- The main explanation for why many people are getting sent to jail in the U.S today is deeply wrong because the War on Drugs was announced by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, however it wasn’t until a few years later that crack was introduced and rapidly spread throughout poor black neighborhoods in Los Angeles, which would eventually spread across the United States. Reagan’s administration hired staff specifically to “spread” the news and images that negatively depicted the black community as “crack whores,” crack babies,” and more that would later play a role in what led to black and brown people being convicted and sent to jail and much higher rates than their white counterparts who were also doing or selling drugs.
2. Why is it that racial disparities in the rates of incarceration “cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes”?
Racial disparities in the rates of incarceration can’t be explained by rates of drug crimes because everyone (regardless of race or ethnicity) uses and sells drugs at the rate. Per a statistic noted by M. Alexander in her article, there are actual surveys that show that it is the white youth who are most likely to engage in drug crimes versus people of color. Additionally, people of color who engage in drug activities are more likely to end up in jail for their offense, whereas someone who is white engaging in the same activities would be given a chance and more than likely sent to a rehab facility or to complete classes.
3. How do you understand the phrase: “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history.”?
When I read this phrase I understand it as an explanation of how America’s Justice system is not meant to serve black and brown communities the same as it would serve white communities. It’s a way to control and keep the poor in their place. I think of movies I have seen where someone goes to jail and the lawyer they get appointed is a public defender and usually their immediate reaction is that they don’t think they have a chance of winning against someone who has a paid attorney. So, regardless if the person with the public defender is actually innocent there might be a smaller chance that they will win their case because that same public defender has hundreds of other cases that they have to get through and might not have had the time to review the case and so they settle.
