industrial complex keeps the labor is apparent in the over crowding of American prisons. Correctional officials may see danger in prisons overcrowding, but large corporations see it as opportunity. The nearly $2 million Americans behind bars mostly non-violent drug offenders means jobs for prisoners and a bonus for corporations. While incarceration statistics have skyrocketed, crime rates have increased much more slowly. Among those arrested for violent crimes, the proportion who are African American men have changed very little over the past twenty years. Among those arrested for drug crimes, the proportion that are African American have tripled. Although drug abuse among white males are approximately the same, black men are five times more likely to be arrested for a drug offense. As a result of this, African Americans constitute about half of the inmates here in the United States. One out of every 14 black men is likely to be imprisoned at some point during his lifetime.Another astonishing fact that this brings to the surface is that a large percentage of African American men will permanently lose their right to vote if current trends continue. In nine states, one in every four black men can never vote again because they were convicted of a felony. In states such as Washington, felons automatically lose the right to vote but may petition for the reinstatement of that right. This loss of voting rights shows the decreasing political power of blacks in America.African Americans must take action before it s too late. We must not watch helplessly as those in power create and enforce unnecessarily harsh drug laws to breakdown our race. In fact it is the same people in power who import drugs into our country and our neighborhoods and distribute them in our communities. So, I urge African Americans people to realize that the prison industrial complex is a modern day form of slavery that not only destroys individuals, it dest...
