Poverty/Physical Marginalization
Communities and neighborhoods that suffer from poverty also statistically have high levels of crime, which has a lot to do with a limited access to resources like education, health care, jobs, and housing. This is apparent in the fact that communities of color,
which experience social/physical marginalization and disenfranchisement more than
other communities, also have higher rates of incarceration. The problem is exacerbated by the
war on drugs, which targets low-income communities of color (even though studies show that drug sale and
use is just as prominent in white communities as it is in communities of
color). Therefore, many communities of color are lacking social resources, are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement, and are consequently over-represented in the nation's prisons.
Education
Because of the way our K-12 public schools are funded, education is closely tied to poverty. Schools that are in low-income areas typically do not have adequate resources to support their students. In addition, the over-reliance on standardized testing, combined with a lack of resources, has created an environment in which students in low-income neighborhoods are destined to fail. This creates a "pipeline" for students who find themselves with very few options due to the poor quality of their education. Indeed, over 70% of students who are involved in school-related arrests are Black or Hispanic (US Department of Education, 2012). Of this 70%, a significant number have a disability, but had little to no support from their school (US Department of Education, 2012). Once students find themselves in the school to prison pipeline, there are few options for them - they are cut off from their education, and after prison they become a part of a dangerous cycle of poverty and recidivism.
For more information on the school to prison pipeline, see: http://save-our-students.tumblr.com/
US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. (2012). Revealing new truths about our nation's schools. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-2012-data-summary.pdf
Racial Profiling
So
I...pull over to the side of the road
And I
heard "Son do you know why I'm stopping you for?"
Cause
I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low
Do I
look like a mind reader sir, I don't know
Am I
under arrest or should I guess some mo?
"Well
you was doing fifty five in a fifty four"
"License
and registration and step out of the car"
"Are you carrying a
weapon on you I know a lot of you are"
-Jay Z, 99 Problems
Communities that have a high concentration of poverty are typically targeted by law enforcement. This means that although there may not necessarily be significantly more crime taking place in these areas, because there is increased police presence, there is also a higher rate of arrest. In addition, because police officers don't typically have any kind of multicultural competency training, with increased police presence there is also an increased risk of discrimination against people of color.
One of the ways that this discrimination manifests itself is through racial profiling. While pulling someone over, for example, a police officer may take the opportunity to search the vehicle for drugs or weapons (as Jay-Z describes in the song lyric above), based simply on discriminatory assumptions about people of color.
Racial profiling also extends beyond law enforcement. Recently, a young black man was stopped by undercover police officers after purchasing a $350 belt at Barneys. The officers, who were tipped off by a sales clerk, asked him how a "young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt," and then handcuffed him (Wilson, 2013). The man is now suing Barneys, but his experience is an unfortunate example of the way that people of color are criminalized and profiled.
For more information on this story, click here.
Wilson, J. (2013). Black college student arrested for buying a designer belt, Barneys & NYPD slapped with lawsuit. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/23/trayon-christian-lawsuit-barneys-new-york-nypd_n_4148490.html
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