You Can Call it What You
Want to, it’s Still Jim Crow
A Collaborative Project
WHAT OUTCOME WOULD
YOU EXPECT?
• Mass imprisonment
• Mass reentry and mass
criminalization
• Collateral consequences and
stigma
Social Inequality and
Racial Stratification
MASS IMPRISONMENT
•
David Garland
–
–
Refers to the high rate of imprisonment in
the contemporary U.S.
Two characteristics:
1) “…a rate of imprisonment…that is markedly
above the historical and comparative norm for
societies of this type.”
2) Ceases to produce just the incarceration of
individual offenders, but becomes the
“systematic imprisonment of whole groups of the
population.”
A DEFINITION OF RACIAL
DISPARITY
Racial disparity in the justice system
exists when the proportion of a
racial/ethnic group within the control
of the system differs from the
proportion of such groups in the
general population.
OUR HYPOTHESIS
• We are living in a period of mass imprisonment,
mass reentry and mass criminalization
• Poor people and people of color are the groups
systematically affected
• Collateral consequences, stigma and prejudice
have taken the place of Jim Crow practices in
the 21st Century
• Restrictions on employment, education,
enfranchisement and equality make this period
similar to the Civil Rights Era in the first half of
the 20th Century
• There is a new inequality developing in America
that can only be turned back by a mass
movement similar to the Civil Rights Movement
DEFINED
Civil Rights:
The rights belonging to an individual by virtue
of citizenship, especially the fundamental
freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the
13th, 14th, 15th and 24th Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution and by subsequent acts of
Congress, including civil liberties, due
process, equal protection of the laws, voting
rights and freedom from discrimination.
The rights to full legal, social, and economic
equality extended to African Americans.
AMENDMENT XIII – UNITED
STATES CONSTITUTION
• Slavery Abolished
• Ratified 12/6/1865
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
within the United States, or any place subject to
their jurisdiction.
AMENDMENT XIV –
CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS
1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States
and of the State wherein they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
AMENDMENT XV – RACE
NO BAR TO VOTE
1. The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on
account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude.
AMENDMENT XXIV – POLL
TAX BARRED
1. The right of citizens of the United
States to vote in any primary or other
election for President or Vice
President, for electors for President
or Vice President, or for Senator or
Representative in Congress, shall not
be denied or abridged by the United
States or any State by reason of
failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
SIGNIFICANT CIVIL RIGHTS
LEGISLATION
•
•
•
•
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Civil Rights Acts of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Civil Rights Act of 1968
VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF
1965
Effects
• Suspended Poll Taxes
• Eliminated literacy tests and other tests
• Authorized federal supervision of voter
registration
• Political impact
– Within 4 years voter registration in the
South had doubled
– 1965 – approximately 100 African
Americans held elective office in the U.S.
– 1989 – more than 7,200 African Americans
held elective office, 4,800 in the South
AFRICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL
RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Reform movement in the United
States aimed at abolishing racial
discrimination of African Americans
and establishing equality and
equal opportunity.
AN HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE
• A struggle against Jim Crow
• Jim Crow Era (1876 – 1965)
• Jim Crow Practices
– Government enacted or sanctioned
laws, attitudes and actions that
required or permitted acts of
discrimination against African
Americans.
FOUR ASPECTS OF JIM
CROW
1) Racial segregation (Separate but
Equal) (Inequality)
2) Voter suppression or
disenfranchisement
3) Denial of economic opportunity or
resources
4) Private acts of violence and mass
racial violence
Key Historical Events
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1954
1955
1957
1961
1962
1963
1963
1964
1965
• 1965
Brown v. Board of Education
Rosa Parks Arrested
Desegregating Little Rock
Freedom Rides
Organizing in Mississippi
March on Washington
Medgar Evers Murdered
Mississippi Freedom Summer
Selma to Montgomery March - SNCC
voter registration drive
Voting Rights Act
FOUR CRITICAL ISSUES
CONFRONTED BY THE
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
The Four E’s
•
•
•
•
Employment
Education
Enfranchisement
Equality
DO YOU THINK THAT BLACK’S CIVIL
RIGHTS ARE BEING RESPECTED BY THE
COUNTRY’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SYSTEM?
