Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

educational / interactive / scientific / useless but interesting / visual

“There are more African Americans under correctional control today — in prison or jail, on probation or parole — than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began.” —Michelle Alexander

The above statement was made by Michelle Alexander, Ohio State law professor and author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. I set out to display that data visually, along with supporting charts that might investigate related issues.

 

More Incarcerated African Americans than American Slaves in 1850
More Incarcerated African Americans than American Slaves in 1850


 

American Population by Race, 2010
Household Union Membership


 

Percent Sentenced For Federal Drug Offenses, 1970-2004
Percent Sentenced For Federal Drug Offenses, 1970-2004


 

Number of Prison and Jail Inmates, 1950-2000
Number of Prison and Jail Inmates, 1950-2000


A: Drug War: 1971-Present

 

State and Federal Prisoners Housed in Private Facilities
State and Federal Prisoners Housed in Private Facilities


 

Sources

  • Historical Statistics of the U.S. (1970)
  • Disproportionate Minority Contact/Confinement
  • 2010 US Census
  • US Bureau of Justice Statistics
  • Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online
  • The Valley Project, Virginia Center for Digital History, University of Virginia
All data & text used the above charts/graphs does not necessarily reflect the view of Erik Austin Deerly.

 

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