Mecca Gladney

English 102
Craig Wynne
Literature Review
3/17/17
Mass Incarceration

For years, racial indifferences were a huge issue in the United States. People were treated

differently based off their race, especially African Americans. African Americans were more

inclined to the racial indifferences, which is one of the reasons why the number of African

Americans in jails and prisons increased so rapidly. Although the jail and prison systems are

legal, individuals have begun to question whether the system is becoming a modern-day slavery

(known as mass incarceration) for African Americans through the 13th Amendment. To

determine this, four questions must be taken into consideration:

1. How is mass incarceration affecting African American lives?

2. If the 13th Amendment was changed, would criminals have a better chance at adjusting to

society after serving a sentence?

3. What policies contribute to mass incarceration?
4. What can the government do about mass incarceration?

The review on literature will discuss the history of the connection African Americans have with

prisons and/or jails, how people view them and how mass incarceration is affecting their daily

lives.

How is mass incarceration affecting African-American lives?

To determine if mass incarceration has any impact on African Americans, it is vital to

understand the history African Americans have with prisons and/or jails. African Americans have

had severe social and economic distress and high rates of single-parenthood (Western and

Wildeman). Due to this, the calls for social investments in poor inner-city communities were

went against, and politics moved in a punitive direction, driving growth in the prison
population (Western and Wildeman). The high rates of incarceration did not occur by accident,

they resulted from a series of policy decisions that were intended to increase the severity of

sanctions (National Research Council). Since the prison population was growing, more

individuals were gaining experience with the prison system (African Americans in particular).

Some African Americans will be damaged for the rest of their life, because the system

had on their lives. For instance, some family trees tell stories of several generations of black men

who were denied most of their basic freedom. For example, Jarvious Cotton life would be

changed forever, just like his father, grandfather, great grandfather, and great-great grandfather.

The African American male had a long history with the system, even before his own situation.

Cottons great-great grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great grandfather was beaten to

death by the Ku Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting by

Klan intimidation. His father was barred from voting by poll taxes and literacy test. Today,

Jarvious Cotton cannot vote because, he, like many black men in the United States, has been

labeled a felon and is currently on parole (Alexander 1). Cottons story fits the idea that having

experience with the system increases one's chances of being denied the most basic rights that

democracy promises. Instead of breaking the cycle, the several generations of Cottons family

tree were affected drastically and the effects will stick for the rest of their lives.

In contrast, not all African Americans make the effort to make the right choices and avoid

the system. With that in mind, some African Americans make the wrong decisions and end up in

the prison and/or jail system based off of their own actions. This can be observed by analyzing

the different reasons why African Americans are arrested. Commonly, 59% of those arrested for

a drug offense (NAACP). This shows that African Americans also fall short to the system based

on bad decisions. In spite of how one may really act outside of making a bad decision, they still
convey to the public that they are not innocent. According to NCPR News, African-Americans

are portrayed as passive victims to this, as the prison boom just washed over communities, as if

they were completely victimized,. Although there is many African Americans who are

victimized, there is also a large amount who put themselves in predicaments that will get them

arrested and put into the system. There are also large amounts of African Americans who will

admit that black neighborhoods are constantly under threat from addicts, violence, and others

associated with the drug trade (NCPR News). Consequently, this creates an ongoing tension

between the need for a change in government policy and a change within African Americans

themselves. The fate of an African Americans life can be determined based of of their own

decisions or by being victimized. Thus, confirming that mass incarceration have detrimental

effects on African Americans.

If the 13th Amendment was changed, would criminals have a better chance at adjust to

society after serving a sentence?

As previously mentioned, the increase in prisons and/or jails population didnt happen on

accident, but it rooted from a series of policies that were put into place. As a result, the system

has affected many lives despite the reasoning behind what one may have done to get there. Not

all of the policies that were put into place were meant to harm the African American community,

however, one policy did exempt a certain group of individuals from freedom: 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

(The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution). The 13th Amendment left a lot of

people wondering about whether or not mass incarceration is a form of slavery. For example,

King states that the men and women inside of those prisons are effectively slaves. Their free or
nearly free labor represents, a $2 billion a year industry that employs nearly 900,000 prisoners

while paying them few cents an hour in some states, and nothing at all in others (King). In fact,

this is affecting African-Americans the most because, The results are the same: Blacks are far

more likely to be arrested than any other racial group in the USA (USA Today). Although there

are many African-Americans who do go through life and never become a part of the system, the

large percent of African Americans who does become a part of the system are labeled as

criminals. The big question is do these, now criminals, have more trouble in life because of their

newly adopted label.

Additionally, research show that criminals are more inclined to discrimination, even

though some do their best to change after serving a sentence. Having a criminal background only

closes doors on ones who are trying to adjust to society after serving a sentence: Once youre

labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination- employment discrimination, housing

discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of education opportunity, denial of food stamps

and other public benefits, and exclusion from jury service- are suddenly legal. As a criminal, you

have scarcely more rights, and arguably less respect (Alexander 2). This directly relates to

having a criminal background. Stripping away some of the basic rights from criminals makes it

harder for criminals to adjust to society. The 13th Amendment does single out the group of

individuals who are criminalized, leaving room to suggest that mass incarceration is slavery that

we have merely redesigned (Alexander 2). For example, if one is criminalized, they will be

forced to work for free while in jail, and once being released, their chances to ever live again

with all the basic rights that democracy promises are lessened.

