Back in the chain gang
For many black and Hispanic youth living in urban communities, going to jail has become a badge of honor. This is a very puzzling phenomenon. The stigma of going to “juvenile” used to be embarrassing, now it’s a sign of being “tough” or “depressed.” Why have so many “minority” youths become so willing to “make an offer”?
Many blame hip-hop culture for this phenomenon, due to its perceived glorification of violence, criminal behavior, and the “thug” lifestyle. However it seems that this is putting the cart before the horse. Black and Hispanic youth have been disproportionately incarcerated in the United States long before there were things like hip-hop music recordings or associated movies that tell their story. Therefore, hip hop culture is just a platform for young people to give their side of the narrative, not the cause of the problem.
According to a 2002 study conducted by the Journal of Labor Studies, “Over the past two decades, the US prison population has quadrupled.” In response to this fact, the study concludes that “corporations are looking for opportunities to profit from this prison population” and there are “two main areas through which corporations are capitalizing on prison labor: the privatization of prisons and the creation of prison-based industries”. despite strong evidence such as a 2012 study by the Justice Policy Institute, an organization based in the nation’s capital, which concluded: “Since education correlates with crime rates and incarceration, addressing deficiencies on the [D.C.] education system must be part of a comprehensive citizen security strategy”
Instead of figuring out how to invest in transformative education reform, however, the business community has positioned itself to capitalize on the robust incarcerated population as a source of cheap labor. The public sector has decided to promote a “tough on crime” rhetoric rather than an educational policy. While businessmen and politicians vilify rappers for profiting from glorifying criminal acts fantasized in wax, they are actually plotting and plotting to profit from the rising prison population.
As stated in a report in the July/August 2006 issue of the Associated Oregon Industries Business Point of View, “Although it is adults who go to prison, the probability that a child will eventually end up there before they can tie their shoes can be predicted. Some prison systems have noted a correlation: they have begun projecting the number of beds needed in the future based on current 3rd grade reading scores” A progressive nation simply shouldn’t conform to such a cynical point of view. Working to create and implement policies that reduce dropout rates and institute relevant curricula that prepare students for the economic realities of today and tomorrow are better solutions.
Maybe if society’s leaders looked to the “Hip-Hop Generation” for answers instead of blaming, we’d all be better off. Black and Hispanic youth seem to be looking to jail everywhere for a sense of structure, family, and community that is missing from their homes, schools, and neighborhoods. The goal of government policy in America’s urban communities should be to alleviate the pressures of drugs, crime, and poverty on the community. Instead, they aspire to demonize, imprison and ruin the lives of young people living in difficult circumstances. To paraphrase the lyrics of a song by the controversial rap duo Dead Prez, politicians and businessmen need to realize that the real problems plaguing our society are “…bigger than hip-hop.”