Black History Month is a time where the nation pauses, and takes time to recognize and celebrate African-American culture. WCJ wanted to talk about issue of incarceration rates among African-Americans in the United States.
The National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People (NAACP), and their legal team consistently update their criminal justice fact sheet to help advocate for racial equality. Some notable statistics are as follows:
- “In 2014, African Americans constituted 2.3 million, or 34%, of the total 6.8 million correctional population”
- “African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whites”
- If African Americans were incarcerated the same rate as whites, the jail population would decrease by 40%.
While those statistics above do exist, it is worth mentioning that racial disparities have decreased in recent history. According to an article by the Pew Research Center, in 2017, prisons in the United States held about 475,900 inmates who were black and 436,500 who were white – a difference of 39,400. Whereas in 2007, there were 592,900 black and 499,800 white prisoners – a difference of 93,100.
This month, take time to listen to and consider some perspectives some of WCU’s African-American students wish you would consider about the African-American community. Watch as Nick Lyons, Aniyah Henderson and Angel Hunt react to NCAAP statistics.
In addition, WCU Criminal Justice professor, Dr. Alexa Singer, with expertise in institutional corrections spoke on the issue. Singer discusses potential explanations for disparities of minority populations within the correctional system.
Today, U.S. incarceration rate stands at 655 inmates per 100,000 people, which is nearly 7% higher than the rate of the next-closest country, El Salvador (614 inmates per 100,000 people). The U.S. also has a much higher incarceration rate than Russia (415 inmates per 100,000 people).
While there has been improvements in the justice system worth celebrating, there is still a long road ahead for change.
