More Black Men in Prison, Penal System, Than Were Enslaved in 1850, Author Michelle Alexander Tells L.A. Area Audience

By Dennis Romero Wed., Mar. 30 2011 at 8:02 AM

YouTube

Michelle Alexander.

It was a tall claim. Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness told a Pasadena crowd last week that more African American men are in the penal system now than were enslaved in 1850.

More African American men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began.

A chilling claim. But true?

We checked it out.

Frankly, as an Ohio State law professor and author on the subject, Alexander is way more qualified than we are to verify the claim. (She ran the Racial Justice Program at the ACLU in Northern California, too).

And, yeah, we have a prison problem, however you want to slice it. As the New York Times noted a few years back, we have 5 percent of the world's population yet produce a quarter of its prisoners.

And as far as we can tell, about 39 percent of them are African American.

Alexander blamed the massive incarceration on American drug laws:

Tags:

African Americans, Michelle Alexander, prison, slavery, U.S. prison population

We Recommend

j f

just keep voting 100% Democrat ... that's been working REAL well

Marta

Idiot! voting does nothing for blacks. Wow! you people have proven to me exactly what blacks has said all along how dumb whites are and believe themselves to be smarter and superior. Wow........... I cant believe you really think your smart. Take a look at the idiotic posts you people put time into. WOW>.............. amazing. jesus christ.!

Amari1

Ms. Alexander,

What a poorly posited thesis for an academic. Do you think the Black population might have grown some since the Civil War? According to the census bureau there were 41.8 Million Blacks in the U.S. in 2009. 2.3 million were serving in the Military. 18% had Bachelor degrees (7.5 Million). So, far more have chosen a different path - it's there - just have to choose it.

Marta

I am not surprise to find many idiotic white folks to be the first to make comments on issues that do not affect your race, status or family. So get a life. Blacks are no longer going to allow for white america to destroy us. U.S allows illegals to come to this country for the sole purpose of destroying black race, without any regards that it affects the whites as well when it comes to jobs, education, etc. So believe this what affects african americans surly is now affecting YOU!

A. R. Ward

Is Our Justice System “The New Jim Crow”? http://arward.net/?p=66

Grimjack3299

If you comite the crime be prepared to do the time. I don't see a lose of production, you remove someone from circulation that is trying to harm others or himself. And as for your assuming that there is a lose of fatherhood, what is your research on that? What is to say that a large majority aren't deadbeats or that they even have children of their own. The last line of your article is pure sophistry.

Eaafit1965

Mr. Grimjack, your opinion, while always welcome, is significantly flawed. I agree that if you commit the crime you should be prepared to do the time. The punishment should also match the crime and enforcement should be fair and equitable. You and I both know this is not the case in the U.S. I find it telling that the ignorant continue to cling to empty-headed rhetoric like your's when given an opportunity to express a developed view of important issues. But I actually like it when intellectual charlatans like you express themselves because you don't even consider the full weight of what you say. It is clear you are incapable of a reasoned argument. Chew on this for a moment. Whether a person is a "deadbeat" or not is irrelevant because today's correctional facilities make almost no attempt at rehabilitation. Municipalities don't even offer wrongfully convicted individuals any financial redress. So if a person wants to change his life after he/she is released, his attempts are met with ignorance, fear and lack of compassion. No wonder the recidivism rate is so high.