Presentation Transcript
Racial Stigma, Mass Incarceration and American Values: Racial Stigma, Mass Incarceration and American Values Glenn C. Loury
Merton P. Stoltz Professor
Brown University
February 2007
State Prisons Grow Faster than Higher Ed: State Prisons Grow Faster than Higher Ed According to a 2002 report of the Justice Policy Institute (Washington, DC):
“During the 1980s and 1990s, state spending on corrections grew at 6 times the rate of state spending on higher education, and by the close of the 1990’s, there were nearly a third more African American men in prison and jail than in universities or colleges.”
Yet Crime Fell Sharply in 90’s: Yet Crime Fell Sharply in 90’s
Crime/Prison Trends since 1970: Crime/Prison Trends since 1970
Imprisonment in the United States, 1925-2004: Imprisonment in the United States, 1925-2004
There is A Large and Growing Racial Disparity in Imprisonment: There is A Large and Growing Racial Disparity in Imprisonment
Proportion Ever in Prison by Age, Race and Birth Cohort: Proportion Ever in Prison by Age, Race and Birth Cohort
Least Educated Are Hardest Hit: Least Educated Are Hardest Hit
Race Difference in Drug Use: Race Difference in Drug Use
Race Difference in Drug Arrests: Race Difference in Drug Arrests
Winning the War? Drug Prices, Emergency Treatment and Incarceration Rates: 1980-2000: Winning the War? Drug Prices, Emergency Treatment and Incarceration Rates: 1980-2000
New AIDS Cases (Males 1982-2001): New AIDS Cases (Males 1982-2001)
What if no racial disparity in incarceration? (Men): What if no racial disparity in incarceration? (Men)
Two Paths to Civic Incorporation: Two Paths to Civic Incorporation
Europe (Welfare State Remedies for Social Marginality)
Unemployment/welfare are seen as problems of “social exclusion”
Social-democratic activism incorporate marginal into “mainstream”
versus
United States (A Quasi-Paternalism Governs the Poor)
Social dysfunction, behavioral pathology, and personal disorganization as the sources of marginality
“Telling the Poor What to Do” (Help and Hassle)
Directive, supervisory, and punitive policies
Supports to enable preferred behavior (faith-based)
The American Path Chosen: Change in Numbers Incarcerated and Receiving Cash Aid:1990-2000: The American Path Chosen: Change in Numbers Incarcerated and Receiving Cash Aid:1990-2000
Mid-1960s: welfare policy becomes “raced” in media coverage and the American public mind : Mid-1960s: welfare policy becomes “raced” in media coverage and the American public mind Correlation: r = .03 (1950-65) r = .68 (1966-96)