I recently came to my own conspiracy theory-esque conclusion about why the number of blacks(and other minorities) in prison is so overwhelming. I recently had to look at some notes I took on the "Autobiography of Assata Shakur." While looking at the notes, I came across something that she said about the prison system that seems to be right on point and make a hell of a lot of sense. There is a reference to the 13th ammendment to the Constitution which states(not ver batim) that slavery cannot exist in the United states UNLESS its a punishment for a crime for which the accused has been found guilty. This is what she says in response to that.



"That explains why jails and prisons all over the country are filled to the brim with Black and Third World people, why so many Black people can't find a job on the streets and are forced to survive the best way they know how...Prisons are a profitable business. They are a way of legally perpetuating slavery...Prisons are part of this governments genocidal war against Black and Third World people." (65)



Damn, ain't that some slick ish right there? And we wonder why so many brothers and sisters are in the prison system. Some people are truly bad, mad cats are innocent, and some people had no other choice or path based on the conditions in which they grew up. Conditions which were manufactured by this American government. Kinda makes you wonder...





~Peace





"I'm an African, never was an African American..." - Dead Prez