No, 27%
No Opinion,
4%
Yes, 69%
Whites
Yes, 33%
No, 62%
No Opinion,
5%
Blacks
Source: Gallup Organization – telephone survey, June 3-9, 2002 – per Cole & Smith
UNDERSTANDING THE
MAGNITUDE OF MASS
IMPRISONMENT
• 2,320,359 – total number of adults
in prison or jail at year end 2005
• 1 in every 136 adult residents
were incarcerated on 12/31/05
19
29
19
33
19
37
19
41
19
45
19
49
19
53
19
57
19
61
19
65
19
69
19
73
19
77
19
81
19
85
19
89
19
93
19
97
20
01
19
25
Rate per 100,000 residents
US Incarceration Rate, 1925-2002
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
U.S. INCARCERATION RATES IN A
GLOBAL CONTEXT
• World Prison Population:
– 9 million
• Percent of the world population that
is in the United States:
– 4.6%
• Percent of the world prison
population that is in the United
States:
– 22% (2.3 million people)
RACIAL
DIMENSIONS
DEMOGRAPHICS
2000
Indicator
% of African American
NYS
USA
18,976,457
+5.6%
Since 1990
281,421,906
+13.1%
Since 1990
15.9%
12.3%
% American Indian
0.4%
0.9%
% Asn/Pac. Is. American
5.6%
3.8%
% White/Euro American
67.9%
75.1%
% Other Ethnic Origin
7.1%
5.5%
% Rep More Than One Race/Ethn
3.1%
2.4%
15.1%
12.5%
% Hisp Origin (of any skin color)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
ALL STATE AND FEDERAL
PRISONERS 2005
Hispanic
20%
African
American
40%
White
35%
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics
Incarceration Rates per 100,000
Population (1997)
8000
6,838
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
990
1000
851
491
76
0
White Females
White Males
African
American
Females
Source: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2000
African
American
Males
South African
Black Males
under
apartheid 1993
New York State – 1998
Adult & Juvenile Arrests
for Drug Offenses
New York State – 1999
State Prison Sentences
for Drug Offenses
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
50.0%
Black
49.4%
White
94%
5%
People of
Color
White
Source: NYS Department of
Correctional Services
Source: FBI
National Comparison of Drug Use
and Arrests by Race
Black
Year
% of
Current
Drug Use
White
% of Drug
Arrests
% of
Current
Drug Users
% of Drug
Arrests
1995
18.2%
36.9%
82.7%
62.1%
1996
15.4%
38.4%
83.5%
60.4%
1997
14.9%
36.8%
83.9%
62%
1998
18.9%
37.3%
82%
61.5%
Source: Compiled from Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime
Reports, various years, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Summary of Findings from the 1998 National Household
Survey on Drug Abuse (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
1999.)
U.S. PERCENTAGE OF ALL DRUG
OFFENDERS IN STATE PRISON
70.0%
62.7%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
36.7%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
African
White
American
PROPORTION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS
AMONG STATE RESIDENTS AND IN PRISON
POPULATION
Wisconsin
Texas
46.0%
11.5%
New Jersey
Minnesota
49.0%
5.7%
65.0%
13.6%
56.0%
3.5%
Maryland
78.0%
27.9%
D.C.
Connecticut
46.0%
9.1%
Alabama
0.0%
97.0%
60.0%
65.0%
34.9%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
120.0%
Percentage of Prison Population that is African American
Percentage of State Residents who are African American
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Correctional Population in the U.S., 1996, Table 5.6 and U.S. Census
data 2000.
HOW HAS A POLICY OF
IMPRISONMENT AFFECTED THE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY?
