Mass Incarceration: How America Built A Prison System To Replace Slavery — And Targeted Black Men To Fill It

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. More than 2 million people are behind bars right now. And Black Americans — who make up 13% of the U.S. population — make up 37% of the prison population. One in three Black men will be incarcerated at some point in their lifetime. 77% of people in federal prison for drug offenses are Black or Latino. And Nixon's own domestic policy advisor admitted on the record that the War on Drugs was designed specifically to target Black communities. This is not a coincidence. This is not a community failing. This is a system with a documented, deliberate history. And in this episode, XO, AZ, and CDA tell the full story — from slavery to Black Codes to convict leasing to the War on Drugs to mandatory minimums to what we can do about it right now.

Keywords: mass incarceration Black community, New Jim Crow, war on drugs Black men, Black incarceration statistics, convict leasing history, mandatory minimum sentencing racial disparity, Black men prison system, Michelle Alexander New Jim Crow, 13th Amendment slavery loophole, how to help incarcerated Black men, reentry resources Black community, Past Present Pushback podcast