The Mass Incarceration of Black Americans in the United States: With Focus on Drug-Related Offenses by

Introduction

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:39:29 UTC

Mass Incarceration refers to the increase in the number of people sentenced to jail or prison in the United States since the 1970s, many of which are charged with drug offenses. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, over 360,000 people in 2024 were charged with drug offenses and forced to serve time in federal prison (Prison Policy Initiative, 2024). Black individuals are five to seven times more likely to be convicted of crimes than white individuals. This has significantly affected black communities even today (Rosenberg et al., 2016).

Why I Find it Interesting or Important

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:42:55 UTC

It has been proven that race is a factor in regards to sentencing. Black Americans often experience harsher sentences and serve more time in prison or jail than white Americans. Not only are their sentences harsher, they’re also more likely to be convicted of a drug offense and be arrested. It’s important to recognize that this is an issue because many communities are affected by the severe incarceration of black individuals. The judicial system treats black individuals unfairly.

How is it Relevant Today?

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:43:32 UTC

Although there has been some improvement within the judicial system, black individuals are still more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, and imprisoned for drug offenses. Many black individuals are still facing time in jail today, even after their arrests decades ago. Many of those were arrested after President Richard Nixon’s War on Drugs campaign in 1971. This implicit bias in the criminal justice system still occurs today. Black individuals are treated completely differently by law enforcement in comparison to white individuals. Police officers are more likely to use excessive force on black individuals, as seen in multiple accounts of police brutality like George Floyd’s death. Mass incarceration affects black communities in a multitude of ways. With a criminal record, black individuals have limited access to job opportunities and education. Not being able to continue their education after serving time can cause them to have a low paying job. Making them more likely to live in poorer, crime-ridden neighborhoods. Already having income/wealth issues due to many employers not hiring ‘felons’, black individuals are likely to engage in either selling or trafficking of drugs as another source of income, even after being released from prison. According to Belenko et al. in their article Treating Substance Use Disorders in the Criminal Justice System, 68 percent of drug offenders are rearrested within three years of their release from prison, serving time for a previous drug offense (Belenko, 2013).

Who is Affected?

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:44:04 UTC

Black individuals, particularly men, are disproportionately affected by the mass incarceration of drug offenders, as they represent a significant portion of this population. Black male adults who live in poverty are three times more likely to be arrested than those who live in wealthy areas or have more wealth/income (Hayes & Barnhorst, 2020). Due to financial stressors, black males are more likely to engage in drug or alcohol use, making them more likely to be arrested with a non-violent drug charge (possession). Not only are the individuals behind bars affected, but their families and communities also face multiple challenges. Approximately 1 in 4 black children report having a parent who was incarcerated or is still serving time (DeStazio, 2023). Because of this, black children are more likely to live in poverty due to the income of one parent. Growing up in impoverished areas, black children are frequently exposed to violence and criminal behavior, making them more likely to commit crimes and follow in the footsteps of their parent(s).

What is the Controversy?

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:44:32 UTC

The controversy surrounding the mass incarceration of black individuals is heavily rooted in President Richard Nixon's campaign, The War on Drugs, inaugurated in 1971. The War on Drugs aimed to stop illegal drug use, distribution, and trading by arresting drug users or dealers within the United States. The War on Drugs was considered a public safety measure, but as time went on, individuals claimed that it excessively targeted and destroyed black communities. Many consider the War on Drugs controversial, they argue that it was never just about drugs, it was a way to find and criminalize blackness and poverty.

Connection with Course Key Terms

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:45:09 UTC

In Peggy McIntosh’s work White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, she introduces the term invisible knapsack of privilege. White individuals, specifically men, carry around an invisible knapsack of privilege without being consciously aware of it (McIntosh, 1989). This knapsack is also carried in legal situations, like being convicted of a drug-related offense. Although many may not be aware of it, white individuals are less likely to be arrested compared to black individuals, and if they are, they often serve less time than black individuals when they commit a crime to the same degree.

In Thomas Shapiro’s work, The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality, he addresses the economic disparities between black and white individuals in America. Wealth, not just income, is the largest factor that contributes to this gap. He states, “black families owned just 10 cents of wealth for every dollar owned by the typical white family” (Shapiro, 2004). Black individuals with the same level education and academic success still make significantly less than white individuals. Because of this difference, black families are more likely to live in impoverished areas, where crime rates are higher. Living in these areas, black individuals also have fewer opportunities to get a well-paying job, making them more likely to engage in the distribution of illegal drugs as a second source of income.

What is the Historical Context

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:45:33 UTC

The War on Drugs began in 1971, and it wasn’t long until millions of people noticed how Nixon’s campaign targeted marginalized black communities. With the War on Drugs came other influential policies like the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which caused sentencing differences between the possession and distribution of the drugs, powder cocaine and crack. Powder cocaine obtained through coca paste, found in the leaves of a coca plant, is sold at a much higher price than crack cocaine, which is made up of ‘rocks’ of cocaine powder, baking soda, and water (United States Sentencing Commission, 1995). Although the psychotropic and psychological properties of powder cocaine and crack are the same, they are sold at different prices, in higher quantities, and to different demographics. Palamar et al. in their article Powder Cocaine and Crack Use in the United States: An Examination of Risk for Arrest and Socioeconomic Disparities in Use state the following “Crack users are at higher risk of arrest and tend to be of lower economic status compared to powder cocaine users” (Palamar et al., 2015). With these drugs come different sentencing disparities. The 100 to 1 disparity refers to the act mandated that an individual with possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine would serve the same amount of time as an individual who was caught with possession of 500 grams of cocaine, that being 5 years in prison without the possibility for parole. Crack cocaine use and distribution were more common in black communities due to economic and social conditions. Black individuals, specifically those living in low-income communities, had more access to use and sell crack cocaine rather than powder cocaine because the powder was much more expensive. The typical powder cocaine user or seller was predominantly white males who had a high socioeconomic status. As of 2020, 77.1 percent of crack cocaine trafficking offenders were black (United States Sentencing Commission, 2020).

