Approximately 4,810 Black males per 100,000 are incarcerated, and among Black Americans, the unemployment rate is at 11%; thus, to be a Black male recently released from the prison system, unfortunately, means the future of the Black man in the American capitalist system grows bleaker every year.

Linking the two variables presents a dismal picture and could possibly suggest a hint of systematic exclusion of the Black man from the opportunities America is so greatly known for supplying its people. Any system contains a cycle of some sort and the system working against the Black man is a continuous one that begins in the inner cities.

A child grows with limited opportunities (though there is some opportunity), struggles to avoid the bad elements of "the hood," the police and a tattooed stereotype, then either succeeds in higher education, or sinks into the justice system. As long as a young Black male focuses on an honest life enhanced by education and work skills, they have a better chance at earning a living and leading a decent life.

However, if that Black male allows the chains of the justice to subdue him, his chances at a decent life after his release from the system, is lessened. Without proper social skills and work ethics, "from the viewpoint of employers, a criminal history record may signal an untrustworthy or otherwise problematic employee. Employers may avoid such workers due to a perceived increased propensity to break rules, steal, or harm customers" (Holzer, Raphael, Stoll; 2003).

With the above picture painted of young Black males, it can be safely assumed - through reasoning of common sense - that young white males would have a better chance at gaining employment after incarceration than Blacks. Who could honestly refute this? "The distribution of employer responses to the question inquiring about the likelihood that the employer would be willing to accept an applicant with a criminal record into their most recently filled job that did not require a college degree" was this:

"Over 40 percent of employers indicate that they would "probably not" or "definitely not" be willing to hire an applicant with a criminal record. Only about 20 percent of employers indicate that they would definitely or probably consider an applicant with a criminal history. On the other hand, about 35 percent of employers indicate that their response depends on the crime of the applicant, the modal response."

"To put the current survey responses into greater perspective, the survey also asked about employer responses to similarly worded questions concerning the likelihood that employers would accept applications from other groups of low-skilled and possibly stigmatized workers - e.g., welfare recipients, applicants with a GED but no high school diploma, applicants with spotty work histories, and applicants who have been unemployed for a year or more."

"Approximately 93 percent of employers indicate that they would definitely or probably hire former or current welfare recipients, 97 percent indicate that they would probably or definitely hire workers with a GED in lieu of a high school diploma, 66 percent indicate that they would hire workers with a spotty employment history, while 80 percent indicate that they are likely to consider an application from an individual who has been unemployed for a year or more."

"The results show that criminal background checks have risen substantially over the 1990s, perhaps because of the decreasing cost and easier access of doing such checks through the internet. The employer data for 1992 to 1994 shows that approximately 32 percent of employers in the sample say that they always check, 17 percent indicate that they check sometimes, while 51 percent say the never check. By 2001, approximately 44 percent of employers in the sample say that they always check, 18 percent indicate that they check sometimes, while 38 percent say they never check."

No one has to conduct much study to realize that the more young Black men and women become targets of the justice system, the less likely they are to become productive citizens of society in the future. If this cycle continues, their will be a very small population of Black America in the work force. And not because Blacks do not work and strive hard to attain these goals, but because the system set in place for Blacks is set for that specific purpose, a measured systematic exclusion of the Black male, and eventually the population as a whole.

Source from: http://www.urban.org

© 2004 By CR Hamilton