Race and Opportunity in the US

[Belsnickel]

I was listening to The Daily from the New York Times, this morning, and they talked about this study that was recently released.

This was a very interesting listen and then read, and I thought I would share it for discussion on here. One thing that I found interesting that I am certain some will point to with earnest is that the 1% of places where this racial inequality of opportunity does not prevail tend to have something in common. The commonality is the presence of black male father figures for young black men. They may not be a father in their own household, but they are present in the surrounding neighborhood. I found this to be an interesting connection to what I read in The New Jim Crow in discussing how the War on Drugs and the policies of mass incarceration that disproportionately affect minorities (and in particular black men) are taking away these role models. These father figures are being removed through these policies and this implicit structural racism and that is perpetuating this cycle of inequality.

It was just some interesting stuff that I am sure will face plenty of disagreement on here, but I wanted to share.

[*michaelsean*]

(03-23-2018, 10:44 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: I was listening to The Daily from the New York Times, this morning, and they talked about this study that was recently released.

This was a very interesting listen and then read, and I thought I would share it for discussion on here. One thing that I found interesting that I am certain some will point to with earnest is that the 1% of places where this racial inequality of opportunity does not prevail tend to have something in common. The commonality is the presence of black male father figures for young black men. They may not be a father in their own household, but they are present in the surrounding neighborhood. I found this to be an interesting connection to what I read in The New Jim Crow in discussing how the War on Drugs and the policies of mass incarceration that disproportionately affect minorities (and in particular black men) are taking away these role models. These father figures are being removed through these policies and this implicit structural racism and that is perpetuating this cycle of inequality.

It was just some interesting stuff that I am sure will face plenty of disagreement on here, but I wanted to share.

The fixes at the end seem doable.  Get rid of the war on drugs for one although that's probably easier said than done.  

[fredtoast]

Kind of "chicken and egg" questions.

Are black communities suffering more long term poverty due to a high level of drug traffic or is there a high level of drug traffic in black communities due to long term poverty?

Is gang membership a result of desperation and a feeling of helplessness, or is a high level of gang membership causing desperation and a feeling of helplessness?

There are lots of problems with the criminal justice system that make things worse for African Americans, but even statistics based on victim surveys (not arrests and convictions) indicate that African Americans commit crimes at a much higher level than whites. So there is more to the "mass incarceration" issue than just racism in the criminal justice system (which does exist).

[Belsnickel]

(03-23-2018, 11:10 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Kind of "chicken and egg" questions.

Are black communities suffering more long term poverty due to a high level of drug traffic or is there a high level of drug traffic in black communities due to long term poverty?

Is gang membership a result of desperation and a feeling of helplessness, or is a high level of gang membership causing desperation and a feeling of helplessness?

There are lots of problems with the criminal justice system that make things worse for African Americans, but even statistics based on victim surveys (not arrests and convictions) indicate that African Americans commit crimes at a much higher level than whites. So there is more to the "mass incarceration" issue than just racism in the criminal justice system (which does exist).

This is obviously going in a different direction that just the equality of opportunity discussion, but the idea of systemic racism in the criminal justice system is more obvious when it involves drug crimes. Those arrested for drug crimes make up the majority of the population in our prisons, not perpetrators of crimes against others. The data from studies on drug use in the United States show that members of all racial groups use drugs at similar rates, but African Americans are arrested and convicted at much higher rates than other racial groups. In addition to that, they are sentenced more harshly than white defendants in drug cases.

The War on Drugs is the main driver of the increase in our prison populations, and that has targeted the African American community in a disproportionate way. Violent crime rates have not changed in a way that could explain the massive increase in our prisoner populations in this country in the last 30-40 years. These are just observations, not even judgement calls or discussions of motive behind this issue.

[masterpanthera_t]

(03-23-2018, 11:23 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: This is obviously going in a different direction that just the equality of opportunity discussion, but the idea of systemic racism in the criminal justice system is more obvious when it involves drug crimes. Those arrested for drug crimes make up the majority of the population in our prisons, not perpetrators of crimes against others. The data from studies on drug use in the United States show that members of all racial groups use drugs at similar rates, but African Americans are arrested and convicted at much higher rates than other racial groups. In addition to that, they are sentenced more harshly than white defendants in drug cases.

Yes, I've heard or seen this being discussed in the way you've laid it out here. I remember watching somewhere the difference between the legislation on crack cocaine (highly predominant in African American cocaine users) vs. an other type of cocaine (I think this means powdered cocaine, but I don't remember).  The second type of cocaine has much less severe legal consequences to its users compared to the former. I can't think of other examples, but I'm sure they exist as that was sort of what the program was stating.

Quote:The War on Drugs is the main driver of the increase in our prison populations, and that has targeted the African American community in a disproportionate way. Violent crime rates have not changed in a way that could explain the massive increase in our prisoner populations in this country in the last 30-40 years. These are just observations, not even judgement calls or discussions of motive behind this issue.

I'm not particularly optimistic that this will change anytime in the near future given the rise of the for-profit private prison systems. 

[Dill]

(03-23-2018, 11:58 AM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: I'm not particularly optimistic that this will change anytime in the near future given the rise of the for-profit private prison systems. 

Not to worry MasterP.  When the death penalty for dealing is instituted, there will be so many fewer prisoners to house.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/19/health/trump-death-penalty-drug-traffickers-reaction/index.html