By: Taylor Beckman

Taylor Beckman — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 17:41:11 +0000

I am aware that mass incarceration is a major issue in this country, but the idea that there are so many people of color populating prisons still sickens me to this day. Just watching the trailer to that Netflix movie infuriated me because the people in the prisons are not seen as equal members of society and when people do not see them, they become invisible. I want to watch that movie in order to have a better understanding of exactly what is happening that makes people think that this is an acceptable treatment for certain crimes but not others. We read how there is unequal sentencing among black, white, and brown bodies, but it seems like no one is questioning this, especially the white people who benefit from this. My initial idea of the prison system is that it was created to lock people up who were detriments to society, but I now know that its origins are more racialized than that. History made it so that it could disadvantage others based on their race on the grounds of criminality.

By: Jessica Sperber

Jessica Sperber — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 04:54:14 +0000

I think it’s interesting that you bring up the issue of felonies and voting rights. That’s something we rarely talk about as being a problem, but considering it disproportionally affects people of color, it is! And it is interesting that a felony, who’s definition can often be very skewed, it worthy of taking away a person’s fundamental right to vote. I had a family friend that in his 20s, got too drunk one night and accidentally walked into the wrong person’s home…he eventually was charged with breaking and entering and is considered a felon as a result! (Note that this man is white and never spent a day in prison). In a similar light, petty drug crimes can result in decades spent in prison, and as a consequence millions of African Americans loose their right to vote.

Comments on: Disenfranchisement in the Era of Mass Incarceration

By: Taylor Beckman

By: Jessica Sperber