(ThyBlackMan.com) The United States of America has more people behind bars than any other country in the world. Incarceration in the United States is one of the main forms of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of a felony and other offenses. Put another way; the United States has 5 percent of the world’s population and one quarter of the world’s prisoners. As a result of societal bias, the America has the largest prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceration rate. Across the USA, the unfortunate reality is that black men are disproportionately imprisoned in comparison to their white counterparts. (Latino men also suffer a similar fate—but black men, statistically, deal with it the most.) One must be familiar with the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) to fully appreciate the issues contained herein.
The term “prison–industrial complex”, was derived from the “military–industrial complex” of the 1950s, which describes the designation of the rapid expansion of the US inmate population to the political influence of private prison companies and businesses that supply goods and services to government prison agencies for profit. Decades of the prison-industrial complex have led to this unfair situation—and the numbers are staggering.
As a result, black men’s lives—and the lives of their families—are being forever altered. Time spent in prison is far from the only negative consequence; the effects ripple out into the quality of life for us and our families (even after being released) as well as higher rates of mental health issues.
Facts and figures about the mass incarceration of black men in America
In an article for GOVERNING[i] exploring the absence of black men across America, Mike Maciag cites that: “Nationally, the Census Bureau counts 88 black male adults for every 100 black women, while the ratio for whites is a more equal 97 men for every 100 women.”
This demonstrates just how specific the issue is—even though black men and women both experience systemic racism, mass incarceration is clearly impacting men the most. And this particular type of discrimination is prevalent across the country.
In the article, Maciag also cites a troubling statistic from the Bureau of Justice Statistics: that “African-American males are imprisoned in state and federal facilities at six times the rate of white men, and about 25 times that of black women.”
This is not to say that black women don’t face their own unique challenges (especially with the combination of racism and sexism), but black men are notably being singled out by the prison-industrial complex. The criminal justice system operates in a way that is definitively biased towards locking up black men.
And this issue also affects the lives of black women. An article from the Pew Research Center cites: “One in every 2.5 black women has a family member in prison, more than three times the number for white women, according to a Scholars Strategy Network report.”[ii]
This no doubt has an impact on the lives of the mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives of the many detained men. The mass incarceration of these black men breaks apart families, robbing them of precious time together. So, this issue affects black communities at large.
The mental health ramifications of imprisonment
And, as if being locked up/taken away from your family wasn’t enough stress for a person to go through, research also shows the long-lasting harms of incarceration. (As we’ve seen from the statistics, this experience is overwhelmingly common for black men, in comparison to other populations.)
For example, there is a psychological term called Institutional Syndrome which refers to how institutionalized individuals (such as prisoners) “may be deprived … of independence and of responsibility, to the point that once they return to ‘outside life’ they are often unable to manage many of its demands.”[iii]
This concept demonstrates how being imprisoned doesn’t just limit a person’s ability to function as a member of society while serving their time—it also makes it increasingly difficult for them to reintegrate into society.
It has also been argued that Institutional Syndrome actually leads individuals (such as prisoners) to “become psychologically more prone to mental health problems.”[iv] This is yet another negative consequence of incarceration.
Furthermore, an article by Prof. Kylie Smith for The Washington Post notes that:
“…for minorities, especially African Americans, mental-health care often gets provided in prison, where the standard of care is so low that lack of treatment has fueled a suicide epidemic.”[v]
So, not only are prisoners more likely to develop mental health issues, but they’re also less likely to receive adequate treatment. This ultimately leads to a vicious cycle where black men are unfairly targeted by the criminal justice system and, while in custody, are treated so poorly that they may develop mental health issues, and even then, they are deprived of the appropriate care.
Clearly, the effects of incarceration impact basically every aspect of a person’s life. And the criminal justice system is poorly-equipped to treat incarcerated individuals—who are predominantly black men, in America—with even the most basic aspects of respect.
Conclusion
The mass incarceration of black men in America is undeniable, and has wide-ranging effects. These men suffer more than just the discomfort/restriction of daily life in an institution; they also miss out on valuable time with their families, opportunities to get involved in their local communities, and the right to receive sufficient mental health care.
This widespread injustice is a massive problem in America. Going into the 2020 presidential election, the mass incarceration of black men needs to be a top priority on the ballot. Democratic presidential candidates such as Cory Booker and Kamala Harris have made this issue central to their campaigns, but it still deserves far more attention than it’s currently garnering.
It’s time for everyone—including politicians—to realize what’s at stake: the lives of black men, and of their families.
References
[i] Maciag, Mike. “Where Have All the Black Men Gone?” GOVERNING. Accessed November 28, 2019. https://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-black-men-gender-imbalance-population.html.
[ii] Gramlich, John. “The Gap between the Number of Blacks and Whites in Prison Is Shrinking,” April 30, 2019. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/30/shrinking-gap-between-number-of-blacks-and-whites-in-prison/.
[iii] “Institutional Syndrome.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 16, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_syndrome.
[iv] “Institutional Syndrome.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 16, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_syndrome.
[v] Smith, Kylie. “Perspective | How Bigotry Created a Black Mental Health Crisis.” The Washington Post. WP Company, July 30, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/07/29/how-bigotry-created-black-mental-health-crisis/.
Staff Writer; Stanley G. Buford
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