In 1980, one out of every 453 Americans was incarcerated. By 1993, one out of every 189 Americans was incarcerated. But not just anyone went to jail. Congress and 14 states passed laws making penalties for crack up to 100 times as great as penalties for powder cocaine. As a result, blacks were much more likely to go to jail, and for longer periods, than whites.
Prisons are now the fastest-growing item in almost all state budgets.
California spends more on prisons than it does on colleges and universities. Former defense contractors are now getting into the lucrative incarceration business. Almost three quarters of new admissions to prisons are now African-American or Hispanic. If present trends continue for another 14 years, an absolute majority of African-American males between the ages of 18 and 40 will be in prison or in detention camps. A secret war indeed.