Evolution Of Mass Incarceration

Imagine wasting 30 years of your life behind bars in a six by eight-foot cell, no windows, and cold brick walls. For most African Americans spending their lives behind bars is an inevitable future in the 21st century. In the 13th documentary directed by Ava DuVernay, they unfold a series of patterns relating the African American community to mass incarceration. The United States of America has the highest incarceration rates in the world. Today America makes up about 5% of the world’s population, yet they hold more than 25% of the world’s prisoners (DuVernay 00:00:00) Statistics show that 40.2% of the prisoners are black men. (DuVernay 00:00:00). That is a vast comparison to other races. Slavery ended in 1865 to consequently follow up with

Eighty-seven years later, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act bill was passed outlawing discrimination on a basis of color, race, religion, sex, or national origin. It also required equal access to public places, employment, enforced desegregation in schools and gave African American men the right to vote. A few years after their immense victory, mass incarceration started taking over in America in 1970, arresting African Americans for protesting, littering, and other minor crimes. While mass incarceration began in the 1970’s, the number of inmates has risen to an all-time high in the 21st century. Over 2.3 million people are now incarcerated. Black men being the leading makeup, then Latino men, and finally white men. Leaving an unanswered question, “Have African Americans made progress?” African Americans have made little progress in the 21st century. Mass incarceration is the new era of slavery, from the 13th amendment, to laws, to corporations; that assure African Americans stay behind bars. What allows this to happen, you might

Over the course of history several laws have been instilled to increase incarceration rates and preserve them. Beginning with Jim Crow Laws between 1876-1965 which were heavily enforced by police, if they weren’t conducted any black men or women would be thrown in prison along with any activist. President Richard Nixon ran from 1969-1997 declaring a “war on drugs”. In his speech he mentioned, “The problem has assumed the dimensions of a national emergency” (Nixon, Special Message to the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control). These words suggested a state of national emergency conversely meaning a crisis that involves the countries security and safety. Nixon’s goal was to be tough on drugs. Creating the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to combat drugs and the use of them. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH) drug addiction is a brain disease, yet president Nixon saw drugs as a crime instead of a disease. In 1970 there was a total of 357,292 prisoners by 1982 the number of prisoners increased to 513,900. President Ronald Reagan also republican party had the same campaign ideas from 1981-1989 to expand the war on drugs. This time “crack” or smokable cocaine was treated worse than powder cocaine and penalized at a higher cost. Relating “crack” to poverty areas where black men lived opposed to powder cocaine used by rich business men. Possessing drugs