National
Jail Population Overlooked in Reform Efforts

African Americans account for 25 percent of the 12 million jail admissions every year. (Wikimedia Commons)
By Freddie Allen
Senior Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – In a system that is often overlooked by the public and misused by law enforcement, Blacks account for more than one-third (36 percent) of the jail population, according to a new report from the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonpartisan research and policy group.
The report titled, “Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America,” details the practices and policies that funnel a disproportionate number of Black men and women in and out and back into jails.
In the introduction to the report, Nicholas Turner, the president and director of the Vera Institute wrote that jails are necessary for some people, but too often ordinary people are “held for minor violations minor violations such as driving with a suspended license, public intoxication, or shoplifting because they cannot afford bail as low as $500.”
The report said that roughly 75 percent of sentenced offenders and those awaiting trial in jail were there on nonviolent traffic, property, drug, or public order offenses. And while they sit, life goes on without them. Bills pile up, rent goes unpaid and hourly wage workers watch paychecks shrink or they just get fired.
Turner added: “Single parents may lose custody of their children, sole wage-earners in families, their jobs – while all of us, the taxpayers, pay for them to stay in jail.”
In everyday dialogue, people often use “jails” and “prisons” interchangeably, but these tools of the criminal justice system serve distinct purposes.
“Unlike state prisons, which almost exclusively hold people serving state sentences, jail populations are heterogeneous, making them particularly challenging to manage,” the report said.
Pretrial detainees, locally and state sentenced inmates, apprehended pretrial or sentenced inmates from other jurisdictions and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees all bunk in local jails, while local jurisdictions collect fees. Sentences can range from a few hours to months for more serious offenses or overcrowding at other facilities.
But just like mass incarceration in prisons was sparked by the War on Drugs, the growth in the jail population also soared because of drug arrests.
“From 1981 until 2006, when they peaked, total drug arrests more than tripled, from 560,000 to 1.9 million, and the drug arrest rate (per 100,000) grew 160 percent,” according to the Vera report. “The share of people in jail accused or convicted of a drug crime increased sharply in the 1980s.”
Even though, state and federal prisons house more inmates, jails record about 19 times more admissions. African Americans account for 25 percent of the 12 million jail admissions every year.
“Black males, in particular, are arrested at a younger age and at higher rates than their white counterparts, often giving them a longer ‘rap’ sheet regardless of the charges or the eventual dispositions of the cases,” the report explained. “Schools in minority neighborhoods are more likely to have law enforcement officers on site and to embrace ‘zero tolerance’ policies.”
The report continued: “With arrest records on file at earlier ages, subsequent contacts with police result in more severe case outcomes as these young men come of age.”
When people suffering from mental health disorders find themselves homeless, unemployed, or on drugs they are arrested for minor crimes at higher rates than other offenders and spend time in jail where their conditions deteriorate.
“Serious mental illness, which includes bipolar disorder, schizophre¬nia, and major depression, affects an estimated 14.5 percent of men and 31 percent of women in jails – rates that are four to six times high¬er than in the general population,” the report said. “According to the [Bureau of Justice Statistics], 60 percent of jail inmates reported having had symptoms of a mental health disor¬der in the prior twelve months.”
On the inside, jailed inmates with few options pay private phone companies exorbitant fees to stay in touch with loved ones on the outside. Some jails also charge for laundry services, room and board, and medical care.
“Add to this child support payments, credit card debt, rent, and other living expenses that can accumulate during incarceration – often with late charges or compounded interested tacked on – the financial picture for many leaving jail is very bleak,” said the report. High bail amounts often contribute to that bleak financial picture and “combined with overloaded courts, a situation arises in which defendants can spend more time in jail pretrial than the longest sentence they could receive if convicted.”
The report recommended introducing debt payment plans, making basic re-entry tools available for everyone leaving jail, and problem-solving courts that address socioeconomic issues surrounding incarceration including substance abuse, mental illness and homelessness.
While some jurisdictions have made modest gains in steering individuals away from jails and curbing the length of sentences, the report said that systemic reform would take significant cooperation among all local law enforcement officials.
“The misuse of jails is neither inevitable nor irreversible,” the report said. “To both scale back and improve how jails are used in a sustainable way, localities must engage all justice system actors in collaborative study and action. Only in this way can jurisdictions hope to make the systemic changes needed to stem the tide of people entering jails and to shorten the stay for those admitted.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

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EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — “I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.”

By Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
46th President of the United States: 2021—2025
The people of Galveston, Texas, have been commemorating Juneteenth since the Civil War ended. Yesterday, in honor of the 160th anniversary, I went there to join them.
You can read about the events of Juneteenth, but there’s nothing quite like going to Galveston and seeing where it all happened.
After General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, Union troops marched across the South for two months, freeing enslaved people along the way. Their final stop was Galveston, an island off the Gulf coast of Texas. There, on June 19, 1865, Union troops went to Reedy Chapel, a church founded in 1848 by enslaved people, and posted a document titled simply “General Order #3.”
“The people of Texas are informed,” it said, “that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
We can only imagine the joy that spread through Galveston – and across the state and nation – on that day and those that followed.
Yesterday, there was once again joy in Galveston, with a parade, picnic, and fireworks. There was also great solemnity, because Juneteenth is a sacred day – a day of weight and power.
The Book of Psalms tells us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of that joyful morning to come.
As President, I had the great honor of signing the law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was our nation’s first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was created in 1983.
Our federal holidays say a lot about who we are as a nation. We have holidays celebrating our independence… the laborers who build this nation… the servicemembers who served and died in its defense.
And now, we also have a national holiday dedicated to the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.
Signing that law was one of my proudest acts as President.
Yet for 156 years, Juneteenth was not written about in textbooks or taught in classrooms. Still today, there are those who say it does not deserve a holiday. They don’t want to remember the moral stain of slavery and the terrible harm it did to our country.
I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.
I also believe that it’s not enough to commemorate the past. We must also embrace the obligation we have to the future. As Scripture says, “Faith without works is dead.” And right now, we Americans need to keep the faith and do the work.
In honor of Juneteenth, let’s help people register to vote.
For decades, we fought to expand voting rights in America. Now we’re living in an era when relentless obstacles are being thrown in the way of people trying to vote. We can’t let those tactics defeat us. In America, the power belongs with the people. And the way we show that power is by voting.
So let’s reach out to family, friends and neighbors – especially those who have never voted before. Remind them that with voting, anything is possible. And without it, nothing is possible.
Yesterday in Galveston, we gathered in Reedy Chapel to commemorate Juneteenth, just like people have done for 160 years and counting. We prayed, sang, and read General Order #3 again. The pews were full of families. How many people must have prayed for freedom inside those walls. How many must have sent fervent thanks to God when slavery finally ended.
I remembered the words of my late friend John Lewis. He said, “Freedom is not a state. It is an act.”
Juneteenth did not mark the end of America’s work to deliver on the promise of equality. It only marked the beginning. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must continue to work toward that promise. For our freedom. For our democracy. And for America itself.
#NNPA BlackPress
Cities Across the U.S. Shrink or Cancel Juneteenth Events as DEI Support Wanes
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship. In many communities, the once-growing recognition of the holiday is facing sharp resistance tied to the unraveling of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
In Denver, Colorado, the annual Juneteenth Music Festival, one of the largest in the nation—was cut from two days to one. Organizers said more than a dozen corporate sponsors walked away from commitments, leaving them with a financial gap that almost canceled the event. Norman Harris, the festival’s executive director, said several companies “pulled back their investments or let us know they couldn’t or wouldn’t be in a position to support this year.” Harris credited grassroots donors and small businesses for stepping in when larger backers stepped aside.
In Colorado Springs, the local celebration was relocated to the Citadel Mall parking lot after support from previous sponsors disappeared. Organizers noted that where there were once dozens of corporate partners, only five remained. The downsized event was pieced together with limited resources, but community leaders said they refused to let the holiday go unacknowledged.
Scottsdale, Arizona, canceled its Juneteenth observance after the city council voted to dissolve its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in February. Without the office in place, the city offered no support for planning or funding, leaving residents without an official celebration.
In San Diego, the Cooper Family Foundation lost a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that had been earmarked for Juneteenth programming. Organizers said the decision forced them to personally finance key elements of the event, including cultural exhibits, performances, and youth engagement activities.
Bend, Oregon, called off its Juneteenth event entirely. Organizers cited political tensions and safety concerns, saying they could not secure the partnerships needed to proceed. A public statement from the planning committee described the current climate as “increasingly volatile,” making it difficult to host a safe and inclusive event.
West Virginia, which has recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday since 2017, will not sponsor any official events this year. State leaders pointed to budget constraints and recent decisions to eliminate DEI programming across agencies as the reasons for stepping away from public observance.
Austin, Texas, has also reduced its Juneteenth programming. While the city has not canceled events outright, organizers said diminished city support and fewer private contributions forced them to focus only on core activities.
“Thankfully, there was a wide range of support that came when we made the announcement that the celebration is in jeopardy,” said Harris. “But it shows how fragile that support has become.”
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