Do you have any suggestions about how to address this multifaceted problem??

And the reason you saw so many blacks in court is that blacks are more likely to be arrested; more likely to go to court; more likely to receive a jail sentence once in court; more likely to serve more time once sentenced. The only “personal responsibility” involved is the responsibility of persons throughout the criminal justice system to apply the law (and reform a bad law) equally and without regard to race.

Racism IS the reason there is a disproportionate rate of minorities in jail. That's a fact. It doesn't need your approval to be true.

Now, don't get me wrong. I hear your concern about personal choices and responsibility. It's something I stress to young people when I get the chance.

But. It is racism that drives the disproportionate number of jailed minorities. Cause quite frankly, if the numbers where proportionate, you wouldn't hear complaints coming from the black community concerning drug law. We want criminals behind bars as much as anybody else. In fact, the whole disparity between rock cocaine and powder cocaine was an idea put forth by the black community.

Racism is the reason behind the disproportionate number of black in jail – both from the criminal justice system and the economic system; racism both past and present. Oh, yes. I can make an economic argument if I want, I just don't do high-jacking someone else's blog. But check the facts. Check the records. Black civilians are randomly stopped by police for no reason way more than whites are, even though whites are more likely to carry illegal drugs. Even though the rate of drug addiction is slightly higher among whites than blacks.

Sorry. I just can't stress enough the fact that racism is behind the disproportionate numbers. Cause it helps me make my next point -

While within the community, I do stress personal responsibility, what I will not do is play this game wherein black people have to be absolutely innocent of any criminality, or at least demonstrably cleaner than whites, in order to justify speaking out against a racist and unjust justice system.

Cause the truth is, when somebody mentions problems with a law and someone else responds with “personal responsibility” – all the responder is doing is distracting for the real and necessary conversation.

I mean really. Check out American history. This whole “personal responsibility” argument has it's own origin, wherever and whyever you spread it, in post-bellum/Counter-Reconstruction racism. It's a complete and utter joke. So like I said before, just stop.

Second, You said: “Drug laws need to be overhauled regardless of how whether or not they address all the underlying reasons that put Black men in federal court far too often.” From this statement, it sounded like you were saying that the focus should be on reforming the drug laws, and not people's personal choices — (which I said in my posts) — which I disagree with. I do believe you think it matters that Black men are in the criminal justice system — I didn't suggest that you didn't. What we disagree about is why they're there in the first place and the right approach to take to address that problem.

Third, you're right, law reform is one piece of a complicated puzzle, but in my mind, reform won't mean squat if people continue to choose to break the law.

In 2007, the Justice policy Institute issued a report which compared the per capita rates of incarceration on drug charges for whites, blacks, and Latinos in 198 counties across the country. Here's a few examples:

Charleston County, SC: Whites-10.82 Blacks-255.09
Hamilton County, OH: Whites-32.83 Blacks-403.06
Harris County, TX: Whites-14.63 Blacks-279.94
San Joaquin County, CA: Whites-46.63 Blacks- 576.93

Come on.

Is there racism in the criminal justice system? Hell yeah there is. And I have no doubt that it will be there for years to come no matter how many laws that are passed. What I am focused on, and what I care about, is the personal choices that people make. Because even controlling for equitable drug laws, and the lack of racism in the crim justice system, will that change people's choice to sell drugs?

Are you really arguing that racism is making people sell drugs? The unfair drug laws? Of course not (well, I hope not). People, both black and white, sell drugs because they want to and choose to. Period. Yet, people continue to use racism and unfair drug laws as a boogeyman that has caused disproportionate rates of minorities in jail. I don't buy into that reasoning. It's lazy and inaccurate.

You said “mainly minorities” sell drugs. Nothing you've said since has proven that.

Law reform is but one piece of a big and complicated puzzle. I don't live in an either/or world.

Until you say something about the fact that racial profiling has put more minorities in the system than is warranted, you're gonna get busted. Case in point, I'm busting you now. The problem activists have with the law isn't that people break it; it's 1 – the draconian difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine; and, 2 – the racist manner in which the law is applied. See, you get a bunch of cops who think that “blacks sell drugs,” even though it's white people supporting the illegal drug trade and that if all white people would quit cold turkey, we would see a big change in Afghanistan, you're gonna have white people selling drugs with impunity while black people who sell drugs are getting smacked in the back of the head with the proverbial book.

