ANDREW MWENDA; LISTEN YOUR "LISTENER" IS SPEAKING.

Part 2 

A

ndrew Mwenda makes another claim in his article and I quote; “ According to Michelle Alexander’s book; The New Jim Crow, there are double the number of blacks in jail than in college” published in 2010.  The book written by a civil rights litigator and legal scholar has been highly applauded and criticized  in equal measure. In the  words of Kirkus Reviews, the book is; “An explosive debut… alarming, provocative and convincing.” On the other hand according to A. Johnson in his post to  libcom.org, scholars and social justice activists say the book promotes false understanding of mass incarceration and have called for review . So perhaps Kirkus was right to call it alarming.

The claim that there are “more blacks in jail than in college” is a huge myth and am not the only one who says so. Ivory A. Toldson a Howard University professor and Congressional Black Cacus Foundational analyst was quoted to say that  “the myth that there are more Black men in Prison than in college is  the most frequently quoted statistic about Black men in the United States.” Even President Barack Obama has fallen prey to this myth, he has been quoted to say that “we have more work to do when more young black men languish in prison than attend colleges and universities across America” in 2007 during the NAACP forum.

The myth has been traced down to 2002 report from the Justice Institute titled “Cell or Classroom; The Funding of Higher Education and Corrections and an impact on African-American men” which report according to the website newamericamedia.org was ill researched, a notion I identify with and there are facts and statistics to support this argument and  prove the myth is only but a myth .

 According to the U.S Census of 2013 there are 18.5 million  black males in the U.S. In the same year the National Center for Educational statistics found that 1,437,363 black males were enrolled in college. In the same year there a total of  745,000 black males behind bars combining local and federal prisons according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Prisoner Statistics program.  So when you work out the numbers there are more 692,363 black males in colleges than there in prison.  In fact the number of black males enrolling to college has been on the increase and statistics reveal that enrollment of black males in colleges rose from 693,044 in 2001 to 1,437,363 in 2013. An increment by 51.7% in only 12 years.  It’s clear for all to see that the myth that there are more blacks in jail than in college is only but a myth and many have relied on it either innocently or ignorantly.

Andrew Mwenda is not alone, many have  fallen prey to this myth, writers, policymakers, and civil rights organizations have often times used it with the best intentions at heart, yet this repeated falsehood has proven detrimental to the black communities. So not only is the assertion none factual but  it casts a negative picture of black male academic achievements and feeds into the stereotype that black males are predisposed to crime and violence as highlighted by  the New America Media news letter of 11^th August 2015.

3. Andrew Mwenda makes another claim that there are more black people in Jail today than were enslaved in 1850, and as such more blacks are disenfranchised toady than 1875, when the 15^th amendment prohibiting discrimination in voting rights based on race was passed. He borrows this from the book The New Jim Crow that I sited above and borrows many arguments from his previous articles that include “The age of Human Imperialism” posted on his personal website on 6^th July www.independent.co.ug/andrewmwenda. Even John Legend, the popular secular artist commonly known for his hit song “All of me,” has been quoted to say the same.

Now I have real issues with this assertion because it lacks both analysis and is drawn completely out of context. I will prove to you that not only is the assertion completely drawn out of proportion but that it also lacks the analysis that befits the modern reader.

Whereas the fact that the Black incarceration today in the U.S is larger than that of the slave population in 1850 in numbers is a shocking comparison, its only because its viewed by many out of context.  The population of Blacks in America today is much higher than that of Blacks in America in 1850, so then the debate shifts from mere numbers to percentages. An accurate and a more convincing comparison can only be drawn when we look at the black percentage in prison today as compared to the black population in the U.S today vis-à-vis   the percentage of blacks in slavery in 1850 as compared to the total black population in the U.S in 1850. Thinking otherwise would be to deny yourself the actual benefit of critical analysis rather than mere plain arguments.

 According to the 1850 Population Census in the U.S, there were 3.6 million African Americans that included approximately 3.2 million slaves. However there were 872,924 Male African American slaves above the age of 15 excluding minors and women. This means that 90% of the black population was in slavery, 9 in 10 blacks were in slavery.

In contrast, in 2013 the US Census Bureau estimated 45 million African Americans that constitute approximately 14.1% of the total population of 316.1 million. This is 12 times more than the African American population in 1850.

A lot of reports seem to agree with the findings of  Politifact, an online news website that there are about  1.7 million black men under some form of correctional control, including probation and parole, excluding those held in local jails on any given day. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Prisoner Statistics Program report of mid 2013 there about 745,000 black men in US prison and jail system. But if we were to take the 1.7 million that most people and this case Andrew  Mwenda choose to identify with, that’s about twice the 870,000 or so black men at least 15 years in slavery in 1850.  This has been the rallying cry of most policy makers, civil rights organizations and writers like Mwenda  himself. But this is a purely misleading comparison and this is why.

Given that there are 45 million Black Americans 1.7 million only represents 3.8% of the entire black population of the U.S. So what’s more alarming? The 90% African Americans in slavery in 1850 or the  3.8% in incarceration today. The analysis is there for all to see. Therefore in no way can we make an assertion that there are “more” African Americans in incarceration today than there were in slavery over 160 years ago.

Finally, my arguments have not only been fertile with facts, but also with timely analysis that befits the modern reader. I have shifted the debate from the usual rhetoric and dogma and presented an new angel to the argument. So it’s only reasonable to note that for every story there are always two sides. I have often heard of a Ugandan proverb that says; “You cannot condemn Nyakato before you hear out Nyagoma”.  

Grounding oneself to one line of argumentation is not only counterproductive but also intellectual suicido, because with new facts comes new perspectives hence fresh perceptions. This has been my side to the argument

The writer

Mwesigwa Onesmus

Third Year law Student

Uganda Christian University

A blogger, social and Political analyst and ardent debater