Black Americans and Mass Incarceration: A Legacy of Racial Caste

University:
The University Of Western Ontario
Course:
HIST 2165 | Korean History
Academic year:

2024
Views:

255

Pages:

2
Author:

Kyuwon J.

Week 11 reading This week’s reading has highlighted the evolution in racial caste and control systems present in the U.S. We see the perpetuation of a negative narrative about black people ‘supported’ by their criminalization and overrepresentation in prisons. Mass incarceration can be defined as a prison boom, the significant increase in prison uptake. Currently, the U.S leads globally in per-capita incarceration rates and overall prison populations. While there is some dispute, it has been argued and convincingly demonstrated by this week’s readings that mass incarceration has been used as a tactic that was employed as part of the New Jim Crow Era. Despite the well-known fact that black individuals make up approximately 10-12% of the U.S population, they are jailed at a rate 5x that of their white counterparts. The disparities in the ethnic composition of prisons are ones that cannot be accounted for on just the basis of the offenses committed, rather, other factors are at play including the hyper-criminalization of black people. Though this may have been good in theory, in practice it also allows a blind eye to be turned to racial injustices, disparities, inequities and the overwhelming history of trauma and violence conducted by a racist society that still thrives today. In colour-blind societies, white individuals can feel more comfortable with the privileges they have, and not feel inclined to address and can essentially ignore racism occurring as ‘how can America be racist when we can’t see any race?’ Mass incarceration is still at play today, and most prevalent in ethnic populations where we see disproportionate charges and arrests for trivial crimes. In a time where black voices were not heard, but their cultural influence shaped America by ways of music and fashion, I think that the use of conscious hip-hop was very smart. Conscious hip-hop is the use of hip-hop music to raise awareness, address political messages, and call for action/change. Intertwined into hard beats are words that highlight the struggles, poor treatment, and disregard for black lives. This subgenre of hip-hop has existed for decades, if not longer, and continues even today. If I were to make a playlist, some songs that I would add are “The bigger picture” by Lil Baby, “FDT” by YG, “How much a dollar cost” by Kendrick Lamar, and “Friends’ by J. Cole.