Not only are black individuals being mass incarcerated based on racial disparities, but these specific drug laws also allowed law enforcement to criminalize black individuals for drug possession and trafficking, when white individuals were held to a lesser degree.

Key People Involved or Affected

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:45:53 UTC

President Richard Nixon was seen as the main contributor to the mass incarceration of black Americans due to his War on Drugs campaign in 1971. He considered drug abuse “public enemy number one”.

President Ronald Reagan supported Nixon’s campaign and defunded drug treatment programs while funding law enforcement and prisons to arrest drug offenders. Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 into law, which mandated minimum sentences for drug offenses.

President Bill Clinton oversaw the 1994 Crime Bill, which funded the construction of prisons and created harsher and longer sentences for those who committed crimes. The 1994 Crime Bill highly caused mass incarceration to grow at an alarming rate.

Key People Striving for Change

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:46:10 UTC

Michelle Alexander presents a powerful argument of how the criminal justice system contributes to the targeting of black Americans, seen with earlier systems of slavery and Jim Crow segregation, in her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Alexander discusses how black men are being incarcerated at a much higher rate than white men, even though drug use rates are similar across races. Alexander raises public awareness through her book by showing how polarizing the criminal justice system is. Once black individuals are labeled as a “felon”, they lose basic rights for employment, housing, education, public assistance, and the right to vote. Alexander addresses how important it is to strive for change through reimagining what justice means as a society. She argues that citizens should value a system that is based on healing and restoring marginalized communities. Alexander also argues that black individuals should have the same access to succeed as white individuals do, making young black males less likely to engage in criminal behavior, fixing our issue of mass incarceration.

Laws or Regulations Important to Mass Incarceration

mill2184 — 2025-04-15 18:46:44 UTC

Previously mentioned the War on Drugs campaign (1971), the Anti-Drug Act (1986), and the Crime Bill (1994) are considered contributors to the crisis of mass incarceration of black Americans, specifically those arrested for drug–related offenses. There have been laws and regulations that have improved this issue, including the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 and the First Step Act of 2018. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, signed by President Barack Obama, reduced the crack vs powder cocaine disparity from originally 100:1 to 18:1. Obama also eliminated the 5-year minimum sentence for possession of crack and cocaine; instead, he increased fines for such offenses. The First Step Act was signed by President Donald Trump in 2018. It aimed to reform federal prisons by offering programs like rehabilitation and education, making inmates less likely to reoffend. It also implemented more lenient sentencing policies for non-violent drug offenses.

Description of Controversial Elements

mill2184 — 2025-04-16 22:03:35 UTC

Based on the mass incarceration of black individuals, black individuals have been the victims of racial profiling and aggressive police practices for decades. Even though white neighborhoods may have similar drug use rates, black communities continue to be blamed for the possession and distribution of illegal drugs. With this stereotypical thinking, police often search and arrest those in proportionately low-income areas where a majority of individuals are black males under the age of 30. The controversy around black incarceration raises the question of whether the system is punishing crime, or is it punishing race? If not, then why aren’t white individuals being arrested at similar rates as black individuals?

References

mill2184 — 2025-04-18 19:40:47 UTC

Sawyer, W., & Wagner, P. (2024). Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2024. Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2024.html#:~:text=Drug%20offenses%20still%20account%20for,of%20the%20federal%20prison%20system

Rosenberg, A., Groves, A. K., & Blankenship, K. M. (2016). Comparing Black and White Drug Offenders: Implications for Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice and Reentry Policy and Programming. Journal of Drug Issues, 47(1), 132-142. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022042616678614

Belenko, S., Hiller, M., & Hamilton, L. (2013). Treating Substance Use Disorders in the Criminal Justice System. Substance Use and Related Disorders, 15(414). file:///Users/mill2184/Downloads/s11920-013-0414-z.pdf

O'Neill-Hayes, T., & Barnhorst, M. (2020). Incarceration and Poverty in the United States. American Action Forum. https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/incarceration-and-poverty-in-the-united-states/

DeStazio, T. (2023). Paternal Incarceration Complicates College Plans for Black Youth. University of Notre Dame. https://news.nd.edu/news/paternal-incarceration-complicates-college-plans-for-black-youth/

McIntosh, P. (1989). White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Working Paper.
https://miamioh.instructure.com/courses/230127/pages/module-2-section-2-lesson-materials?module_item_id=5560227

Shapiro, T. M. (2004). The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality. Oxford University Press. https://miamioh.instructure.com/courses/230127/files/33936934?wrap=1

(1995). Crack Cocaine Sentencing Policy: Unjustified and Unreasonable. United States Sentencing Commission, 184-187. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/sp/1003.pdf

Palamar, J., Davies, S., Ompad, D., Cleland, C., & Weitzman, M. (2015). Powder Cocaine and Crack Use in the United States: An Examination of Risk for Arrest and Socioeconomic Disparities in Use. Drug Alcohol Depend. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4533860/

(2020). Quick Facts: Crack Cocaine Trafficking Offenses. United States Sentencing Commissions. https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/quick-facts/Crack_Cocaine_FY20.pdf

Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press.