Generations of black men born in the US have been denied the right to
participate in our electoral democracy
Jarvious Cotton cannot vote.
His great-great-grandfather could not vote because he was a slave.
His great-grandfather was killed by the KKK for trying to vote.
His grandfather didn’t vote due to Klan intimidation
His father was barred from voting by poll taxes and literacy tests.
Jarvious cannot vote because he has been labeled a felon and is currently on parole.
“We have not
ended racial
caste in
America; we
have merely
redesigned it.”
After the Civil Rights movement, it was no longer
socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as
justification of discrimination, exclusion and social
contempt.
We use our criminal justice system to label people of
color “criminals” and then engage in all the practices
we supposedly left behind.
Once labeled a felon, Americans are subject to
legalized discrimination:
Employment discrimination
Housing discrimination
Denial of the right to vote
Denial of educational opportunity
Denial of public benefits (including food assistance)
Exclusion from jury service
US Bureau of
Justice
Statistics
Racial
Disparity
African Americans are
more likely than white
Americans to be
arrested
convicted
experience lengthy
prison sentences
African-American adults
are 5.9 times as likely to
be incarcerated than
whites (BJS, 2016)
Racial
Disparity
2018 Rates for men
2,272
1,018
392
Popular social
justifications
for mass
incarceration
Those of us who view mass incarceration from a comfortable
distance, tend to attribute the staggering increase in incarceration
rates in communities of color to the “predictable” consequences of:
POVERTY
RACIAL SEGREGATION
UNEQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
PRESUMED REALITIES OF THE DRUG MARKET
- like the mistaken belief that most drug dealers are Black
Racial
Disparity
Most people sentenced to
jail or prison have been
convicted of non-violent
crimes.
95% of the 10 million yearly
arrests are for non-violent
crimes (FBI, 2019).
Snapshots of the prison
population don’t tell the
whole story of the volume
of people cycling in and out
on shorter sentences for
non-violent crimes.
Small Groups
Discussion Questions
1.
Did you know that the United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world? How do you make sense of that
knowledge?
2.
Did you know that Black people make up 12% of the US population yet represent 33% of the incarcerated population? And
that Black people are 5.9 times more likely to be under correctional control than white people? How do you make sense of
that knowledge?
3.
How are the justifications we make for racial disparities in incarceration rates similar to the those we make for racial
health disparities?
Exploring the legacy of racial exclusion and systemic discrimination in the US, delving into Michelle Alexander's books on mass incarceration and the perpetuation of racial caste through the criminal justice system. The discussion spotlights the racial disparities in arrests, convictions, and incarceration rates, shedding light on the ongoing impacts of past injustices on present-day realities.
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Presentation Transcript
Our role at KUMC Informal book club one piece of the pie Educate ourselves and practice talking about racism Peer facilitators Spectrum of learning no endpoint Seek out additional support (books, videos, groups) We have not faced our racial history and cannot tell the truth about our racial present. Moving on to intense topics Healing space Michelle Alexander
The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander
A legacy of racial exclusion Generations of black men born in the US have been denied the right to participate in our electoral democracy Jarvious Cotton cannot vote. His great-great-grandfather could not vote because he was a slave. His great-grandfather was killed by the KKK for trying to vote. His grandfather didn t vote due to Klan intimidation His father was barred from voting by poll taxes and literacy tests. Jarvious cannot vote because he has been labeled a felon and is currently on parole.
After the Civil Rights movement, it was no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as justification of discrimination, exclusion and social contempt. We have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it. We use our criminal justice system to label people of color criminals and then engage in all the practices we supposedly left behind. Once labeled a felon, Americans are subject to legalized discrimination: Employment discrimination Housing discrimination Denial of the right to vote Denial of educational opportunity Denial of public benefits (including food assistance) Exclusion from jury service
US Bureau of Justice Statistics
African Americans are more likely than white Americans to be arrested convicted experience lengthy prison sentences Racial Disparity African-American adults are 5.9 times as likely to be incarcerated than whites (BJS, 2016)
2018 Rates for men 2,272 Racial Disparity 1,018 392
Those of us who view mass incarceration from a comfortable distance, tend to attribute the staggering increase in incarceration rates in communities of color to the predictable consequences of: POVERTY Popular social justifications for mass incarceration RACIAL SEGREGATION UNEQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES PRESUMED REALITIES OF THE DRUG MARKET - like the mistaken belief that most drug dealers are Black
Racial Disparity
Most people sentenced to jail or prison have been convicted of non-violent crimes. 95% of the 10 million yearly arrests are for non-violent crimes (FBI, 2019). Snapshots of the prison population don t tell the whole story of the volume of people cycling in and out on shorter sentences for non-violent crimes.
Honor Confidentiality Small Groups Choose courage over comfort Regard feedback as a generous gesture that should always be met with gratitude
Discussion Questions 1. Did you know that the United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world? How do you make sense of that knowledge? 2. Did you know that Black people make up 12% of the US population yet represent 33% of the incarcerated population? And that Black people are 5.9 times more likely to be under correctional control than white people? How do you make sense of that knowledge? 3. How are the justifications we make for racial disparities in incarceration rates similar to the those we make for racial health disparities?
