National Urban League Effort Targets Plight of Jailed Black Men: One in 20 Black men is incarcerated
Calling the social challenges facing black men a “top priority,” the National Urban League is now urging lawmakers to investigate the high incarceration rates among black men in America’s prisons. Following the recent release of a six-month study, the civil rights organization will also lobby for increased vocational training and drug treatment for black inmates. The study, entitled “Lockdown: The Race to Incarcerate African Americans,” assessed the treatment of black male prisoners nationwide, stating that black males in prison are “warehoused” and not offered ongoing rehabilitation. The 21-page report and a February town hall meeting with black inmates at the Shelby County Correction Facility in Memphis, Tennessee coincides with the NUL's recently-established National Commission on the Black Male, created to explore racial disparities and social trends that adversely impact black men. The NUL report on criminal justice, which was released last month, offered a series of sobering statistics: Of black males born this year, 29 percent can expect to spend some time behind bars. One in 14 black children has a parent in jail or prison. One in 20 black men is incarcerated, compared with one in 155 white men. For every three black men in college, four are in prison. [more]