Source: BBC
By Wesley Stephenson
Are there more black men in prison than in college in the United States?
It’s an oft-repeated claim that there are more black men in prison in the US than in college. It’s a good statistic that apparently gets to the heart of the problem of inequality in the US, but is it having a negative effect on young black men? And, more importantly, is it true?
In 2007, before he became a presidential candidate, Barack Obama took to the stage to address The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
“I know what you know,” he said. “Despite all the progress that has been made, we still have more work to do. We have more work to do when more young black men languish in prison than attend universities and colleges across America.”
The statement was greeted with cheering and applause. It was a rallying cry for the activists in the room to continue their fight against inequality.
He has used the statistic himself in one of his own publications, but became aware that the continuing repetition was having a negative effect on young black men.
“These are young black males who are trying to figure it out. They know that they could do better and I started to feel that a lot of the statistics that we were using were more of a burden to them,” he says.
Despite this, the original claim can still be heard today.
Categories: Americas