John Legend on Mass Incarceration: The New Jim Crow

AZ Quotes: Quotes for All Occasions. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/incarceration.html

John Legend is one of many black celebrities who has spoken out about the rise of black communities disproportionately effected by mass incarceration. The NAACP shows that today, although the United States only makes up 5% of the world population, it has 21% of the world prisoners. Of the large number of prisoners in the United States, African Americans make up 34% of that population and are incarcerated 5 times the rate that white people are. A lot of that 34% are black men. Over the years, the number of black men being incarcerated on a regular basis has grown, and has been no secret to the public as we have seen more and more incidents between young black men and police officers. Black men continue to be a target for the prison system, which then creates a cycle that ensures that generations of black individuals that are more likely to be incarcerated during their life time. Legend also shares the shocking fact about the number of black men incarcerated today.

QuoteFancy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://quotefancy.com/

Recently, the prison system and mass incarceration has been referred to as the modern day Jim Crow due to how it mirrors the characteristics of slavery. The system has become extremely monetized, allowing prisons to exploit their prisoners for labor for an extremely low wage. They are forced into slavery like conditions with overcrowded cells, medical neglect and abuse and unsanitary conditions. In 2017, California's prison labor program produced over $232 million in sales. This institutional loophole strips individuals of their freedom and targets low education black communities who have been at a disadvantage throughout history due to systemic racism. Rather than considering like mental health facilities, these individuals are put directly in prison. Unfortunately, finding areas where slavery still exists inn the United States is not difficult. The prison system is proof in itself.

Course Reference: Rumbar, R.G. & Ewing, W. (2007). "The myth of immigrant criminality and the paradox of assimilation." In Andersen, M. L., & Collins, P. H. (2019). Race, class, and gender: intersections and inequalities (pp 397-400). Boston, MA: Cengage.

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