SJC Exchange Library

The story of mass incarceration in the United States is a story about race. As incarceration rates soared in jails and prisons through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to reach historically unprecedented heights, the burdens of that growth did not fall equally on all communities. For black people in particular, the impact has been devastating, cutting a swath of destruction through the economic and social fabric of communities, ensuring
the persistence of systemic inequality that undermines our country’s bedrock values.


This report is one of a series that the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) is releasing with the Safety and Justice Challenge—the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s initiative to reduce overincarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails. The initiative is supporting a network of competitively selected local jurisdictions committed to finding ways to safely reduce jail incarceration.
#RacialJustice
#racialdisparities