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Are African Americans In Jail Because of Single Parent Households?

Interestingly enough, I had a conversation with someone that stated that African American men are more likely to end up in jail because they grew up in a single-parent household. This shocked me to even believe that someone would think that this is the main reason why the majority of our prison inmates are African American. Here are some proven facts. Discrimination is a huge issue in this country; although police are not meant to discriminate, they do. Police stops are racially targeted. In fact, black drivers are 31% more likely to get pulled over by the police. Black drivers are searched 3 times more likely than white drivers.
Furthermore, traffic tickets have become more of an issue for poor-income individuals. They are fined for unpaid tickets, and this usually only affects poor income families. African Americans have the highest poverty rate at 24.7%. The bailout system penalizes poor people. There are thousands of individuals who are presumed innocent and awaiting trial because they are not able to make the bail payment.
Furthermore, poor people usually have public defenders that are underpaid and overworked. Lack of education in the justice system and lack of support from their public defenders lead many of these individuals to plead guilty. If African Americans were incarcerated at the same rate as White Americans, jail populations would decline by 40%. Overall, we have a justice system that works against these individuals. This is not a simple issue that can be solved with a 2 parent household. To insinuate that single-parent households are the main reason African American individuals end up in jail is simply wrong. 

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