There were approximately 1,752,842 people in jail in 1998, even though black people make up only 12% of the population in America, they make up the majority of U.S. prisoners (Revolutionary Worker). According to Revolutionary Worker, on any given day four out of ten young Black men in major U.S. cities will either be; in jail, in prison, on probation or parole, released on bond, or wanted by the police because of arrest warrants. Although the number of prisoners in the U.S. is constantly rising and four times as many people were put in jail in 1978 than in 1998, the number of violent crimes actually dropped dramatically (Johnston, 1). According to Revolutionary Worker, arrests for serious crimes dropped 12% between 1981 and 1991 while arrests for petty crimes rose 46%. Although African Americans aren't committing more dangerous crimes, and they aren't committing more petty crimes than whites, Black men are being severed from their families and a chance at a life as a productive citizen at rates far exceeding those of their equally guilty, White, counterparts. According to Michael Ross in his essay, Black Male Perp, "There can be no denying the high numbers of young black men in American jails and prisons today, nor any way to deny the shattered state of the black family because of those numbers, and the pathologies arising from them- (406). It is clear that there exists an immense problem between Black men and the way the U.S. court system treats them. There are three main reasons for this occurrence, including, the massive attack on drugs and gang activity in primarily black cities, the inability of poor Black citizens to fight the charges, and unequal sentencing of black vs. white criminals. .
According to Black Youth and the Criminalization of a Generation, in Revolutionary Worker, the rate of drug use for both black and white populations is about equal, however, the rate of arrests is a whole different story.