New report says black male Dropouts lead nation in incarceration

Source: the Louisiana Weekly

On any given day, nearly 23 percent of all young Black men ages 16 to 24 who have dropped out of high school are in jail, prison, or a juvenile justice institution in America, according to a disturbing new national report on the dire economic and social consequences of not graduating from high school.

Dropouts become incarcerated at a shocking rate: 23 of every 100 young Black male dropouts were in jail on any given day in 2006-07 compared to only six to seven of every 100 Asian, Hispanic or white dropouts. While young Black men are disproportionately affected, the report, released Oct. 9, found that this crisis cuts across racial and ethnic lines. Male dropouts of all races were 47 times more likely to be incarcerated than their peers of a similar age who had graduated from a four-year college or university.

The report was released by a coalition of leading national and regional education, advocacy, and social service groups. It is titled, “Consequences of Dropping Out of High School: Joblessness and Jailing for High School Dropouts and the High Cost for Taxpayers — 22 percent Daily Jailing Rate for Young Black Men Who Drop Out of High School”. The report is available online at www.clms.neu.edu.

Says Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, “For too long, and in too many ways, young people across the country have been let down by the education system and by the adults responsible for their care and development. Now is the time to increase the investments we make in young people, enhance the content, opportunities and supports we provide, and empower them to make better choices about both their individual future and the future of our nation. This report is another important step towards those ends.”


Read more: http://www.stlamerican.com/articles/2009/10/19/news/local_news/localnews0000000001.txt

Don't drop out of high school, don't have a kid before you're out of school and have a job, don't fall into substance abuse, etc., etc. Although, if you may get different advice if you watch 99% of rap videos.

sickening racists

AND think there's a cultural problem? I think there's lots of cultural problems. In fact, I don't think there's a culture on earth that doesn't have a cultural problem when it comes to some facet of human possibility. And I'm liberal.

I guess you are a liberal racist. I can imagine what that makes me,not pretty.

We should probably pretend the cultural problem doesn't exist.

just our problem it is an American Problem.

Perhaps I have a different view than some here at DU because my g g grandparents were SLAVES for some White Americans that had/still have a "Cultural Problem."

End of Discussion

we are talking about now and we are talking about the large number of black men incarcerated today. We can't change the long dead white slave owners. Discrimination in parts of the white community today is one cultural problem, the anti-achievement attitude present in some parts of the black community is another. There are no do-overs, i.e., no white slave owners. You have to play it going forward from where we are right now.

My ancestors were victims of the Spanish invasion, then the European invasion and attempted genocide of my people. Not to mention a bounty put out by the government for proof of a dead indian.

Cute though.

Expending effort to educate boys means a change to the status quo.

It's a national problem.

Before the Civil Rights Act, 2/3s of prisoners were white. Today 2/3s of prisoners are people of color. Perhaps black folks saw white people staying out of jail and decided it was a void they had to step into?

More at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/jailrair.htm

so that was the time frame I was referring to, the rates in 1964 until now.

I won't hold my breath waiting (because I know you can't do it).

Tim Wise, a famous anti-racism author, repeatedly cites the 1/3 to 2/3 swing in debates. I don't have the exact reference from his books on hand, but if you're even the least bit familiar with Tim Wise, you would know he doesn't make up numbers and is exhaustive with his research.

Here's a good clip of Tim Wise on "white privilege". Eye-opening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Xe1kX7Wsc

I probably would have spent more time on the google to give you the exact report on black incarceration rates, but I won't. Your ignorance and snide dismissal at the mere suggestion that black incarceration rates have drastically increased over the last 40 years is puzzling to me. I will now stare at the ceiling wondering how you got the way you are. May God have mercy on your soul. :eyes:

EDIT: Youtube clip where he cites this statistic. The shift was even more drastic than I had suggested. 1/3 to 2/3 from 1964 to 1994.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C55zE_qJd2g

I challenged ONLY your claim that white incarceration rates have fallen. Incarceration rates for ALL races have been increasing for a long time.

I DID NOT say that white incarceration rates have fallen. I DID say that the relative ratio of whites incarcerated to blacks incarcerated has dropped from 2/3s to 1/3 from 1964 to 1994. Clearly, both rates have risen, but white incarceration rates have risen at a lower rate. Always had trouble in math class eh?

