Comparing the Numbers of Black Men in College and in Jail - Essay Example

Are there more Black Men in College or in Jail? The number of black men in college and in jails or prisons is about the same, approximately 700,000 in each. Recently the percentage of black male college students to prisoners has gradually shifted in a positive direction, more in college than jail, but this trend makes the statistics no less shocking or deplorable. Statistics in any instance can be manipulated in an attempt to support an argument. Neither the initial question nor answer takes into account the age factor. When comparing black males of college age, many more are in school than behind bars. Still, this does not diminish the startling realization that something is terribly wrong in a society and justice system where such a proportion exists. This realization is the intent of the question. The answer immediately causes one to question why. A one word response is racism. Institutional racism has been outlawed for more than 40 years but, somewhat ironically, racism within the legal system continues unabated. This discussion provides data that demonstrates the disparity of justice in the U.S. and how laws are biased against black men and other minorities as is the educational system. It also explains the root causes of racism in society, it is not just an American phenomenon. Anyone who has seen even a few minutes of a prison documentary is well aware that black men are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. Black men comprise about 6.5 percent of the U.S. population yet nearly half of this group is currently in prisons. Close to a third of black men have been arrested (Beck, Mumola, 1999). When categorized according to ethnicity, a wide disparity of justice is apparent. “At midyear 2003 there were 4,834 black male prisoners per 100,000 black males in the United States in prison or jail, compared to 1,778 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 Hispanic males and 681 white male inmates per 100,000 white males” 1) (“Prison Statistics” 2006) The overrepresentation in prisons is the mirror opposite in institutions of higher education. Black men have the lowest graduation rate of all ethnic/gender groups. A white male statistically has a 60 percent chance of finishing college within six years of enrolling. By contrast, of those who enter college, only about a third of black men will graduate. Studies and research conducted over the past 20 years have demonstrated that the nation’s educational system is designed for the white culture and therefore not sufficiently suited for black males especially those of disadvantaged neighborhoods. According to the Manhattan Institute’s Education Research Office, “fewer than one in five students of color have graduated from high school, have a set of college-prep courses on their high school transcripts and ‘demonstrate basic literacy,’ the necessities for being ‘college ready’” (Alexander, 2004). A portion of the reason as many black males are in prison as in college today can be traced to federal and state government’s ‘get tough on crime’ policies, specifically the ‘drug war,’ beginning in the 1980’s. During the last 25 years, the U.S. has seen an unparalleled proliferation of state and federal prison inmates. “Between 1980 and 1993, the number of persons incarcerated in these institutions grew from 329,000 to 949,000. By 1994, there were over a million persons in prison. Including those incarcerated in jails, over 1.5 million people were in prison at the end of 1995” (Gilliard & Beck, 1996). This proliferation of the inmates was caused by sentencing reforms such as the much vilified mandatory minimum sentences. In 1980, according to a Washington D.C. based research group, the Justice Policy Institute, 143,000 black men were in prisons while 463,700 were college students. In 2000 791,600 black men were locked up and just 603,000 were in colleges. The ‘war on drugs’ has added significantly to the U.S. prison population and black men have been most effected as blacks are more likely to be stopped by the police, arrested and incarcerated than any other ethnic group. The President of the Justice Policy Institute, Vincent Schiraldi, noted “the report found that the number of black men in jail or prison grew three times as fast from 1980 to 2000 as the rise in the number of black men in colleges and universities. However, the focus of the Justice Policy study was not on the reasons the number of black males in prison increased so rapidly. “Some experts suggested as one explanation a rise in the number of black men serving time (relates to) drug offenses” (Butterfield, 2002). Since the 1980’s, the country has built many new prisons to accommodate the escalation of prisoners, four times the number it was just 25 years ago, a 400 percent increase. According to statistics compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, today more than two million occupy those prisons as compared to about a quarter-million in 1980. During this same time-frame, the National Center for Education Statistics reveals the total number of college students has risen just 