Numerically
• 1 out of every 14 African American men is now
in prison or jail.
• 1 out of every 3 African American men born
today can expect to be imprisoned at some point
during his lifetime.
• BJS calculates that an African American male is
6 times more likely to serve at least a year in
prison than a white male.
• 1 out of every 8 African American men between
the ages of 25 and 29 is incarcerated today.
12 Junctures in the Criminal Justice Process
Where Race and Class Cause Cumulative
Disadvantage
Law
Enforcement
Deployment/
Arrest Arraignment
Alternatives to
Bail/Detention
Incarceration/Reentry
Services
Public
Defense
Parole
Cumulative
Jail/Prison
Disadvantage
Jail
Preadjudication
Probation
Decisions
Sentencing
Pre-Sentence
Report
Jury
WOMEN IN PRISON
From 1973 to 2007, the number of
women in prison increased by
645%--almost twice the rate of
men.
Source: Institute on Women and Criminal Justice
The Sentencing Project
LET THE PUNISHMENT FIT
THE CRIME?
• In 2003, women in state prisons were more
likely than men to be incarcerated for a drug
offense (29% vs. 19%) or a property offense
(30% vs. 20%) than a violent offense (35% vs.
53%).
• Women are more likely than men to serve time
for their drug offenses, despite the fact that
women are less likely than men to play a
significant role in drug trade.
• Women’s higher proportion of property crimes
reflects the extreme economic disadvantages
many women face prior to incarceration.
Source: Institute on Women and Criminal Justice
The Sentencing Project
WHAT DO THE NUMBERS
REFLECT?
• African American women comprise 12% of the
overall population in the U.S.--they now
comprise more than 50% of women in prison.
• Overall, drug offenses constituted half of the
increased number of women in state prisons
between 1986 and 1996.
• Ironically, from 1986 to 1996 the rate at which
women used drugs actually declined.
• The war on drugs became a war on women…of
color.
Source: Institute on Women and Criminal Justice
The Sentencing Project
NOT JUST A PRISONER,
A PARENT
• More than 70% of women in prison in the U.S.
have children.
• On average, children of incarcerated mothers
will live with at least 2 different caregivers during
the period of incarceration; more than 1/2 will
experience separation from siblings.
• Over half of female prisoners have never had a
visit from their children.
Source: Institute on Women and Criminal Justice
The Sentencing Project
19
7
19 7
7
19 8
7
19 9
8
19 0
8
19 1
8
19 2
8
19 3
8
19 4
8
19 5
8
19 6
8
19 7
8
19 8
8
19 9
9
19 0
9
19 1
9
19 2
9
19 3
9
19 4
9
19 5
9
19 6
9
19 7
9
19 8
9
20 9
0
20 0
0
20 1
0
20 2
0
20 3
04
Female Prisoners
UNITED STATES
Sentenced Female Prisoners
1977-2004
120000
100000
20000
96125
80000
60000
40000
11212
0
Year
Source: Institute on Women & Criminal Justice
UNDERSTANDING THE
MAGNITUDE OF MASS REENTRY
• 650,000 people released each
year from state and federal prison
– 595,000 from state prisons
– 56,000 from federal prison
• 7 million different individuals
released from jails in this county
each year
UNDERSTANDING THE
MAGNITUDE OF MASS
CRIMINALIZATION
• 71 million people in the U.S. have a
criminal record
• 13 million people in the U.S. have a
felony conviction
• 1 in every 32 adults is under some form of
correctional supervision (7 million)
• 5,618,000 – total number of U.S. adult
residents who had served time in state or
federal prison by yearend 2001
• 1 in every 37 adults – had served prison
time by yearend 2001
UNDERSTANDING THE
MAGNITUDE OF MASS REENTRY
• 8% of the adult male population
has a felony conviction
• 25% of the African American male
population has a felony conviction
THE CHALLENGE OF
REENTRY:
REINTEGRATION OR A
PERMANENT UNDERCLASS
UNDERSTANDING REENTRY
Traditional Definition:
Reentry – the process and experience of
leaving prison after serving a sentence
and returning to society and includes the
activities and programming conducted to
prepare people in prison to return safely
to the community to reintegrate as lawabiding citizens.
