Race and Prisons

Biases of race and poverty permeate the American justice system. Men, women and children of color are grossly over-represented in prisons, which are 41% Black and 32% Hispanic.

Every child grows up with a sense of his or her odds in life. Consider this: For every 100,000 White, non-Hispanic people in the U.S., 235 are currently incarcerated. The rate for Hispanic adults is 609; for American Indians, 709; for African Americans, it is 1,815. In many places, a young Black or Hispanic man is far more likely to go to prison than to college.

Put prisons into international context. According to the Department of Justice, one-fourth of all the prisoners on the planet are in American prisons, and the rate of African American men in U.S. prisons now is almost 9 times greater than the rate of Black men in prison in South Africa under apartheid.

People of color are more often victims of violent crimes, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Blacks are 13% more likely, and American Indians 300% more likely to be victims of violence than Whites.

The effects on minority communities are extreme. Imprisonment shatters families. Racially biased police stops strain neighborhoods. Victimization terrorizes people in our cities. And when prisoners re-enter the community, they do so without housing or jobs, denied supports to re-establish themselves emotionally and economically. Left in poverty, what are re-entering prisoners to do?

Where does racial unfairness in the justice system begin? What are the effects on children and parents?

What were you doing at the age of 15, or 21, or 25? How well formed was your character? How do you think prison shapes a person’s way of being in the world?

Rev. Sala W.J. Nolan

Justice and Witness Ministries

United Church of Christ