One out of seven is unemployed. One out of two is a single parent. One out of three has not completed high school. Yet many still believe that mostly men, especially black men, are locked up. The media continually reminds the public that one out of three young black men is in prison, on probation or parole.
Black males make up half the prison population in America.
I counted dozens of crime stories in major newspapers in 1999 on the plight of young black males in or facing prison. During the same period, there were three articles on women in prison and none specifically on black women in prison. A 10-year study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999 found that homicide was the top killer of black women. More than half of them were murdered by friends or family members. In most cases their assailants were males.