Mass Incarceration and the “Bleeding” Effect

            One of the biggest and most known topics about laws involving race was when the separate but equal clause was in effect, also known as the Jim Crow laws. These kept minorities, especially blacks, in similar situations to white people, but at a lesser quality. Everything from schools to bathrooms were kept separate. That law was thankfully overturned, but now we are still reeling from a new wave, labelled The New Jim Crow. The blacks affected by this are “subject to legalized discrimination in employment, housing, education, public benefits, and jury service” (Alexander) which keeps the majority white at the top. These preferences against black people can especially be seen within the judicial system, particularly with crimes. Starting from the war on drugs in the late 1900s there has been a massive increase of blacks in the judicial system. Alexander writes how “in some states, black men have been admitted to prison on drug charges at rates twenty to fifty times greater than those of white men. And in major cities wracked by the drug war, as many as 80 percent of young African American men now have criminal records” (Alexander) which leads to, once again, preferences on the types of drugs to use. Society was warned to avoid crack cocaine, but no mention of powder cocaine or alcohol; drugs that are not associated with the poor black negative stereotypes. The results of this? “These young men are part of a growing undercaste, permanently locked up and locked out of mainstream society” (Alexander) which can bleed into general society and some of what takes place. It is because of this mass incarceration that the United States prison system became so overcrowded. The added effect of this overcrowding was how most were black and minorities caught doing crack cocaine, the drug that the government told people to report and avoid. With the overcrowding and stigmatized population, prison became another negative stereotype associated with blacks and minorities. Not only are the statistics of being incarcerated worrisome, but the behaviors learned and brought outside. Some murders in United States cities were committed on “individual disputes. When assailants were questioned as to why they committed the crime, a typical response was that the victim had in some way disrespected them. Disrespect is a critical personal violation in jail culture” (Hall), so not only are people being locked up and then coming back out with records, but they are learning very specific social cues and rules that cause disruption in current society. These behaviors can even be taught to nearby kids who are easily impressionable, resulting in a self-feeding cycle starting from the first point of the person who was incarcerated, and possibly being taught down the line of whoever is willing to learn. “In fact, it is often noted that there are currently more black men incarcerated than those enrolled on all of our nation’s college campuses” (Hall) which makes the education system one of the focal points of trying to find a cure for the New Jim Crow, and to help people understand what is happening so that it can be stopped from affecting future generations or even developing into a worse problem.