My Past Does Not Define My Future

The Rebirth of Men organization was founded in 2015 by Jawad Adbu. The organization focuses on dispelling the myth of thuggery, the belief that going to prison is the passage to Manhood.  

The following was retrieived from:  www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet 

Racial Disparities in Incarceration

• African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population
• Nationwide, African-Americans represent 26% of juvenile arrests, 44% of youth who are detained, 46% of the youth who are judicially waived to criminal court, and 58% of the youth admitted to state prisons (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice).

Drug Sentencing Disparities

• 5 times as many Whites are using drugs as African Americans, yet African Americans are sent to prison for drug offenses at 10 times the rate of Whites
• African Americans serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense (58.7 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months). 

Contributing Factors

• Crime/drug arrest rates: African Americans represent 12% of monthly drug users, but comprise 32% of persons arrested for drug possession
• In 2002, blacks constituted more than 80% of the people sentenced under the federal crack cocaine laws and served substantially more time in prison for drug offenses than did whites, despite that fact that more than 2/3 of crack cocaine users in the U.S. are white or Hispanic
• Zero Tolerance policies as a result of perceived problems of school violence; adverse affect on black children.
• 35% of black children grades 7-12 have been suspended or expelled at some point in their school careers compared to 20% of Hispanics and 15% of whites