“America is the land of second
chance, and when the gates of
the prison open, the path ahead
should lead to a better life.”
George W. Bush
January 20, 2004
State of the Union
REENTRY REALITY
“[People reenter] communities in need of housing,
medical and mental health treatment,
employment, counseling and a variety of other
services. Communities are often overwhelmed by
these increased demands and, due to budget
constraints, unable to provide minimum services
to ex-offenders. As a result, the safety of our
communities and citizens is jeopardized when
releasees, who are unable to acquire
employment, housing and needed services, revert
to a life of crime.”
National District Attorneys Association
REINTEGRATION OR
RESEGREGATION
• America at a crossroad
• If America cannot promote
successful reentry and
reintegration we will move into a
new era of resegregation
COLLATERAL
CONSEQUENCES
Formal policies, provisions, and
laws that impede reentry into
various social institutions of people
with criminal convictions
• Federal laws
• State laws
• Local laws
COLLATERAL
CONSEQUENCES:
PERPETUAL PUNISHMENT
• Social Policy:
– Employment
• Restrictions on professional licenses
• Restrictions on types of employment
– Education
• Admissions
• Financial Aid
–
–
–
–
Housing
Public Benefits
Immigration
Political Disenfranchisement
New York City Audit Study
• Employment Audit: Matched pairs of
individuals applying to real job openings
–
–
–
–
6 teams
13 testers
1470 employers
3500 individual visits
• Experimental variables: race, ethnicity,
criminal background, educational attainment
5
Pager/Western Princeton NYC Low Wage Labor Market
Discrimination Study
•Experimental variables: race, ethnicity, criminal background,
educational attainment
•Matched pairs of individuals applying to real job openings
 
WC W
BC
B
   
W
B
L
WC B
L
WCA W BCA
B
25
25
20
17
15
11
10
5
predicted probability
predicted probability
22
20
15
12
12
10
7
5
0
0
white
latino
black
white felon
latino
black
These results suggest that employers view minority job applicants
as essentially equivalent to whites just out of prison.
http://www.princeton.edu/~pager/race_at_work.pdf
A Retail Sales Job
“She said the position was just filled and that she
would be calling people in for an interview if the
person doesn’t work out.”
“She informed me that the position was already
filled, but did not know if the hired employee
would work out. She told me to leave my resume
with her.”
“….I asked what the hiring process was--if they’re
taking applications now, interviewing, etc. She
looked at my application. ‘You can start
immediately?’ Yes. ‘Can you start tomorrow?’
Yes. ‘10 a.m.’
She was very friendly and introduced me to
another woman (white, 28) at the cash register
who will be training me.”
14
Concerns about Experience?
“When she called me she handed me
back my resume and told me they didn’t
have any positions to offer me…. She
said…that I needed a couple years of
experience.”
“[The employer] looked at my resume and
said, ‘There is absolutely nothing here
that qualifies you for this position.’”
Kevin (the white tester) was then offered
the sales job and asked to come back the
next morning.
16
Concerns over “Fitting-In”
“He said he was looking for somebody that
‘spoke his language,’ in other words, someone
that fit into the culture of the store and the
position…. He said to come tomorrow at 9am.
He said that this is only a trial period to see if I
am ‘the right fit.’”
“He read over my resume and asked if I am
ready to start. I said “right now?” He said
“Yes.”….He said he needed someone right
now because they were having an exhibit
Saturday. He said they will hire anyone that
walks in.” As Kevin was leaving, he reports
hearing the interviewer comment to another
(white) employee, “I like him. He makes a
good impression.”