Your 10th grade english teacher is rolling over in her grave. :rofl:

What I don't understand is the relevance of that factoid.

The bottom line for me is that we are incarcerating more and more people every year because of the War On (some) Drugs. It affects all people.

was that the whole point of the War on Drugs was to incarcerate minorities at a higher rate. You should watch those two Tim Wise clips that I posted earlier. And no, they aren't about "blaming Whitey". He argues that the War on Drugs serves as a means of social control of minorities. For example, he also cites other statistics like how blacks are more likely to have their cars searched when they are stopped at a much higher proportion than they actually have drugs in their cars.

Tim Wise's most compelling point however is that racism against blacks does a disservice to working class white folks. He talks about how the concept of "whiteness" was invented to pit working class whites and working class blacks against each other. It serves as a method to keep the rich wealthy and to keep the working class blaming each other for their economic woes.

:hi:

I apologize for snapping at you.

He argues that the War on Drugs serves as a means of social control of minorities. For example, he also cites other statistics like how blacks are more likely to have their cars searched when they are stopped at a much higher proportion than they actually have drugs in their cars.

That is all easy to believe. What I find hard to believe is that the WO(s)D was designed with the intent of controlling minorities.

Racism against anyone does a disservice to everyone.

:pals: :fistbump: :hug: :grouphug:

I don't think he believes that the war on drugs was intended as a means of social control of minorities, but that this has been the effect of it. :hi:

As of June 30, 2007, the incarceration rate in state or federal prison or jail for men was 1,406 per 100,000 residents, for women 136 per 100,000 residents.

The rate for white men was 773 per 100,000,
for black men 4,618 per 100,000,
for Hispanic men 1,747 per 100,000.
The rate for white women was 95 per 100,000,
for black women 348 per 100,000,
and for Hispanic women 146 per 100,000.

Source: Sabol, William J., PhD, Couture, Heather, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, June 2008), NCJ221944, p. 7, Table 10.

Of the 253,300 state prison inmates serving time for drug offenses at yearend 2005, 113,500 (44.8%) were black, 51,100
(20.2%) were Hispanic, and
72,300 (28.5%) were white.

Source: Sabol, William J., PhD, and West, Heather C., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2007 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, December 2008), NCJ224280, p. 21, Appendix Table 10.

It's shockingly high for black men, and has been getting worse disproportionately over time.

White people and women are also being incarcerated at higher rates than in the past.

I haven't written anything to contradict that fact.

OK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C55zE_qJd2g

Idiot.

So why don't you actually cite them? :eyes:

don't appreciate your snarky rudeness. Plus I remember when I was a teaching assistant in graduate school. I would always try to teach my students how to help themselves instead of just giving them the answers. After all, once they graduated and started a job, I wouldn't be at their beck and call. So I will teach you how to help yourself. You can use what we call "The Google" and look up the incarceration rates yourself. I promise you that the ratio is as I said.

at least in this case.

Then you have all the knowledge you need to look up the incarceration rates yourself. :hi:

Odd.

Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

Same thing for giving you a link vs. telling you how to find it yourself.

In the future, people will be more helpful if you aren't rude to them from the start.

I don't get paid enough to educate the truly ignorant.

I am trying to help you.

you know, the ones that don't have governors advocating secession. :rofl:

I do wish we had Romney-care though. :rofl: Oh wait....we're about to! :rofl:

where she detailed how Texas was dead last or near the bottom in many health care statistics.

We need Romney-care! :rofl:

If a white man beat up a black man in the 1950s, no federal crime was involved. If a white or black man robbed a bank he could be sentenced to federal time, but other then that, except for drugs, almost any crime at the federal level involved something more then mere violence. One of the leading federal crimes was sending pornography through the mails. That was predominately a white crime, blacks rarely had access to the printing presses needed to make even the bad copies of the time period (Remember we are talking about the 1950s). Some reports that during Alcatraz's hay day (1930-1960) over half of the inmates were in that prison for porn through the mail charges.

People tend to forget that even prior to the 1930s, Bank Robberies were NOT even a federal crime. Bank embezzlement was, but NOT robbery. Given that almost all bank employees of the time period were white, only whites could embezzle (and this if caught serve time in jail).

