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With Women Imprisonment Rising, Black Females Still Feel the Brunt of America’s Mass Incarceration

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Three years ago, the National Black Women’s Justice Institute partnered with the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide and The Sentencing Project to co-lead the Alice Project, an initiative to end the extreme punishment of women in America and globally.
The post With Women Imprisonment Rising, Black Females Still Feel the Brunt of America’s Mass Incarceration first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 years ago

April 11, 2023

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

America imprisons many more of its citizens than any other developed nation, with men comprising most of the incarcerated.

But the rate of growth for female imprisonment has been twice as high as that of men since 1980, according to The Sentencing Project, which estimates that 976,000 women are currently under the supervision of the criminal justice system.

The nonprofit documented a 525% increase in women’s imprisonment in America between 1980 and 2021; the vast majority are Black females.

“As this year marks fifty years since the United States began its dramatic increase in imprisonment, it is clearer than ever that our criminal legal system is not working,” Amy Fettig, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, said in a statement. “The continued overcriminalization of women and girls does nothing to improve public safety but needlessly destroys lives, families, and communities.”

In 2021, the Sentencing Project reported that the imprisonment rate for Black women – at 62 per 100,000 – was 1.6 times the rate of imprisonment for white women – 38 per 100,000.

Latinx women were imprisoned 49 per 100,000 or 1.3 times the rate of white women.

Additionally, 58% of women in state prisons have a child under 18.

While the overall imprisonment for Black and Latinx women has declined since 2000 and increased for white women over that same period, Black and Native American girls remain more likely to face incarceration than white, Asian, and Latinx girls.

Over one-third of incarcerated girls are held for status offenses, like truancy and curfew violations, or for violating probation.

The statistics compiled by The Sentencing Project arrive after several reports revealed mass incarceration’s heavy burden on Black women in general.

“The war on drugs treated Black women as if they were just collateral consequences,” Ashley McSwain, executive director of Community Family Life Services, which serves formerly incarcerated women, said during a panel discussion on mass incarceration.

“We were well into this war and this crisis before we realized that women were being affected at alarming rates,” McSwain asserted.

She continued:

“When you arrest a woman, … you got her, her three kids, her grandma, an aunt — everybody’s incarcerated when a woman goes to prison. “So, the impact is huge, and we never seem to talk about that.”

Three years ago, the National Black Women’s Justice Institute partnered with the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide and The Sentencing Project to co-lead the Alice Project, an initiative to end the extreme punishment of women in America and globally.

The group wanted to get advocates, researchers, activists, and academics to work together to get rid of gender bias in extreme sentences.

In an earlier interview, Shamika Wilson explained that her husband is serving a life sentence in a San Diego prison after recently being transferred from a prison much closer to home.

She said the facility didn’t allow for overnight family visits.

“Financially, it’s hard all around. Before, he was no more than an hour or two away from home, but now it can be close to a ten-hour drive at times,” Wilson responded. “It can cost over $1,000 to go see him. This is about cycles, and these cycles are going to continue. They don’t think he needs time with his kids to teach them not to go down the same path he did. Their regulations keep families apart.”

Wilson told NBC News that she suffers from diagnosed depression due to stress. She said the situation is taking a toll on the entire family.

“It affects my kids because they wake up crying, asking for their dad. Fifteen minutes [on the phone] is not enough time to read them a bedtime story or see how their school day went,” she said.

“We have to decide between things like using $50 dollars for a [pre-paid phone card] or saving it so that we can eventually go visit him.”

Black women – mothers, grandmothers, daughters, wives — often must choose between posting bail for their loved ones and missing important bills or allowing a loved one to languish in jail, Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley stated.

“Sometimes, when their romantic partner or co-parent is behind bars, Black women are forced to provide for their families alone,” she remarked after reading a study by the bipartisan criminal justice reform organization FWD.us and Cornell University.

Pressley said that with firsthand knowledge, one can speak truth to power, a fact that is not limited to legislators and politicians but includes the millions who understand the injustice of the prison-industrial complex intimately.

“There are 113 million Americans who know what it’s like to see their loved one behind bars — even more if we broaden the definition of family,” Pressley wrote on her website.

“Imagine if these millions of people voted as an entire bloc in 2020, demanding that their candidates — for President, Congress, state legislatures, and judges — were dedicated to passing comprehensive and bold criminal justice reform? Such a powerful movement would help to end the oppression and exploitation in our prison systems.”