17
Racial Stereotypes at Work
A white tester’s experience:
“His only question was ‘Are you a
friendly person?’”
His Latino partner:
“No one can be late more than two
times or they will have to be fired.”
Their black partner:
“He asked if I thought I would be able
to approach 14 to 18 year old girls
without intimidating them.”
18
OTHER EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF
THE STIGMA OF A CRIMINAL
RECORD ON EMPLOYER
ATTITUDES
• Holzer – 60% of employers
unwillingly to hire person with a
criminal record
• Kling – Employers paid lower
wages and benefits to people with
a criminal record and 30% lower
on future earnings
HAVE WE OVERCOME THE
RESTRICTIONS ON THE 4 E’S
THAT WERE AT THE CORE OF THE
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT?
•
•
•
•
Enfranchisement
Education
Employment
Equality
VOTING RIGHTS
“The political franchise of voting
is…regarded as a fundamental
political right, because
preservative of all rights.”
Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356,
370 (1886)
FELONY DISENFRANCHISEMENT
POLICY IN THE U.S.
• U.S. disenfranchisement laws are among the world’s
most severe
• More than 5 million Americans are banned from voting
• An estimated 1 in 12 African Americans is
disenfranchised, a rate nearly five times the rate of nonAfrican Americans
• U.S. is the only democracy in the world that
disenfranchises people who have completed their
sentences
• African-American and Latino communities are
disproportionately affected by the disenfranchisement of
people with criminal histories
• Modern day poll tax – 10 states explicitly condition the
right to vote on the full payment of fines, fees, restitution
and other costs associated with conviction
Disenfranchisement
• In 11 states a felony conviction can
result in a lifetime ban from voting
• 1 in 8 African American males in
the U.S. is prohibited from voting,
reaching as high as 1 in 4 in some
states
• Public opinion polls show 80%
favor returning voting rights after
completion of sentence
Sources: Sentencing Project , Brennan Center
Uggen & Manza
Size of Disenfranchised Felon
Population, 1960-2004
Total Disenfranchised
6,000,000
5,358,282
5,000,000
4,686,539
4,000,000
3,342,586
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
1,762,582
1,176,234
Year
Manza and Uggen
200
5
200
0
199
5
199
0
198
5
198
0
197
5
197
0
196
5
196
0
-
HIGHER EDUCATION
The trend in higher education is to
use criminal background checks
in the college admissions
process.
A New Discrimination
“(Our organization) does favor
background checks, so that kind of
puts us in the position of favoring
more discrimination, freedom to
discriminate, for universities to set
their own policies and go by their
own policies.”
Catherine Bath
Executive Director
Security on Campus
SOME COLLEGES BAR
ADMISSIONS
• Example
Herkimer County Community College –
Admission Policy
“Applicants whose home residence is
from outside Herkimer County and
have been either dismissed from other
colleges for disciplinary reasons or who
have been convicted of a felony will not
be admitted.”
SURVEY OF NEW YORK
COLLEGES
N=127
100.0%
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
N=61
90.0%
N=17
100.0%
64.0%
36.0%
10.0%
Private
SUNY
CUNY
Colleges
Colleges
Colleges
Center for Community Alternatives
National HIRE Network
Ask About or
Consider Applicant's
Criminal Record as
Part of Admissions
Process
Do No Ask About or
Consider Applicant's
Criminal Record as
Part of Admissions
Process
EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION FOR
AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES
86%
90%
80%
Employment Rates
70%
57%
60%
50%
40%
36%
30%
20%
10%
0%
High School
Dropout
High School
Graduate
4 Year College
Graduate
Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University
In 1994, as part of its get-tough-on-crime era, Congress abolished Pell
grants for prisoners, effectively ending chances for inmates to get a
college education while behind bars. At the time, only one-tenth of 1
percent of the Pell Grant budget went to the education of prisoners.
Subsequently, many states also decided to suspend eligibility for state
tuition grants for people in prison.