Another area of federal imprisonment was tax evasion, but again another area where few blacks had a problem for the simple reason few had FEDERAL tax bills that they wanted to evade. Another source of Federal Prisoners as crimes in Federal Reservations, but most such criminals were either Native Americans or Whites.

As to the Beer wars of the 1920s and the subsequent Drug Wars, the Feds kept going after the head of such smuggling rings (Which tend to be white) and leave the lower rungs (which tended to be black) to local law enforcement. Even Treason and Anti-Communist laws affected Whites, who could have access to Federal Jobs and employees NOT to Blacks, who were actually excluded from most Federal Jobs till the late 1940s (and after the 1940s it was no longer legal to exclude blacks from Federal Employment, it was also NOT illegal to exclude them if the person doing the hiring did NOT want to hire a black, that all changed in the 1960s but again be are talking of pre-1964 situation).

The number of blacks in FEDERAL jail prior to the 1960s was quite small for most could not violate a Federal law, either they were NOT a Federal Employee or their employment did NOT subject them to Federal Jurisdiction. Most blacks were in Jail on State Crime Charges NOT Federal Crime Charges for the above reasons and thus few Blacks made it into Federal Prison.

Think about it, prior to 1964, how many blacks would be convicting of NOT filing their Income Tax Forms? How many blacks had the opportunity to embezzle from their employer? How many blacks even made it into a Federal Park to commit a Crime in a Federal Reservation? How many blacks were involved in the high end of Drugs distribution? (Remember the DEA was NOT under the FBI at that time, Hoover saw Drug Enforcement was involving to much money and thus to easy to corrupt his agents and wanted nothing to do with it for that reason, he retain the right to investigate corruption in the DEA but nothing else, the DEA only came under the FBI in the 1980s). How many blacks had access to printing presses to end porn through the mail? No to many, most Federal Crimes, prior to the 1960s, were aimed at Middle Class America NOT working class Blacks (Unless their were Communists, but that is another story).

It's the 4th chart down (Institutionalization Rates for All Adults and Adult Men by Race Ethnicity) at this URL: http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/chartsgraphs.pdf

Based on that, using 200M as the total population figure for 1950 and accepting that adult men are evenly distributed within the population and 10% of the population is black, I get: about 1% of white males are incarcerated in 1950 (2M) males, 3% of black males (600K). That's a very rough estimate, you could compute the numbers more exactly.

The chart clearly shows that the rate of black adult male incarceration skyrockets in about 1980.

It's a big problem.

My guess is that these dropouts already have serious problems and that dropping out only adds to them. But, I do think if you address the problems that caused them to drop out, you are probably also addressing a number of their other problems.

Black community. Cause or symptom?

...also, "Guidance" Counselors in my high school would encourage students with poor grades to drop out and go for their GED. Most didn't even get that though. I'm not sure what their agenda was, but I sure as hell know it wasn't in the student's best interest.

That way when they drop out, they can be arrested and put in jail.

Wait a minute...

to this.

We have hired a number of unskilled or semi-skilled young black men to work in the building business. Not all, but the majority, do not comprehend that showing up on the job does not equate with getting promotions and making more money. Many expect that they will be moving up in the ranks just because they are drawing a paycheck, so instead of putting out the effort to learn about the trade they're in and work harder, they get an attitude when someone who's white or higher up on the job tries to show them how to do something or tells them that need to do something differently. The worst offenders are the ones who bitch and complain and act like they're being discriminated against because they're black, when nothing could be farther from the truth.

I know this isn't going to sit well with some here on DU, but it's a fact.

As I said, it's not true of all the young black men who have worked at our company, but it is true of enough of them that it represents a pattern that needs to be addressed. I wish I knew how to change it, but I don't.

This has been thrust upon them. To a lesser extent, all have adopted this ethos. I have been assailed for years about punching a clock, and what a sucker I was. Now, it is getting IMPOSSIBLE to survive. 70 year old men, are robbing banks.

:)

Everyone would have theri own reality show. And fame. Goes MUCH further than Blacks OBVIOUSLY.

Porn is produced primarily by white males. Why doesn't EVERY white male have to own it, like it's their CULTURE the way anything perceived to be negative is thrust upon all blacks? Please tell me!

that rap music has traditionally had. Oh wait, it doesn't.

minority group - it is. I'm sick of that racist shit.

