#FitTheDescription: The Dehumanizing Brutality of Mass Incarceration

Mass incarceration is a crisis. It is a capitalist and racist endeavor that has purposely targeted black and Latinx communities through discriminatory policing, bigotry framed as legislation, and a deep-seated fear of blackness and "otherness." This system is, in large part, fueled byย mainstream mediaย for the sole purpose of pathologizing black and Latinx people until trappingย them…

Mass incarceration is a crisis. It is a capitalist and racist endeavor that has purposely targeted black and Latinx communities through discriminatory policing, bigotry framed as legislation, and a deep-seated fear of blackness and "otherness." This system is, in large part, fueled byย mainstream mediaย for the sole purpose of pathologizing black and Latinx people until trappingย them in cages is normalized in the nation's consciousness.

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

See just a few of the stats below:

One in every 106 white males age 18 or older are incarcerated;ย 1 in every 36 Hispanic males age 18 or older are incarcerated;ย 1 in every 15ย black males age 18 or older are incarcerated.

African-American women areย three times more likelyย than white women to be incarcerated, while Hispanic women are 69 percent more likely than white women to be incarcerated.

Marijuanaย useย isย roughlyย equalย among blacksย andย whites,ย yet blacksย areย 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.

Despiteย usingย andย sellingย drugsย atย ratesย similarย toย thoseย ofย theirย white counterparts, African Americans andย Latinos (pdf) make up 62 percent ofย thoseย in state prisons for drug offenses and 72 percent of those sentencedย forย federal drug-trafficking offenses.

Despite making up onlyย 15ย percentย ofย theย juvenileย population, blackย juveniles are arrested two times more often than their white counterparts.

Africanย Americansย serveย virtuallyย asย muchย timeย inย prisonย (pdf) forย aย drugย offense (58.7 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months).

In the video below, Marlon Peterson, author andย TED resident, discusses how one wrong move cost him his freedom, and howโ€”despite pretending to be a country where "pay your debt to society" is a constant refrainโ€”the United States remains in the business of enslaving black peopleโ€”and business is good.

The system is not broken and it never has been. It is killing, incarcerating and criminalizing allย people who #FitTheDescription in a white supremacist society. It's time to dismantle mass incarcerationโ€”and the purposeful mass criminalization that fuels it.

Editorโ€™s note: Check in with The Rootย Friday to see Shilo Murphy's story: โ€œ#FitTheDescription: The White Privilege Behind Drug Crimes.โ€

Also onย The Root:

โ€œBigger Than Incarceration: Angela Davis Talks Mass Criminalization, Mental Health and the War on Drugsโ€

โ€œNBA Veteran and Drug-Policy Advocate Al Harrington: โ€˜Marijuana Healed My Grandmotherโ€™โ€

โ€œGold Rush: Jay Z Takes an Unflinching Look at Racist, Violent War on Drugs in New Short Filmโ€

โ€œFor the Record: โ€˜Superpredatorsโ€™ Is Absolutely a Racist Termโ€

โ€œAva DuVernay on Mass Incarceration, White Fearย and Black Joyโ€

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