22 percent, from 12 million in 1980 to approximately 15 million today. Again, statistics can be misleading and some experts within the criminal justice system say that to compare all black men in prison versus all black men in college skews the numbers and that a true picture would be derived if comparing only college-aged black men. However, Professor Todd Clear of the College of Criminal Justice at John Jay University in Manhattan found the Justice Policy Institute) study were significant and that “there has been a public policy far overemphasizing investment in criminal justice instead of in education for this population. The life chances of a black male going to prison is greater today than the chances of a black male going to college, and it wasn’t always this way” (Butterfield, 2002). According to the director of the Washington D.C. chapter of the NAACP, Hilary O. Shelton, “It is sad that our states are finding it easier to contribute more to incarcerating our men and women and creating a downward spiral of poverty and destitution rather than investing through our educational system to create an upward spiral of accomplishment and achievement” (Butterfield, 2002). These statistics and many others point to the fact that racism clearly exists in society as evidenced by the criminal justice system Inequality is the practically unavoidable by-product of two prevailing dynamics, prejudice on the individual level and a political disparity on a societal level. All American citizens enjoy lawfully guaranteed equality but the equalities regarding access to the criminal justice system for ethnic minorities are unquestionably lacking. Minority members whether racial or ethnic are vulnerable groups who too often face persecution, subjective imprisonment, offensive treatment by law enforcement, and unequal treatment in the court system. “Ostensibly race or descent-neutral laws can have a disparate impact on vulnerable minorities or even majorities as a consequence of prosecutorial discretion, or sentencing policies, or the nature of the law itself” (Human Rights Watch, 1981). At the national and local policing level, ethnic inequities arise from practices such as racial profiling where an individual’s presumed race is the determining factor in placing them under suspicion. The criminal justice system has the vast potential for implementing an unjustified discriminatory outcome even when there is no obvious racist intention. “Discriminatory impact can be shown in patterns of police abuse, arbitrary arrest, incarceration, prosecution, and sentencing” (Human Rights Watch, 2001). In the United States, for example, overt discriminatory practices during all phases of the criminal justice system concerning ethnic minorities, especially those of African-American descent have been well-documented throughout the history of the country (Sampson & Lauritsen, 1997). In more recent years, various U.S. criminal agencies have increased their efforts to control a new type of minority group, namely illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America. The U.S. passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 which contains provisions that specifically target these groups by deterring employment opportunities for illegal immigrants and has provided a great deal of funding to the Immigration and Naturalization Service so it could increase efforts to diminish illegal immigration by stiffening border control tactics (McDonald, 1997). The recent increased implementation of law enforcement measures which are exclusively aimed at minorities, historically black males over all others, has occurred not only in the U.S. but in European nations as well. A study that conducted research in both the U.S. and Europe showed that interactions between police agencies and interactions with immigrants are becoming increasingly tense as evidenced by a proliferation of physical and verbal abuse, a growing mutual distrust and an escalating threat of violence. In the U.S., “Discrimination against minorities occurs indirectly as a result of poor legal representation, language problems, high incidences of specific offenses (such as drug-related and immigration violations) and low level of employment status” (Marshall, 1997). Studies in European countries have uncovered similar outcomes of discriminatory practices. There is an overrepresentation of minorities at every phase of the criminal justice system in the Western world, considered the beacon of progressiveness and justice. Another example is research conducted in France. It found an overrepresentation of foreigners among arrestees in large part because a majority of the crimes are related to immigration (Tournier, 1997). Likewise, research in Germany discovered that “foreign minorities face several problems at the entry-level of the criminal justice system (for instance, they have a higher chance of pre-trial detention), which may lead to a systematic discrimination of foreign nationals” (Albrecht, 1997). Foreigners that breached the law were much more likely to incur prison sentences instead of probation or a suspended sentence. Not surprisingly, further evidence