A "Child" with a View-Day 63

Happy Tuesday. May you have a wonderful and properous day.

Today is a wonderful day because I believe it to be so. My daughter always tells me that she wishes she was Hispanic or some other ethnicity. Why? Good question.

My daughter is not proud of her race, and what "they" are doing and/or not doing. My daughter and I speak frequently about Black people and what we feel about our present status in America. What do most Black people have to be proud of TODAY?

A good question is :

Are we better off as a people today, than we were when Martin Luther King was alive?

I will attempt to answer this question in its most elementary form. By facts and data gathered from the U.S. Justice Department and other sources..

What were the number of Black males in jail in 1968 (the year Dr. King was murdered)?

I looked for these figures but I could not find them. I am still researching. But as you can see from the U.S. Justice Department's figures below, the rate of Black males going to prison has been increasing since 1987, not declining.

So you tell me what do my daughter and many other Black children have to be proud of. Black people are much more than "rappers" and/or "atheletes".

Read Marcus Garvey or even Richard Wright, and you will be able to ascertain that many years ago, Black people focused on intelligence. But what has happened?

I am still trying to figure this out.

According to Social Justice News:

"American prison population surpasses 2 million,
the highest incarceration rate in the world

For the first time in history, the number of inmates in American prisons and jails has exceeded 2 million. As of June 30, 2002, there were 1.35 million prisoners in State and Federal prisons and an additional 665, 475 in local jails, according to a new report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. This represents an increase of nearly 2 percent over the first six months of 2002.

The rate of incarceration in the United States, 702 inmates per 100,000 residents, continues to be the highest in the world. Among black males 25 to 29, 12.9 percent were in prison or jail. Overall, 4.8 percent of black males were in prison or jails, compared to 1.7 percent of Hispanics and 0.6 percent of whites. Black women in prisons and jails continue to outnumber their white (5 times as many) and Hispanic (more than twice as many) counterparts."(Social Justice News)


On June 30, 2008 —United State Justice Department figures

– 2,310,984 prisoners were held in federal or state prisons or in local jails – an increase of 0.8% from yearend 2007, less than the average annual growth of 2.4% from 2000-2007.
– 1,540,805 sentenced prisoners were under state or federal jurisdiction.
– there were an estimated 509 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents – up from 506 at yearend 2007.
– the number of women under the jurisdiction of state or federal prison authorities increased 1.2% from yearend 2007, reaching 115,779, and the number of men rose 0.7%, totaling 1,494,805.
At midyear 2008, there were 4,777 black male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents being held in state or federal prison and local jails, compared to 1,760 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents and 727 white male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents.

Percent of U.S. population in racial group under correctional supervision

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Year White Black Other

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1986 1.4% 5.7% 0.6%
1987 1.4% 6.2% 0.6%
1988 1.5% 6.6% 0.7%
1989 1.6% 7.3% 0.7%
1990 1.7% 7.6% 0.7%
1991 1.7% 8.0% 0.7%
1992 1.8% 8.5% 0.7%
1993 1.8% 9.0% 0.8%
1994 1.9% 8.9% 0.8%
1995 2.0% 8.8% 1.1%
1996 2.0% 8.9% 1.2%
1997 2.0% 9.0% 1.3%

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Correctional Surveys (The National Probation Data Survey, National Prisoner Statistics, Survey of Jails, and The National Parole Data Survey) as presented in Correctional Populations in the United States, 1997.

However, I encourage my daughter to be proud of who she is and SHE should make a difference. I tell her that while it is important to recognize a problem, it is MORE important to do something about it. Take action my sweet girl.

Have a great day.


L. for Love