I think one has to take into consideration the fact that there are racial undertones (overtones?) in a lot of rap music and that's something that doesn't exist in many other negative industries or trends, like porn.

I would disagree that to many people, mostly women sometimes myself included, white men DO have to own porn. White men would probably argue that they have been unfairly smeared with the "pig" label whether they deserve it or not.

They can be used for negative ends, yes, but saying that they're horrible is like saying that rock is horrible, or reggae is horrible. It's a medium, not a message. :shrug:

They will whore out any group they can make money off of.

And tells stories about young Black teens who consider it a source of pride and a sign of being a man to have multiple kids by multiple mothers. These are 13-15 year olds!

So what's your point? :eyes:

You are talking about a sideshow. If you think that single-mother households are not currently a problem in the Black community then I don't know what to tell you.

just like I was extrapolating from a TV show about REAL PEOPLE. The only problem with my logic is that it's as faulty as yours. :eyes:

The census is such a scam. :eyes:

In 1999 the rate of single-parent families among black families was 56 percent; among Hispanic families, 32 percent; and among white families, 20 percent. Higher rates of black single-parent families result from higher rates of out-of-marriage adolescent childbearing within this group and higher divorce rates among black women.

that you got from 1 guidance counselor and that you tried to extrapolate onto millions of young blacks.

Of course I believe the statistics, but you tried to assign motive to those statistics to people you've never met before. Answer this honestly: do you really think that most teenage pregnancies are planned, or do you think that they happen due to carelessness by teenagers?

Ever wonder where the terms baby mamma and baby daddy came from (check out urban dictionary for details)?

Maybe you should consult the movie of the same title.

I also believe Chris Rock addresses it. "I take care of MY kids..."

What happens when you use statistics to control for poverty levels? Some blacks (like myself) are getting tired of the media stereotypes that black people don't care or that they all "take pride" in broken families. That's not what I experienced in my life growing up in a middle class black family in a good neighborhood.

Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Sean Combs, etc. In fact, I have a hard time thinking of a hip hop artist who doesn't have a baby mama or multiple baby mama's. This is not "blame." This is about poor role models.

He has a child by a woman he never married. Lots of people look up to him. Didn't he even go to a presidential State of the Union?

Strange that you wouldn't mention Barack Obama as a role model. You sound like Fox News, cherry-picking whatever fits your little warped world view. Not all black men have baby mamas. :eyes:

By the way, I call your "Rick Ross" and raise you "Eminem". :rofl:

I'm talking about hip-hop music and its effect. I think there is even a song called "I Love My Baby Mama." By not exploring the causes of adolescent births in the Black community you destine them to a life at the bottom of the emerging caste system. Way to go! :thumbsup:

Another interesting tidbit is how adolescent births are almost non-existent in Asian households. They must not be Tom Brady fans though. :eyes:

A fun link for you: http://theurbandaily.com/special-features/peep-show/gallery-rappers-and-their-baby-mamas/

edited to add link.

:eyes:

I destine them to a life at the bottom? :crazy:

I should have known this was all my fault! :rofl:

Agreed. :crazy:

You are responding to the wrong person. Once again, 43 and 9.

Unless you do not disagree?

if i was a complete idiot. yet, many white people don't seem to have the brainpower to recognize that their experience with a black person doesn't mean all black people are the same.

However, this doesn't mean we should shy away from recognizing trends within the African-American population, two of which are an extremely high drop out rate and a high rate of incarceration.

It's all about personal responsibility.

(or Compton and Beverly Hills, or Harlem and the Upper East Side, or what have you) are equally prone to peer pressure.

The difference is that the pressures are not the same, parental involvement is (often) not the same, schools aren't the same, and the consequences aren't the same.

For one kid, something like getting caught with pot can lead to jail, and for another kid it can result in a strict talking-to (but the kid might still get into Harvard, so sending the kid to jail may be seen as messing up an otherwise bright future).

One kid shoplifting might be just testing authority, while another kid is clearly an incipient criminal.

If one kid is having trouble in school, it's easier for one school to just ignore him in hopes of teaching the more promising kids, while another kid might get lots of extra help.

Really?

I had to do a doubletake when I saw "Rick Ross"! :rofl:

they don't admire any of the people you mention. careful with your broad brush.

It's the admiration of clowns like this that is dangerous.

not all black kids consider those fools anything other than fools.