indicates that minorities experienced a disparity of humane treatment while incarcerated. In England, “the prison experience is particularly harsh for foreign nationals because of language difficulties and cultural isolation” (Richards et al, 1995). When asked to identify the source of socially inappropriate behavior and social anguish, institutional entities including law enforcement, politics and psychiatry have a tendency to fault an individual’s failure to regulate their actions. This presumes, incorrectly, that they consciously chose to become oriented to criminal activity. This common misconception may serve to justify reasoning pertaining to the ruling majority which is, generally speaking, upper class, well-educated, white Christian males whose economic, political and social privileges are dependent on a dominated majority. This privileged class who has historically enjoyed judicial privileges, voting rights and has, and continues to write the laws slanted toward their own interests conceals the realities of a supposed democratic structure. These individuals want to maintain and increase their domination and wealth which suppresses minority rights thus the prosperity and overall growth of society. As compared to constituents of the socially dominant faction, black men are much more liable to be detained, questioned, and searched by law enforcement officials. Once they have been arrested, minority members are also more likely to suffer police brutality and are more likely to be held in jail while waiting for their trial date instead of having an opportunity to post bond. When tried for a crime, they face a higher probability to be found guilty and are less apt to serve their sentences outside of prison such as serving community service. In addition, they are “more likely to be sentenced to longer prison terms, less likely to be granted parole, and when convicted of capital offenses, they are more likely to be executed, especially for capital offenses against dominants” (Sidaneus & Veniegas, 2000). Racism as an ideology is illogical in principle and diverse in practice thus difficult to explain by a single definition. It permeates the family tree of societies and is reflected in all its attitudes, behavior, and institutions. The concept of racism may be conscious or subconscious and is expressed in actions or attitudes initiated by individuals, groups, or institutions that treat human beings unjustly because of their skin pigmentation. Racism is rooted in dysfunctional belief systems resulting from distorted perceptions formed over a period of time and e cannot ignore the significant role of the socio-cultural environment in shaping perceptual patterns. The duty of humanitarian, social and political interests is to make certain all people regardless of cultural background are both recognized and treated equitably in the criminal justice system. Racism breeds a lack of opportunity for minorities and is the reason about as many black men are in prison as attend college today. The lack of opportunity in the educational system in addition to a great disparity of black men in prisons, both the product of a racist society, accounts for the reason as many black men are in colleges as incarcerated. References Alexander, Bill. (January 14, 2004). “Number of black men in college dwindle” MSNBC Available February 20, 2008 from Beck, Allen J. Mumola, Christopher J. (August 1999). “Prisoners in 1998” Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice Butterfield, Fox. (August 28, 2002) “Study Finds Big Increase in Black Men as Inmates Since 1980” The New York Times Available February 20, 2008 from Gilliard, Darrell K. & Beck, Allen J. (1996). Prison and Jail Inmates, 1995. Washington D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Marshall, I. H. (1997). Minorities, Migrants, and Crime: Diversity and Similarity across Europe and the United States. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. McDonald, W. F. (1997). “Crime and illegal immigration.” National Institute of Justice Journal. Vol. 232, pp. 2-10. Richards, M.; McWilliams, B.; Batten, N.; Cameron, C.; & Cutler, J. (1995). “Foreign nationals in English prisons.” Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. Vol. 34, N. 3, pp. 195-208. “Prison Statistics” (May 2006). Bureau of Justice Statistics US Department of Justice Available February 20, 2008 from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/> Sampson, R.J. & Lauritsen, J.L. (1997). “Racial and ethnic disparities in crime and criminal justice in the United States.” Ethnicity, Crime, and Immigration: Comparative and Cross-National Perspectives. M. Tonry (Ed.). Chicago, Chicago University Press. Tournier, P. (1997). “Nationality, crime, and criminal justice in France.” Ethnicity, Crime, and Immigration: Comparative and Cross-National Perspectives. M. Tonry (Ed.). Chicago, Chicago University Press. Sidaneus, Jim & Veniegas, Rosemary C. (2000). “Gender and Race Discrimination: The Interactive Nature of Disadvantage.” Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination. Stuart Oskamp (Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 47-69. Read More