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"There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850" [View all] kpete Feb 2015 OP

That is sobering to consider. ananda Feb 2015 #1

There's also a helluva lot more humans on the planet as well boomer55 Feb 2015 #2

What percentage of the overall black male population does/did that represent? Orrex Feb 2015 #3

Important question.....that would adjust for the population variance between then and now. dixiegrrrrl Feb 2015 #6

It's not even close: 90% enslaved in 1850 vs 4% incarcerated today NYC Liberal Feb 2015 #16

That sucks madokie Feb 2015 #4

interestingly, i heard on the radio about women's wage equality and suicide prevention unblock Feb 2015 #5

Our population is much, much larger today than in 1850 davidn3600 Feb 2015 #7

That's the incarceration rate, not the arrest rate (not that that excuses anything). pnwmom Feb 2015 #18

Maybe we should discourage them from committing crimes. Oklahoma_Liberal Feb 2015 #63

Not necessarily. Some neighborhoods have a heavier police presence than others, pnwmom Feb 2015 #64

Maybe it has something to do with the breakdown of the black family Vietnameravet Feb 2015 #8

Maybe it has to do with black men being convicted at higher rates than white men Lex Feb 2015 #9

Maybe "the breakdown of the black family" has something to do with the disproportional arrest rate? MH1 Feb 2015 #12

+1000. nt awoke_in_2003 Feb 2015 #60

Heh, I think you got it backwards. RedCappedBandit Feb 2015 #14

But maybe the "breakdown" of the black family has to do with the high incarceration rate? JDPriestly Feb 2015 #23

There is a lot of truth to what you say but Vietnameravet Feb 2015 #43

Black fathers DO accept responsibility JustAnotherGen Feb 2015 #53

Much of the problem is racism. JDPriestly Feb 2015 #58

The breakdown caused by lopsided incarceration rates? blackspade Feb 2015 #37

Slavery by Any Other Name JustAnotherGen Feb 2015 #54

And DustyJoe Feb 2015 #56

Yeah, but this is just a problem in the south, right? Scuba Feb 2015 #10

wisconsin sure is an outlier. why, do you think? ND-Dem Feb 2015 #27

Grinding poverty, racist politicians with unrestrained police and criminal justice systems. Scuba Feb 2015 #31

but since you have the same factors in the south, why wisconsin v. e.g. mississippi, which doesn't ND-Dem Feb 2015 #33

Good question. Scuba Feb 2015 #44

Post removed Post removed Feb 2015 #45

There's also NYC Stop & Frisk under Guiliani & Bloomberg adding to profiling & high arrest rates. appalachiablue Feb 2015 #59

And after they've "paid their debt to society", they still can't vote. procon Feb 2015 #11

...and be lucky to get a job. davidn3600 Feb 2015 #19

Right, and without a job they can't support their families. procon Feb 2015 #39

They also can't rent property in many cases since management checks credit and other appalachiablue Feb 2015 #57

Is this "Creative Speculation", since per capita imprisonment is not near the same today? Fred Sanders Feb 2015 #13

Or...There are more WHITE men under correctional control today than Black men under slavery in 1850 FLPanhandle Feb 2015 #15

Your point? ismnotwasm Feb 2015 #21

The point is that it's a meaningless stat FLPanhandle Feb 2015 #22

Ok. how about this analysis ismnotwasm Feb 2015 #25

Any comparison of numbers to 1850 is silly FLPanhandle Feb 2015 #29

Even as a rhetorical device it is not 'silly' ismnotwasm Feb 2015 #32

That stat doesn't emphasize anything, it is meaningless FLPanhandle Feb 2015 #34

In a short speech ismnotwasm Feb 2015 #41

As a device to get attention, it works. FLPanhandle Feb 2015 #50

Yes that always bothers me ismnotwasm Feb 2015 #52

It's long past time to end the drug war in its entirety. iscooterliberally Feb 2015 #17

K&R ismnotwasm Feb 2015 #20

no racism there glasshouses Feb 2015 #24

Post removed Post removed Feb 2015 #36

Well, that's utterly simplistic. cyberswede Feb 2015 #38

Goodbye. progressoid Feb 2015 #42

Aw. Iggo Feb 2015 #46

Waiting for a Republican to say, "See? Slavery wasn't so bad" in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . tclambert Feb 2015 #26

1 in 11 Black adults, 1 in 27 Hispanic adults, and 1 in 45 white adults are under correctional contr Sunlei Feb 2015 #28

Post removed Post removed Feb 2015 #40

"Injustice in the system" isn't one side of the coin. It's the fucking mint. Iggo Feb 2015 #47

dude-- that's a messed up thing to say. ismnotwasm Feb 2015 #48

does anyone think this is a coincidence? guillaumeb Feb 2015 #30

USA history, facts never taught. Now it's mexicans added to the prison slave 'system' Sunlei Feb 2015 #49

Thanks for posting this outstanding 2012 PBS documentary based on the Pulitzer prize winning appalachiablue Feb 2015 #55

Rec because we have a huge problem F4lconF16 Feb 2015 #35

Yeah ismnotwasm Feb 2015 #51

kick Liberal_in_LA Feb 2015 #61

A number of things Java Feb 2015 #62