Some facts of the injustice system

[Brewman_Jax]

Black people are 12% of the population, yet are almost 40% of the prison population. More information is here at http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/cj/
The night riders have traded their hoods and torches for guns, badges, sirens, and suits (the DA's office).

Even in this CDC report of unintended deaths by poisoning (1999-2004), mainly by use of illegal and/or prescription drugs, white people died at a rate almost 11 times greater than black people. Yet surveys show that the face of drug users in the US is still considered black. :(
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5605a1.htm

The signs came down off of America's walls, but not America's hearts.

[firedupdem]

1. It's really sad. Just today there was a post about a shooting in

Louisiana that took the life of a 73yr old black man. If we aren't being locked up, we're still being shot down under very questionable circumstances.

Edited to add link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3825207

[Number23]

4. Hey, it's just an old black man, right?? He must have been asking for it!

:crazy:

RIP Mr. Monroe.

That thread is nothing compared to others. It's sweetness and light compared to some of the cluelessness I've seen here...

[Number23]

2. ELEVEN times greater?? That's an amazing figure

But no one should be surprised. Blacks are still viewed as the face of welfare too even though there are greater numbers of white getting checks from the government than blacks...

[jmm]

3. More on being the face of crime

http://www.aclu.org/racialjustice/racialprofiling/15950prs20000512.html

Lenora Lapidus, Legal Director of the ACLU of New Jersey and one of Bradley's attorneys, said that 'Flying While Black' racial profiling is not limited to a single airport or part of the country. "This discriminatory behavior affects a huge portion of the population: women of color who choose to travel."

Statistics bear this out. According to a March 2000 General Accounting Office report, black women were nine times more likely than white women to be X-rayed after being frisked or patted down, yet black women were less than half as likely to be found carrying contraband as white women.

[Number23]

5. Thanks so much for that

We'll add "flying while black" to all of the others. You know -- driving while black, shopping while black, LIVING while black...

[jmm]

6. Surviving while black

[Number23]

7. Damn.

Just... damn.