10A
EMPLOYMENT
• Collateral consequences and
employer attitudes depress
employment opportunities
• Unemployment rates, one year
post-release, have been estimated
as high as 60%
DIMENSIONS OF INEQUALITY
• Comparative net worth – 2002
– Hispanic Household $7,932.00
– African American Household $5,988.00
– White Household $88,651.00
• Negative or zero net worth – 2002
– 32% of African American Households
– 26% of Hispanic Households
– 13% of White Households
Source: Pew Hispanic Center
DIMENSIONS OF
INEQUALITY
• Below Poverty Level – 2000
– 30% of African American children
– 27% of Hispanic children
– 10% of White children
• 80% of all people in the criminal
justice system are indigent
• 37 million Americans live below the
poverty line
• 45 million Americans have no
medical insurance
AN ECONOMIC AND
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Slavery
Fugitive Slave Laws
Black Codes
Convict Lease
Jim Crow
Penitentiary
Prison Labor - Chain Gang, Industry
Prison Industrial Complex
Prison Nation
Drug Laws and War on Crime
JIM CROW
A System of Disadvantage
AMERICA’S PHASES
•
•
•
•
•
Slavery
Reconstruction
Jim Crow
Civil Rights
Post-Civil Rights Reaction
– Mass Imprisonment/Criminalization
– New Racial Domain (NRD) (“color-blind
racism)
– Prison Industrial Complex
– Laissez Faire Racism (“Race-neutral”
segregation)
THE ECONOMICS HAVE
CHANGED
From:
• Slave (Property)
• Worker
• Wealth Creator
To:
• Commodity
• Worker (13th Amendment)
• Economic Development
Joseph Bruno
NY State Senator
1/31/07
“While the growth in imprisonment
was propelled by racial and class
division, the penal system has
emerged as a novel institution in a
uniquely American system of social
inequality.”
Bruce Western, Ph.D.
Punishment and Inequality in America
THE PERFECT STORM
FOR INEQUALITY
• Mass imprisonment, mass criminalization and
mass reentry
• New and accessible technology
• Background checks for profit
• Racial disparities in the criminal justice
system
• Post 9/11 atmosphere
• Stigma of a criminal conviction
• Increased financial penalties in the criminal
justice system, resulting civil judgments and
increased use of credit histories
THE PERFECT STORM
FOR INEQUALITY
• Fear/hysteria about public safety coupled
with a refusal to address the core causes of
crime
• Post-industrialization – no need for all people
to work
• Prisons for Profit (Private Prisons)
• People/prisoners become valuable as a
commodity
• Proliferation of collateral consequences
• The intransigence of racism
• The criminalization of race
• The rise of the race-neutral basis for
discrimination
DENYING BASIC RIGHTS
•
•
•
•
•
Housing
Education
Employment
Voting
Healthcare
THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
IS THE ENGINE THAT DRIVES
INEQUALITY IN AMERICA TODAY
Structural Violence
“CRIMINALIZATION”
• Stigma
• Collateral Consequences
• Prisonization
• Post-prison cumulative
disadvantage
A System of Disadvantage
BARRIERS TO FULFILLING
THE AMERICAN DREAM
- Cumulative Disadvantage -
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Color
Credit
Criminal History
Class
Education
Employment
Enfranchisement
No Time to Lose: The
Decline in Employment and
Wages of Young Black Men
in New York State
NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
“Indeed, given the employment
conditions documented in this
report…joblessness and low
wages among younger black men
may be the greatest social
problem facing New York State
and the Nation.”
CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM
“[President Nixon] emphasized that you have
to face the fact that the whole problem is
really the blacks. The key is to devise a
system that recognizes this while not
appearing to.”
H.R. Haldeman
Nixon’s Chief of Staff
That “system” was the war on crime and
criminal justice buildup.
Source: The Haldeman Diaries
Smoke and Mirrors
John Mellencamp