Essay On African American Incarceration

The population of the federal prison system has increased over 500 percent in the last thirty years. 2.2 million people are currently incarcerated throughout the nation. The cause of the growth of this population is the increase in African American and Hispanic imprisonment. African American population is nearly half of the total population. One and six black men will be arrested and imprisoned as of 2001. One in three black males born can expect to serve time in jail (Bureau of Justice, 2001). African Americans males are incarcerated almost six times the rate of white males. Young black men who do not have a diploma have a higher chance of going to jail than getting a job, usually in their early twenties and thirties(www.NAACP.org) Throughout different states in the country, the population of African American incarceration varies. The ratio of black-white in Iowa is 36-1; in Hawaii the ratio is 1.9-1. States with the highest difference in black-white ratios are Iowa, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Wisconsin. One of the major reasons for African American imprisonment is the use of illicit drugs. Illegal drug use and trafficking is a constant issue throughout African

There are 283,000 Hispanics incarcerated which makes up 15 percent of the inmate population. From 1985 to 1995, Hispanic imprisonment rose by 219 percent with annual increase of 12.3 percent. Hispanics are usually four times more likely to go to jail as white men, but less likely than African Americans. According to the Bureau of Justice statistics, Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the prison system. In states such as Connecticut and Pennsylvania, Hispanic men incarceration rate is seven times higher than whites; in Massachusetts and North Dakota the rate is six times higher. Together, African Americans and Hispanics make 58 percent of all prisoners