Root Cause Analysis of hyper-incarceration of African Americans in Delaware
Define the problem
Structural Violence
Structural violence refers to systematic ways in which social structures harm or otherwise disadvantage individuals (2013).
As an African American man and a lifelong resident of Delaware. I have often wondered how the incarceration rate of African American men has gotten so high. My job brings me into contact with many young men and women, predominantly African American, who lives in challenging neighborhoods. As a child I used to believe that the men in neighborhood were at a higher risk of being arrested and incarcerated simply because they committed more crimes than other racial groups. It was not until well into my adulthood that I have been able to understand and more so articulate why my group is arrested and incarcerated at a much higher rate.
Collect data
Recently a reporter from the local …show more content…
The leading factor is a system of institutionalized racism which resulted in a criminal justice system designed to support these beliefs. In 1849 the General Assembly of Delaware enacted law that made it unlawful of a “free Black person to be poor and unemployed.” These types of laws made it not only legal for an African American to be incarcerated but it was a mandate from the law making body for the state. What this translates into is a convict leasing system where Blacks must be employed or forced into a contract to provide labor until January 1 of the upcoming year. After January 1 the person had 3 weeks to find a job or they would be forced into another contract, which could be done by coercion. Michelle Alexander in her work, “The New Jim Crow,” speaks to the Black codes, a system of structural violence enacted to prevent Black from advancing in the society, as not going away but being folded into the current criminal justice
Define the problem
Structural Violence
Structural violence refers to systematic ways in which social structures harm or otherwise disadvantage individuals (2013).
As an African American man and a lifelong resident of Delaware. I have often wondered how the incarceration rate of African American men has gotten so high. My job brings me into contact with many young men and women, predominantly African American, who lives in challenging neighborhoods. As a child I used to believe that the men in neighborhood were at a higher risk of being arrested and incarcerated simply because they committed more crimes than other racial groups. It was not until well into my adulthood that I have been able to understand and more so articulate why my group is arrested and incarcerated at a much higher rate.
Collect data
Recently a reporter from the local …show more content…
The leading factor is a system of institutionalized racism which resulted in a criminal justice system designed to support these beliefs. In 1849 the General Assembly of Delaware enacted law that made it unlawful of a “free Black person to be poor and unemployed.” These types of laws made it not only legal for an African American to be incarcerated but it was a mandate from the law making body for the state. What this translates into is a convict leasing system where Blacks must be employed or forced into a contract to provide labor until January 1 of the upcoming year. After January 1 the person had 3 weeks to find a job or they would be forced into another contract, which could be done by coercion. Michelle Alexander in her work, “The New Jim Crow,” speaks to the Black codes, a system of structural violence enacted to prevent Black from advancing in the society, as not going away but being folded into the current criminal justice