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Elnora Reddick

Dr. Letcher

English 101

2 December 2023

Mass Incarceration Final

For decades mass incarceration had been an unsolved problem in America.

Mass incarceration is one of the biggest social issues in our society. Although, mass

incarceration is mass or extreme rates of imprisonment. Although, the victims of such policies

are often disproportionally of the African Americans. However, there are some individuals who

argue that the caused by many factors that have led to this social issue, for example neglect or

corruption from our government officials, crime control policies, policymaking, consequences of

racial codes, targeted policing, and discrimination and mobilizing financial resources that most

affect black communities. Consequently, people who say the policies did not hinder the

progress of African Americans, how Mass Incarceration makes disadvantaged neighborhoods

worse in imprisoning communities causes the economic impact of incarcerating a family’s major

breadwinner even though the majority of his or her contributions may have been the result of

illegal activities (Gale Academic p.41). As a result, there are five issues to address that

African Americans have faced throughout history are Mass Incarceration, Derailing of the

Great Migration, Brown vs. Board, War on Drugs and Voter Suppression.

Although, the matter of the truth is, mass incarceration weakened the nation’s

ability to compete economically and educationally. However, the result of excessive billions of

dollars on incarcerations, on the criminal justice system and policies with prosecutions and
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defense lawyers deciding who goes to free and who goes to prison. However, there are still
many systems in the United States allow free labor, racial inequality, racial injustice, racial

discrimination, oppressed, the actions of hyper policing, controlling and institutionalizing

African Americans. Although, this nation is targeted in the inner-city residents, and

neighborhoods with crime “the effects of Mass incarceration of communities of color”

(Crutchfield). Therefore, all this stems from African Americans wanting to work, get an

education and live in decent life to take of care of their families and vote. (White Rage p.6).

Anderson states, because they we’re unwilling to take no for an answer. Nevertheless, Reagan

took America down the road to mass incarceration. Reagan’s decisions to destroy Black

American families, not preventing the flow of drugs to come into the nation and bringing

democracy to a war on drugs. (p.130). Consequently, disfranchisement, discrimination in

employment, disproportionately in the black communities are 13 percent of the nation’s

population, makes to 45% of those incarcerated. The nation and most cases target the wrong

individuals (p.137). Mass incarceration refers to an overabundance of Americans, mainly those

of color, being under some type of correctional control. Correctional control involves prison, jail,

probation, and parole. Such as, irrational laws, policies, and practices that implore for the use of

cruel punishment, instead of deterrence or rehabilitation. For instance, when mass incarceration

is talk about, it still viewed as a crime only seen at an individually, blaming it on poor decision-

making, bad parenting, and disrespect for law and order. Somehow, it is ignored, community-

wide pressures institutionalized racial privilege and “disadvantage of communities”,

(Crutchfield) labor market failures and poverty. However, mass incarceration while only

proposing individual level solution usually punishment and offer little to promote
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healing for harm, or treatment for mental illness, for individuals or for communities. In

addition, African Americans are responsible for the choices they make, regardless of

circumstances. But if they are being responsible, they must understand how trauma affect their

choices, how the single greatest risk factor for committing a violent crime is having been a

victim of violence, and how, even when a person massively transforms his or her life, it doesn’t

seem to matter in the punishment.

However, when Jim Crow system had kept many blacks working conditions

equal to slavery, African Americans settled in those living conditions. Although, leaving the

south going to the contributed to profound social, economic, demographic, and cultural changes

in the northern cites. However, after the Great Migration, blacks continued to move in search

of opportunity as some returned to the South, while others moved to better neighborhoods

within the North. Yet, with conflicting reasons why did black southern migrated to the

North? Some say it is common what motivated African Americans to leave the South,

the Southern blacks did not have an alternative. But this situation changed dramatically

when the World War 1 and the United States created a more restrictive policy that forced

northern employers to consider southern blacks as a source of inexpensive labor (Alexander

JT. 1998). The Great Migration in comparative perspective. Soc. Sci. Hist. 22:349-76).

Subsequently, Migration of control in mass deportation is a time when crisis has occurred

in the United States fearing of politics and the aftermath of a financial crisis in the time of

Derailing of the Great Migration existed.

Similarly, when Brown vs. Board decision came down in 1954 and black children

finally had a chance at a decent education, not depriving minorities the same education as white
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students, authorities didn’t see children striving for quality schools and an opportunity to fully

contribute to society, “the insistence on destroying Brown, and the quality of children education
children receive regardless of where they live (Anderson) Even though, they saw only a

threat and acted upon it, shutting down schools, segregated, and diverting public money into

private treasury, leaving millions of citizens in educational, and stopping the progress of

education, willing even to undermine national security during a major crisis all to ensure

that blacks did not advance in education (p.5). Brown vs. Board of education made

segregated schools illegal and they went extraordinary lengths in some counties and states to

keep white and black students separated. As a result, the resistance to integrated education is

another great missed opportunity of American society instead of recognizing education and its

importance. (Gale A156137273)

In addition, to War on Drugs and the Drug Crisis, Reagan states, identified

public enemy number one: “crack,” (Reagan p.130). However, people tend to argue that

War on Drugs policies that deny convicted felons have equal access to employment,

housing, education, and public benefits. Even though, in the 1970’s United States was in

a drug crisis with crack cocaine, Reagan stated that “Drugs are menacing our Society.”