On the other hand, some dont see mass incarceration as a form of slavery. Some believe

that what the system does to criminals is going to help them in the future: Meaningful work can
be part of a restorative corrections policy. Many prisoners need to learn skills that will make

them employable after release. Prison jobs also help people maintain a sense of purpose and

structure during long sentences (USA Today). There is a difference between prison labor and

slavery. The work that prisoners do is helpful to themselves. Its helpful, because it makes it

easier for a prisoner to adjust to society after serving a long sentence. Therefore, it is hard to say

what helps criminals adjust better.

What policies contribute to mass incarceration?

As stated before, some believe that the policies put into place was a major reason how

mass incarceration came about (particularly The 13th Amendment). There is still a major part

missing. According to the National Research Council there is a series of policies and not just

one policy in particular.

One major event that contributed to mass incarcerations was the policies that came with

the War on Drugs: decisions by police officials to emphasize street-level arrests of drug dealers

in the war on drugs; and changes in prevailing attitudes toward crime and criminals that led

prosecutors, judges and parole and other correctional officials to deal more harshly with

individuals convicted of crimes (The National Academies of Sciences Engineering and

Medicine). The increase in incarceration rates over the last four decades is the result of the

likelihood of imprisonment and longer sentences. For example, if a certain group of individuals

are more likely to get arrested, then the rates of a prison and/or jail will continue to grow,

because more and more individuals are getting arrested.

Another major policy that contributes to the issue is the American Legislative Exchange

Council(ALEC). ALEC is a part of the issue of mass incarceration, because ALEC is a political

lobbying group. They write laws and give them to republicans. ALEC is this private club whose
members is politicians and corporations (DuVernay). Their alliance with the corporations makes

it easier for the corporations to get their jobs done, because corporations started making contracts

with the lobbying group. For example, McDonald's was in alliance with ALEC and majority of

the meat processing was done in jail. This is significant to the issue of mass incarceration,

because there were a lot of corporations who had contracts with ALEC, causing for the prisons

and jails to continue filling up and extending sentences (DuVernay), so that the work can get

done for the corporations, for a cheap price.

What can the government do about mass incarceration?

There is a lot of talk about whether the 13th Amendment is allowing slavery to still be

legal through mass incarceration. Sadly, United States is home of 5% of the worlds population,

but 25% of the worlds prisoners (DuVernay), proving that mass incarceration is important in

the United States. Although African Americans are the most affected by mass incarceration, race

is not the reason. The reasons why mass incarceration affects African Americans is because of

their economic status (King). There is many African Americans who fall into the lower and

middle class, as opposed to the upper class. Majority of African Americans make earnings that

are less than any other race would make (See Figure 1).
 Figure 1. 2009 Household Income and Race.

An interview was conducted with Dr. Karima Jeffrey in March at Hampton University to

determine ways the government can possibly fix the issue of mass incarceration. Dr. Jeffrey was

asked What can the government do to help resolve the issue of mass incarceration?. Her

answer revealed that there are other ways to deal with mass incarceration that does not include

changing the 13th Amendment. Dr. Jeffrey believes that we should convert back to a traditional

capitalist society that is not data driven, but equalizes the disbursement of wealth. While talking

to Dr. Jeffrey, she never mentioned changing the 13th Amendment, instead she made a

connection to her visit to Cuba. Although she never advocated for communism, she did explain

how other countries survive without some of the issues that the United States face. It was clear

that she knew no society was perfect, but there are other ways to get around certain issues. For
example, in Cuba there is universal healthcare, free education, and housing is free if you work

in any of the government entities (Jeffrey). Her idea is that the structure of the government

should be reformed, because Horrifically capitalism relies upon a majority low income working

info structure as the very foundation for the society. It will also consist of a small population that

truly are weeping the wealth and the greatest reward of the capitalist society(Jeffrey). One of

the possible ways that the government can help the issue is by reverting back to its traditional

government structure, where for the most part, everyone has a fair shot.

As opposed to Dr. Jeffreys idea, some believe otherwise. Some believe that the

government needs to make changes to the 13th Amendment in order to cope with the idea of

mass incarceration: We need a national dialog about amending the 13th Amendment. Current

implications of the punishment clause should be the talk of every college course in criminal

justice. It should be debated in every state legislature and in the halls of Congress (USA Today).

There are different ideas that can be suggested to the government to change how mass

incarceration can be dealt with in the United States.

Conclusion

Mass incarceration is a sad reality that the United States faces. Individuals are thrown

into the prison and/or jail system for various of reasons, whether it be by their own decisions or

by being victimized. Mass incarceration has harsh long term effects, socially and mentally, on the

individuals who are affected by it. Individuals who are affected by mass incarceration still dont

have answers yet, but there is hope for their futures. Although mass incarceration has been an

issue for years, it is possible to see prisons and/or jail rates start to decrease. There are ways that

the entire system can change to help the issue of incarceration and the ones who are affected by

it.
 Work Cited

13th. Dir. Ava Du'Vernay. 2016.

King, Shaun. "How The 13th Amendment Didn't Really Abolish Slavery, But Let It Live

On In U.S Prisons." NyDailyNews. N.p., 21 Sept. 2016. Web.

"Mass Incarceration." Personal interview. 16 Mar. 2017.

"Read "The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences"

at NAP.edu." National Academies Press: OpenBook. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

"USA Today." N.p., n.d. Web.

Alexander, Michelle. New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Place of

Publication Not Identified: New, 2016. Print.

Wildeman, and Western. The Black Family and Mass Incarceration. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"Criminal Justice Fact Sheet." NAACP. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

Aug 19, 2013 by NCPR News , in New York City, NY. "Why Did Black Leaders Support

America's Drug War for so Long?" NCPR. N.p., 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.