Lil' Wayne is successful CEO with best selling albums.

Ditto for P. Diddy but I don't understand his reference? He mostly makes R&B and non-controversial rap. He also donated to Hillary's Senate campaigns in the past.

...by your upbringing so that you would be immune to the social pathologies that afflict others. Me too. Educated parents, good neighborhoods, etc. Those who do not get such an upbringing have no foundation upon which to reject the selfish impulses of the gangsta culture. Not to say that all fall prey to those messages, but too many do, leading to the heartbreaking phenomena of children having children as a way of asserting social status.

The issue is culture, not race, though because of a large overlap the two become confused. But do not assume that such pathologies are limited to black kids only.

Nor was it the experience of any of my black friends and extended family.

Our neighborhood was not middle class by today's standards, but it was an exceptionally good neighborhood.

The neighbors "cared" not only for their own families, but they also looked out for the families of their neighbors. :hi:

Always helps to have a "they" or a "them" to point at with righteous indignation.

Pity is rarely used in the proper context, instead simply being a most obvious mask for the base and the common.

my friend is a single mother who makes 150k per year. she's black and she doesn't have any of the ominous "problems" you refer to, nor do her two kids. a combination of:
1) poor education, and
2) poverty
do create a lot of problems.

And we are mainly talking about adolescent births.

if you are talking about poor black people...fine. if you are implying that all black, regardless of income and education have these "problems" you are stereotyping.

Considering the staggering amount of black adolescents having children, its worth exploring the reasons. The fact that so many cannot recognize the hip-hop culture as poison to the Black community (especially those in poverty) is disheartening.

and how does it compare to latinos, white people, etc? i agree that it is a problem that needs to be addressed, but i don't think hip hop bears all of the blame.

Way above the others. www.census.gov is the best source. I'll see if I can find the actual stats.

poison to young whites? Personally, I hate hip hop.

But, even without hip hop, poverty would still be a problem in the Black community. Self medication is often the result of poverty and hopelessness.

Hip hop is not the cause of poverty.

(pun intended) suspect many white dropouts and criminals listen to metal.

young white teens who consider baby making a source of pride?

For some time, my kids were the only non white kids in my neighborhood. They grew up with lower, middle and upper class white children. Every single pathology that exists in the black community, I have seen in this community. Actually our kids and another non white family, are the only ones who are living with both of their biological parents. The rest are living with a step parent or single parent. Practically, everyone is divorced. Most of their friends have half and step siblings. Those kids are just as messed up as the kids born to single Mothers.

I'm not a guidance counselor, but I've heard and witnessed some pretty amazing things.

Culture is very difficult to change and there is no silver bullet. However, one thing that is hugely important is an intact 2-parent family. That provides a cultural "inoculation" against many of the pathologies that run rampant in society. The values that children learn determine much of their adult lives. How to inculcate that is one hell of a problem.

Like what you said - no answers, but at least we are asking some of the right questions.

young, undereducated white males?

:sarcasm:

However, does that negate the point? For instance, does the fact that young, under-educated white males exist mean we should turn a blind eye to the fact that young black males drop out at nearly twice the rate of young white males in our society? Something's going wrong here somewhere along the line. And we're going to have to learn to discuss these matters openly if we're ever going to change it.

What do you suggest that we should do to change it?

Seymour Hersh recently pointed out that the military would like to see Obama fail.

“They think he’s weak and the wrong color. Yes, there’s racism in the Pentagon. We may not like to think that, but it’s true and we all know it.”
In a speech on Obama’s foreign policy, Hersh, who uncovered the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War and torture at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraqi war, said many military leaders want Obama to fail."

This is the trend. Many black kids run into this once they enter school. They are expected to fail and many in charge would like to see them fail. The kids feel this. Some rise above it and prosper. Many do not.

IMHO, that's what's going wrong along the line. If these kids were listening to opera all day, it would not change the attitude of some educators. The "unconscious" racist remarks I've heard from some teachers is unbelievable.

Self esteem has to be addressed. Kids with high self esteem are less likely to drop out and get in trouble.

Or more likely he was just viewed as a "sell out."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g29TkoHOX3-KkNwrK25co1nDyqMwD9B10S801

i thought it would have been asian medical students

that's about as surprising as tomorrow's sunrise. :eyes:

that as long as it's illegal they probably should avoid using it. I'd love to drive 100MPH on the freeway but I can't. Nobody forces people to smoke weed.

