The US Prison System

Reports show that over a million Afro Americans account for over half of the U.S prison population. Law enforcement in major cities such as Detroit and New York have been doing as critics say, “a sensational job”. People mostly of color are still being locked up at a rather alarming rate. Some would say it has to do with the upbringing of the individual, but how can one assume that? A lot of people, not only blacks, have grew up with less than nothing, and established a future for themselfs. Then there were those who had more than average and turned out convict. My perspective is, the majority of prisoners come from urban communities. They are the children and grandchildren of the migrants of the 1920s to the 1970s. There were decent jobs, and education was available. With companies like Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, the working class black family earned a living. But also during these times came evil and disruption. Afro Americans faught for civil rights. Martin Luther King , Malcom X, and President John F Kennedy were all assassinated. The consequences that the Vietnam soilders suffered after the war with their drug addictions kept the urban neighborhoods a battle ground for illegal activity.

Alcohol, gambling, and prostitution were all embraced as part of the black urban culture. With that came murder and violent crimes. These negative recreations have crippled the urban lifestyle tremendously. Generation after generation, they have been passed down. Black communities need to let go of the nature of warehousing drugs and weapons, and conditioning their streets to violence. Although Afro Americans have suffered slavery, and faught for freedom, a lot of doors have opened since those times. The next step is to walk through them. The United States is often spoke of as a punitive nation. The prisons are full of non violent drug offenders who,s drug problems are related to their crimes, and they recieve little or no help while incarcerated. Can the government or will the government stop the transporting of illegal drugs and weapons into the country? If so, crime in the urban towns would decrease.