This blog will explore the racial disparity in the criminal justice system.  Mass incarceration is an important and pertinent issue not only because the US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, but also because incarceration, driven by a prejudiced criminal justice system, is wrought with racial inequity. The high number of racial minorities that are incarcerated can be tied to other noticeable trends, such as the war on drugs and the systems of oppression that cause the physical and social marginalization of communities of color. 

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"The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, dwarfing the rates of nearly every developed country, even surpassing those in highly repressive regimes like Russia, China, and Iran...The racial dimension of mass incarceration is its most striking feature.  No other country in the world imprisons so many of its racial or ethnic minorities.  The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid.  In Washington, D.C., our nation's capitol, it is estimated that three out of four young black men (and nearly all those in the poorest neighborhoods) can expect to serve time in prison.  Similar rates of incarceration can be found in black communities across America" (Alexander, 2010, pp. 6-7).

Infographic can be found at: Combating Mass Incarceration 

Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: New Press.