The post With Women Imprisonment Rising, Black Females Still Feel the Brunt of America’s Mass Incarceration first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

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Remembering George Floyd

Published

5 days ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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OP-ED: Oregon Bill Threatens the Future of Black Owned Newspapers and Community Journalism

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Published

7 days ago

May 23, 2025

Oakland Post

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

For decades, The Skanner newspaper in Portland, the Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium have served Portland, Oregon’s Black community and others with a vital purpose: to inform, uplift and empower. But legislation now moving through the Oregon Legislature threatens these community news institutions—and others like them.

As President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents more than 255 Black-owned media outlets across the United States—including historic publications like The Skanner, Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium—l believe that some Oregon lawmakers would do more harm than good for local journalism and community-owned publications they are hoping to protect.

Oregon Senate Bill 686 would require large digital platforms such as Google and Meta to pay for linking to news content. The goal is to bring desperately needed support to local newsrooms. However, the approach, while well-intentioned, puts smaller, community-based publications at a future severe financial risk.

We need to ask – will these payments paid by tech companies benefit the journalists and outlets that need them most? Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors, and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption, and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Legislation that sends money to these national conglomerate owners—without the right safeguards to protect independent and community-based outlets—rewards the forces that caused this inequitable crisis in the first place. A just and inclusive policy must guarantee that support flows to the front lines of local journalism and not to the boardrooms of large national media corporations.

The Black Press exists to fill in the gaps left by larger newsrooms. Our reporters are trusted messengers. Our outlets serve as forums for civic engagement, accountability and cultural pride. We also increasingly rely on our digital platforms to reach our audiences, especially younger generations—where they are.

We are fervently asking Oregon lawmakers to take a step back and engage in meaningful dialogue with those most affected: community publishers, small and independent outlets and the readers we serve. The Skanner, The Portland Observer, and The Portland Medium do not have national corporate parents or large investors. And they, like many smaller, community-trusted outlets, rely on traffic from search engines and social media to boost advertising revenue, drive subscriptions, and raise awareness.

Let’s work together to build a better future for Black-owned newspapers and community journalism that is fair, local,l and representative of all Oregonians.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

Oakland Post

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Hate and Chaos Rise in Trump’s America

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains.

Published

7 days ago

May 23, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 1,371 hate and antigovernment extremist groups operating across the United States in 2024. In its latest Year in Hate & Extremism report, the SPLC reveals how these groups are embedding themselves in politics and policymaking while targeting marginalized communities through intimidation, disinformation, and violence. “Extremists at all levels of government are using cruelty, chaos, and constant attacks on communities and our democracy to make us feel powerless,” said SPLC President Margaret Huang. The report outlines how hard-right groups aggressively targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout 2024. Figures on the far right falsely framed DEI as a threat to white Americans, with some branding it a form of “white genocide.” After the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, a former Utah legislator blamed the incident on DEI, posting “DEI = DIE.”

Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains. Similar threats hit Jewish institutions and Planet Fitness locations after far-right social media accounts attacked them for trans-inclusive policies. Telegram, which SPLC describes as a hub for hate groups, helped extremists cross-recruit between neo-Nazi, QAnon, and white nationalist spaces. The platform’s lax moderation allowed groups like the Terrorgram Collective—designated terrorists by the U.S. State Department—to thrive. Militia movements were also reorganized, with 50 groups documented in 2024. Many, calling themselves “minutemen,” trained in paramilitary tactics while lobbying local governments for official recognition. These groups shared personnel and ideology with white nationalist organizations.

The manosphere continued to radicalize boys and young men. The Fresh & Fit podcast, now listed as a hate group, promoted misogyny while mocking and attacking Black women. Manosphere influencers used social media algorithms to drive youth toward male-supremacy content. Turning Point USA played a key role in pushing white nationalist rhetoric into mainstream politics. Its leader Charlie Kirk claimed native-born Americans are being replaced by immigrants, while the group advised on Project 2025 and organized Trump campaign events. “We know that these groups build their power by threatening violence, capturing political parties and government, and infesting the mainstream discourse with conspiracy theories,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. “By exposing the players, tactics, and code words of the hard right, we hope to dismantle their mythology and inspire people to fight back.”

Click here for the full report or visit http://www.splcenter.org/resources/guides/year-hate-extremism-2024.