That's the same as people saying you shouldn't drink alcohol. Nobody forces you but if something makes you feel good and it doesn't hurt you or anyone else it should be up to an individual not the government. That sentence was referring to weed. Alcohol is harmful. Also your name is a popular prescription pain killer. I would rather have weed than pills. Plus what makes being poor and restricted to a crappy life better: weed. I'm not saying all black men are poor, but I guarantee you the ones incarcerated are.

Done in Germany all the time. Makes me feel good too. Quite a rush.

Now Im not for 100 mph in say a school zone or rural roads. Ooh that may have hurt my reasoning since high people usually drive slow. Oh well

Former Bush official is sentenced to one year in prison
By Robert Brodsky rbrodsky@govexec.com October 16, 2009

David Safavian, the former head of federal procurement policy during the Bush administration, was sentenced on Friday to 12 months and one day in prison for lying about his dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He will be on supervised probation for 24 months after his release from prison.

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman, however, ruled that Safavian would not have to surrender to authorities until after his pregnant wife, Jennifer, gives birth. It is not clear when she is due to give birth.

Prosecutors had been asking for a prison sentence of 15 to 21 months.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=43822&dcn=todaysnews

"white" collar criminals are routinely spanked on the wrist, but let a young black man get caught with a joint or a rock. the system works as it was designed to work.

That's for blacks and whites and the in betweens - reds, browns, etc.

:rofl:

The color spectrum?

:crazy:

a source of debate. Generally, white is the absence of color and black is the combination of all colors. So the poster is accurate in pointing out that everything else is in-between.

White is the combination of all colors, and black is the absence of color.

With light, the combination of all colors of light is white light.

With paint pigment, the combination of all colors is black pigment.

I had a roomate who was a film student years ago. We used to argue about the primary colors too.

That's an ugly series of racist posts you have on this thread.

Alert away!!!

:)

It just means you'll have company for the cross "lighting".

Interesting world view.

Yeah, as a college educated woman I do recognize that. I certainly took enough art classes. I'm just sad that my gist was missed. There are criminals of all colors. Most high school dropouts don't end up in prison regardless of their color.

We have a problem but it's more than the education system. It's more than poverty and it's more than mental illness. Often it's sane people making dumb choices for self aggrandizing reasons. These people are in jail for committing crimes that most others in their same circumstances do not. I don't feel too bad for them regardless of the unfairness in race that gets locked up. If blacks commit less crimes, there will be less blacks in prison. Is there some new brand of poverty and un-education that blacks are privy to, that far less Hispanics/Asians/whites tap into, that land them in prison? Somehow I doubt that.

Therefore I suspect people should get rid of the word racist. It would mean they hate themself. Right?

before spouting off.

Since that is the only thing that would explain this proportion, this article must be wrong.

We're NUMBER ONE (in incarceration rates for the world) WE'RE NUMBER ONE! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!

Nothing at all.

It's the gangsta culture, hip hop music and of course genetics.

Did I leave anything out?

Nothing at all unusual about seeing on the news where a bunch of college graduates are hanging out at the coffee shop and get into a big street fight with the a gang of doctors and librarians, with knives and guns. Cops show up, tasers and pepper spray come out. Maybe it is education that makes people commit violent crime.

Or do they just tend to get arrested more often for some strange reason? Too bad this country isn't harder on corporate criminals. The stats for that would probably be staggering.

Characteristics of criminal offenders at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm

Or do they just tend to get arrested more often for some strange reason?

That may be part of it, but the prevalence of young, male, uneducated people in prisons is numerically overwhelming. Black people, because of long-standing inequalities at all levels, tend to be poorer and less educated than others. I'm not sure but they may also tend to have larger families and therefore more young people than the general population.

Surely racist bias at the point of arrest and within the justice system is a factor too.

Yes, INNOCENT!!

My brother graduated high school, but I can't tell you how many times my brother has been stopped and told he fits the profile of someone who either murdered or robbed someone. He is in that age group of 16-24. He gets stopped at least once a month for some BS. My parents now want to get a full time lawyer because the last incident was scary (6 police cars followed him to my parents' house, cuffed him, put him in the back of the car because his car looked like a suspects from another case). Luckily my dad was home at the time, came outside and asked them WTF they were doing. They told him to "get back in the house," but he wouldn't and the situation was resolved. If it weren't for the fact that he has parents who are able to stick up for him during those situations, I'm sure he'd be in jail too.