(p.126-130). As a result, people argue that the War on Drugs increased incarceration

among the communities of African Americans instead of trying to rehabilitate individuals

to resolve these issues. Unfortunately, changing of the legal system the United States

profited from (p.127-129). As a result, it’s killing our children and destroyed the economy,

(p.130). Therefore, this became an epidemic and affected African Americans, leading to
addiction,

homelessness, mental health issues, drugs became a powerful movement supported by millions
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of Americans and other countries as drug use became an issue of society (p.132). Nevertheless,

people tend to argue that War on Drugs and the policies deny convicted felons, having equal

access to employment, housing, education, and public benefits.

Therefore, due to the discrimination of minorities on Voter’s Suppression became

a powerful indictment of the history of brutal race-based Vote suppression, denial of people of

color to vote and its many modern iterations from voter ID requirements and voter to election

fraud, and stolen elections. The ID requirement would eliminate more than six million African

American voters and nearly three million Latinos (p.144). Consequently, traces of related history

of the African American allowing participation in the since the 2013 Supreme Court decision

Voting Rights Act of 1965. However, this is known as the Shelby ruling, this decision effectively

allowed districts with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination to change voting

requirements without approval from the Department of Justice. In addition, all of this shows

how apparent the ways in which American elections are neither free or fair requiring African

American take a literary test to register to vote. ca

Consequently, America is always seen as the most powerful and better country just

because it identifies itself as, "Home of the Brave and Free." There’s not a lot of freedom and the

way this country is managed makes many rethink that statement. It always seems like there is a

never-ending problem with this country. However, many people have come to see this structure

of criminal justice system in the U.S. as an institutional manifestation of white supremacy. Is

that accurate characterization? And where are in terms of identifying and dismantling structural

barriers to real racial equity and justice? That is the real work. There is no question that mass

incarceration is driven by structural racism. To some degree it was set off by rising crime rates
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in the 1980s, but more than anything it has been powered by racial fear and a deep-seated

instinct toward racial control of labor for African Americans. In addition, mass incarceration

would not have been possible during slavery, because black bodies were too valuable as

property in the South to let them sit in jail. However, this would be enormous setback in the

fight in the fight against voter suppression and election laws and advocate should manage this

constitution risk. Such as, to strategically confront laws that disenfranchise minority voters

Despite all of these, Mass Incarceration, Brown vs. Board of Education, Derailing

of the Great Migration, War on Drugs, and Voters Suppression faced throughout history,

incarcerating individuals is not the cure or the answer to resolve issues. Even in today’s

society the struggle continues, because racial injustice and inequality still exist. Although,

some people would argue that putting away and throwing the key away maybe the answer.

As a result, it will only hinder, destroy families, and stop the progress in moving forward for

African Americans success as a people. Although, there are some that should be stricter

“Laws on criminals, harsh, no -mercy punishment.” Associated with African Americans

(Reagan p. 129), this is not the answer. Only laws hinder citizen’s and the ability to defend

themselves because after all, criminals will find a way to commit crime and there are

some indisputable facts that do not make it true. In fact, when legislation, policies, laws, and

court systems are not updated, things will Continually, fall through the cracks and be unfair

in the United States. In fact, if there were systems put in place such as, rehabilitation for mental

health, educational programs, work studies, job placements for incarceration individuals so, they

can get back on their feet when there released from prison it would help with putting them back

in society.
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Work Cited

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. By Carol Anderson. New York:
Bloomsbury USA, 2016. 304 pages. ISBN 9781632864130 "America has a rhetoric of freedom
and a reality of slavery."

Anderson, Carol “White Rage” 2016, pp. 136-154

Hudson, Scott. "Imprisoning Communities: How Mass Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged

Neighborhoods Worse." Corrections Compendium, vol. 33, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2008, p. 41. Gale
Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A189740866/AONE?u=cypressc&sid=bookmark-
AONE&xid=8d2e2d52.

https://www.amacad.org/publication/incarceration-social-inequality

https://givingcompass.org/article/understanding-mass-incarceration-as-a-product-of-structural-
racism?landingPage=%2Ftopics%2Fcriminal-justice

Cypress college Library Main Collection HV9950. A4372010

https://www.amacad.org/publication/incarceration-social-inequality

Cypress College Library Main Collection; KF9640. B39 2019

The Parallels between Migration and Deportation An intersectional Analysis of

Golash Boza Tanya Journal of world-systems research, 2016, Vol.22(2), p. 484-509

“Brown v. Board of Education.” Radical Teacher, vol. 80, fall 2007, pp.46+.

Gale In Context Opposing Board of Education.” Radical Viewpoints,link

Gale.com/apps/doc/A175548966/OVIC?u=cypress&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=

C 2b8bae5.Accessed 2 Dec. 2023

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Johnson, Hayden. “Vote Denial and Defense: A strategic Enforcement Proposal for

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.” Georgetown Law Journal, vol. 108, no. 2, Dec. 2019,

pp. 449+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A614078815/OVIC?

U=cypress&Sid+= bookmark-OVIC&xid=8be0bd18. Accessed 2 Dec.2023.

Paul Fiene (Producer), & Fiene, P. (Director). (2013). America's Longest War. [Video/DVD]
Java Films. Retrieved from https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/america-s-longest-war

Crutchfield, Robert D., and Gregory A. Weeks. “The Effects of Mass Incarceration on

Communities of Color.” Issues in Science and Technology 32, no. 1 (Fall 2015)

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