The demography of the US prison population is an atrocity, and there
are many statistics that illustrate the fact. But, I've always found
this one problematic and misleading because it compares the absolute
number, without adjusting for total population growth. (http://www.npg.org/Assets/Images/usprojgrowth.jpg)
Also, from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and The 1860 Census
results : In 2009 there were about 2,100,000 inmates incarcerated,
840,000 of which were black (non-hispanic) men. On the other hand in
1850 the slave population was about 4,000,000. Now, if we include
probation and parole, in 2009 there were around 7.25 million Americans
under "correctional supervision"(probation, parole, jail, & prison).
I imagine this is closer to 8 million by now. Given that black men make
up roughly half of the incarcerated population, I imagine there are
somewhere around 4 million black men
under "correctional supervision." That must be where the above stat
comes from? (If we recognize that they don't really mean "prison".)
The statement suggests that we are more unjust than we were during
slavery. I think the key problem there is "more unjust." We ought to
strive to view the our present reality through an objective,
historically well informed, and fact-based lens. We certainly have many
short-comings as a society, and the demographics of our prison
population is foremost among them. But, in an age when opinion, hearsay,
and fallacious presentation of statistics are paraded as fact,
particularly by the political right, I think we on the left are tempted,
and should resist, falling into the same pattern of misrepresenting
facts.
The reason I find myself so outspoken about the above
claim is that, 1) I have heard it floating around in several contexts
over the last few months, 2) from what I can tell it is objectively
false, which only serves to weaken the argument for prison reform, and
3) I think it demonstrated a inaccurate reading of our history. We ought
to be able to advocate for the eradication of present racism, without
denigrating the progress that has been made. I find this especially
personal having spent years in Southern Africa seeing first hand race
relationships in contemporary South Africa. That experience by no means
make me an expert on the subject and I am able to speak from a place of
white-privilege, but in my opinion the above claim/meme does not
accurately present our current place in history.