:puke:

The OP was all ready to crow about "DU's diversity" and how it was "sooo much better than Free Republic's" but had to EAT crow by about the third post. It would have been funny if it wasn't so sad.

And the fact that he had a category for "African" but not "black" or "African-American" just made it all the more pitiful.

:puke:

Trash the Negroes. No matter how ill-informed, ignorant and racist you sound in the process, please Trash the Negroes.

The comments here are similar to those from whenever rap music was brought up in the Lounge a few years ago.

If they happen to be black, that doesn't merit giving them a break.

You have a link? Sounds interesting.

I don't understand.

Or anything that surprises me.

If you feel like explaining it to an ignorant white middle-aged middle-class employed divorced empty-nester homeowner who owns a computer and participates in Web-based forums, go right ahead.

You know, I can understand the ignorance of the uneducated piece of trash JP in Louisiana. He's willfully ignorant.

But I have a hard time with the ignorance and cluelessness of the educated, progressives.

We do have a long way to go. Lord, help us!

It's enough to make you just want to lay somewhere and weep, isn't it?? Just weep until you can't weep anymore. If this is supposedly the "best and brightest" of America, is there any wonder that there is so much confusion, fear, misunderstanding and just flat out ignorance in this country towards minorities and most importantly, our history -- which threads like this highlight to excellent effect?

We do have a long way to go. Lord, help us!

So true, it bears repeating!

We do have a long way to go. Lord, help us!

it's one thing to welcome diversity, but weeping over too many white people borders on bigotry

Better educated and more affluent people tend to be whiter than the general population.

DU does not look like America.

Computers are like televisions now. Everyone has one.

Many lower income people have relatives/friends who are better off. Hand me down computers end up in the projects as well as places like Hammond LA., the home of the dinosaur JP.

I'm going to hazard a wild guess and say that the ones who don't tend to be poor, undereducated, or elderly.

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12758865&subjectID=348909&fsrc=nwl#

It doesn't say whether they are counting company-owned workstations and servers at peoples' places of employement. I have one functional computer at home, a desktop and a laptop issued to me by my employer, and about a dozen servers I take care of.

and the outcomes of both are remarkably similar. When authenticity is judged by ignorance, masculinity is judged by violence, misogyny runs deep and effort isn't rewarded there are few good outcomes for those caught in that environment.

On top of that these "value systems" are re-enforced 24/7 by the media and government.

I'm as progressive as they come, but I'm not blind to what I see in my own city. I see black Americans afraid to "rat" on other blacks and I see blacks committing a helluva lot of crime. Whatever the cause, whatever the reason, etc. I know what I see. It's not racist to see that kids raised without families and kids raised in the gangsta culture = (too many times) a life of crime. If progressives deny we have a problem with blacks and crime and blame it on fill-in-the-blank we're lying to ourselves. It IS a cultural issue that we turn our backs to for fear of being called 'racist' --- at our own peril. The wrong thing would be to remain quiet and do nothing.

As a graduate of the fine NYC school system, I will say that the best thing that happened to me is when these knuckleheads dropped out of high school. At that point, I was able to walk the hall ways without having to witness constant atrocities by people who have no compassion for others. When these knuckleheads got arrested, i was even happier, because I didn't have to worry about these fools messing with people who could not defend themselves.

This is all coming from personal experience, but growing up in the hood of NY, everyone I know who went to jail belonged in jail. The worst years in my memory were 1989-1992. I was a teen then and it was the height of the crack epidemic. The stuff i saw back then was pretty bad. Once the cops started locking all the idiots up, things got a lot better for us who just wanted to live normal lives.

The only explanation I have for these kids being so bad is lack of parenting and peer pressure. Everything else is (drugs, racism, jobs, etc) just peripheral. Once you meets the parents of these kids, it will explain all you need to know about how they got to where they are.

they say the single greatest problem with public schools is forcing them to be a waiting room for prison.

you also have to take into account that the justice system locks up more minorities than white people. White people get community service or probation. African-Amercians get put in jail or prison.