Then, when white . . . oh! There's a whole issue with this. Maybe I'll write about it on my own blog. But stop with the “black men are predominating the criminal justice system because of their own personal decisions.” They're predominating because of racism. Period.

What I'm taking away from your statement is that it doesn't matter that Black men are predominating the criminal justice system because of their own personal decisions (most of the time –innocents excluded), what we really need to focus on is making the drug laws more equitable. That just seems backwards to me.

::

That doesn't mean they're all guilty, but they've been arrested and charged, no? Doesn't mean they sell more than non-minorities either. It just means they get far more caught up in the justice system and the jail culture for all sorts of reasons.

Drug laws need to be overhauled regardless of how whether or not they address all the underlying reasons that put Black men in federal court far too often.

My point, again, is that reforming drug laws is not going to solve the underlying problem, which is the fact that people, minorities and non-minorities alike, tend to sell drugs in the first place. Not that I don't care about non-minorities, but I am more alarmed at the number of minorities, especially Black men, that I see in federal court for drug charges. It has been one of the most depressing experiences of my life.

“people –mainly minorities–will still sell drugs and therefore will still be going to jail even if it is for less time under the reformed drug laws.”

Do you have any suggestions about how to address this multifaceted problem??

And the reason you saw so many blacks in court is that blacks are more likely to be arrested; more likely to go to court; more likely to receive a jail sentence once in court; more likely to serve more time once sentenced. The only “personal responsibility” involved is the responsibility of persons throughout the criminal justice system to apply the law (and reform a bad law) equally and without regard to race.

Racism IS the reason there is a disproportionate rate of minorities in jail. That's a fact. It doesn't need your approval to be true.

Now, don't get me wrong. I hear your concern about personal choices and responsibility. It's something I stress to young people when I get the chance.

But. It is racism that drives the disproportionate number of jailed minorities. Cause quite frankly, if the numbers where proportionate, you wouldn't hear complaints coming from the black community concerning drug law. We want criminals behind bars as much as anybody else. In fact, the whole disparity between rock cocaine and powder cocaine was an idea put forth by the black community.

Racism is the reason behind the disproportionate number of black in jail – both from the criminal justice system and the economic system; racism both past and present. Oh, yes. I can make an economic argument if I want, I just don't do high-jacking someone else's blog. But check the facts. Check the records. Black civilians are randomly stopped by police for no reason way more than whites are, even though whites are more likely to carry illegal drugs. Even though the rate of drug addiction is slightly higher among whites than blacks.

Sorry. I just can't stress enough the fact that racism is behind the disproportionate numbers. Cause it helps me make my next point -

While within the community, I do stress personal responsibility, what I will not do is play this game wherein black people have to be absolutely innocent of any criminality, or at least demonstrably cleaner than whites, in order to justify speaking out against a racist and unjust justice system.

Cause the truth is, when somebody mentions problems with a law and someone else responds with “personal responsibility” – all the responder is doing is distracting for the real and necessary conversation.

I mean really. Check out American history. This whole “personal responsibility” argument has it's own origin, wherever and whyever you spread it, in post-bellum/Counter-Reconstruction racism. It's a complete and utter joke. So like I said before, just stop.

Second, You said: “Drug laws need to be overhauled regardless of how whether or not they address all the underlying reasons that put Black men in federal court far too often.” From this statement, it sounded like you were saying that the focus should be on reforming the drug laws, and not people's personal choices — (which I said in my posts) — which I disagree with. I do believe you think it matters that Black men are in the criminal justice system — I didn't suggest that you didn't. What we disagree about is why they're there in the first place and the right approach to take to address that problem.

Third, you're right, law reform is one piece of a complicated puzzle, but in my mind, reform won't mean squat if people continue to choose to break the law.

In 2007, the Justice policy Institute issued a report which compared the per capita rates of incarceration on drug charges for whites, blacks, and Latinos in 198 counties across the country. Here's a few examples:

Charleston County, SC: Whites-10.82 Blacks-255.09
Hamilton County, OH: Whites-32.83 Blacks-403.06
Harris County, TX: Whites-14.63 Blacks-279.94
San Joaquin County, CA: Whites-46.63 Blacks- 576.93

Come on.