Learning! Black people are more likely to go to prison, not matter their wealth

Source: Wikimedia Commons

When we talk about race and injustice, one thing that inevitably comes up is poverty.  While poverty certainly plays a role in the lives of (for example) black people in the United States, there is more at play than just that.

If you ask me, we (privileged white people) use the very real issue of poverty to let ourselves off the hook for our systemic biases and racism.  For example, according to this Pacific Standard article, black people at all levels of wealth are more likely than white people to be incarcerated.

So as much as we felt vindicated watching Fresh Prince when Uncle Phil schooled the racist cop who arrested Will and Carlton for no reason, who only listened to him because he's a wealthy judge (who was backed up by a white man), it turns out that in reality, being a wealthy black man doesn't necessarily protect you the way it does if you are white.


Source: Pacific Standard Magazine.

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