[Peace-discuss] new study racial disparity in US prisons

[Ricky Baldwin]

People may or may nor be surprised, I guess.  But two
quick points:

(1) Certainly it's complicated, but the marginalized
economic/social positions of black Americans in the
southern US over time ought also to be considered in
the same vein as a pretty significant economic event,
even if a long drawn-out one.  And there have
definitely been several waves of displacement in the
Southeast as well as Northeast and "rust belt":
mechanization, concentration of farming capital, all
leading to tremendous numbers added to the infamous
"reserve army of the unemployed" -- and related to the
migration north.  Everybody knows this, I'm just
saying we shouldn't discount it.  (Add to it, by the
way, recent changes such as welfare reform, Katrina,
etc.)

(2) I think what this study likely shows is much more
than a higher crime rate among African Americans,
especially in certain spots, whatever the explanation.
 The study is specifically of incarceration rates,
which we can't assume reflect crime rates.  I know we
understand this as also an indication of racism, the
crime rate and the incarceration rate both being
partly a result of selective attention and selective
treatment of people of color.  I'm not telling anyone
anything with that.  But what I found "surprising",
maybe half tongue in cheek, was that this kind of
racist selectivity wouldn't be obviously more
pronounced in the Deep South compared to a famously
liberal state like Wisconsin -- which by the way has
been experimenting for several years with its own
particularly nasty brand of welfare reform.  

OK, that's too long-winded.  Just thought it was worth
thinking about.  I may or may not be right.

Ricky 

--- "Morton K. Brussel" <brussel at uiuc.edu> wrote:

> There may be nothing surprising in these "racial
> disparity" numbers.  
> In the east, for example Connecticut, there was a 
> very large  
> migration of blacks from the south for industrial
> jobs after WWII,  
> which never much materialized, because the
> industries evaporated,  
> leaving a population without jobs or resources to
> live adequately.  
> This promoted delinquency and crime. The south
> didn't have such an  
> predicament as far as I know.
> 
> --mkb
> 
> On Jul 20, 2007, at 12:57 PM, Ricky Baldwin wrote:
> 
> > [I don't know much about this group, but some of
> the
> > results are surprising - compare Wisconsin to
> > Mississippi, for example!  Bears thinking about,
> > anyway.  -Ricky]
> >
> > Study shows racial disparities in prison
> >
> > By DAVID PITT, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 18,
> > 2007
> >
> > Blacks in the United States are imprisoned at more
> > than five times the rate of whites, and Hispanics
> are
> > locked up at nearly double the white rate,
> according
> > to a study released Wednesday by a criminal
> justice
> > policy group.
> >
> > The report by the Sentencing Project, a
> > Washington-based think tank, found that states in
> the
> > Midwest and Northeast have the greatest
> black-to-white
> > disparity in incarceration. Iowa had the widest
> > disparity in the nation, imprisoning blacks at
> more
> > than 13 times the rate of whites.
> >
> > Such figures "reflect a failure of social and
> economic
> > interventions to address crime effectively," as
> well
> > as racial bias in the justice system, said Marc
> Mauer,
> > the group's executive director.
> >
> > Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin
> > incarcerated blacks at more than 10 times the rate
> of
> > whites, the group said, citing Justice Department
> > statistics from 2005. Vermont had a ratio of 12.5,
> > followed by New Jersey with 12.4 and Connecticut
> with
> > 12.
> >
> > States with the lowest black-to-white ratio were
> > Hawaii, with 1.9, Georgia with 3.3 and Mississippi
> > with 3.5.
> >
> > In Iowa, blacks are imprisoned at a rate more than
> > double the national average. For every 100,000
> people,
> > Iowa incarcerates 309 whites and 4,200 blacks, the
> > study said.
> >
> > Paul Stageberg, administrator of the Iowa Division
> of
> > Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, said the
> > results are not surprising, but the causes are
> subject
> > to interpretation.
> >
> > He said the state's disproportionately high black
> > arrest rates are likely linked to high poverty
> rates
> > among blacks and lower educational achievement.
> > In 2001, a governor's task force released a report
> > that said 24 percent of Iowa prison beds were
> occupied
> > by black inmates even though blacks comprised just
> > over 2 percent of the state's population.
> >
> > The group that compiled Wednesday's report made
> > several recommendations such as reviewing federal
> drug
> > laws and giving judges more discretion to decide
> > sentences rather than imposing mandatory minimum
> > prison terms.
> > ___
> > On the Net:
> > The Sentencing Project:
> > http://www.sentencingproject.org
> > Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice
> > Planning:
> http://www.state.ia.us/government/dhr/cjjp
> > Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights
> > reserved. The information contained in the AP News
> > report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
> or
> > redistributed without the prior written authority
> of
> > The Associated Press.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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