Black Incarceration Rate Skyrockets Under War on Drugs

The U.S. prison population doubled during the 1990s, driven by mandatory minimums and the War on Drugs. By 1995, Black men were incarcerated at eight times the rate of white men. Drug arrests of Black Americans increased 26% between 1990 and 1995 even as drug use surveys showed comparable rates across races. One in three Black men in their twenties was under criminal justice supervision by 1995.