Critique of The Black Family and Mass Incarceration by Western and Wildeman

The article The Black Family and Mass Incarceration was written by Bruce Western and Christopher Wildeman and published in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2009. In the article, the authors discuss the social problem of mass incarceration. They argue that since the 1960’s, political changes and deteriorating economic conditions have led to high rates of mass incarceration which has a profound effect on the lives of those in the criminal justice system and their families. The main goals of the article are to explain how mass imprisonment came to be a problem in the United States, to analyze the patterns of mass incarceration, and to discuss the effects of mass incarceration on family life. Finally, the authors raise some important questions that should be addressed when understanding the social problem of mass incarceration and the effects it has on the family.

In the article, Western and Wildeman first describe the historical causes for the rise of mass incarceration that we see today. They trace the beginnings of the rise in incarceration rates to political and economic factors. First, in the mid-1960’s, during the unrest of the civil rights movement, the Republican Party brought the issue of crime to the national agenda. As crime increased, demand for stricter crime laws increased. Support from the Democratic Party grew as well, and by the 1990’s there were crime policies put in place such as mandatory minimum sentences and harsher penalties for repeat offenders, as well as a greatly expanded prison system. Economic factors also played a large part. Deindustrialization resulted in large amounts of young men without jobs. Without legitimate jobs, many of the disadvantaged men turned to drugs...

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...his article prompted me to search out existing programming. Some cities such as San Francisco and New York have initiatives to assist these children. Finding support in rural or smaller urban areas is difficult, but I would like to see these programs in action in communities with high rates of mass incarceration.

Unfortunately, in this article the authors do not discuss any policy reforms to correct the problem of mass incarceration. Despite the lack of solutions, I feel that the article is well written and the authors are convincing in their arguments. The data is very thorough and persuasive, and is presented in a way which is easily understood. I think that the article The Black Family and Mass Incarceration by Western and Wildeman does an excellent job of explaining the causes and examining some of the consequences that mass incarceration has on the family.