All Things Being Equal – It’s Not!: Race, Class, and Incarceration

by Kids Forward | March 29, 2016

Home 9 Equitable Communities 9 All Things Being Equal – It’s Not!: Race, Class, and Incarceration

There’s plenty of evidence that race and class can affect the wellbeing of children and adults in many ways. However, it’s hard to know exactly how these connections work, especially because race and class often overlap. A recent study, described by The Washington Post, attempted to detangle the two by comparing incarceration rates by both race and class (as measured by wealth). The national results showed that black children who grew up in wealthy households were still more likely to have been incarcerated than poor white children. The same pattern held for Hispanic children, suggesting that disparate incarceration rates across races are not solely due to wealth-related factors. The graph below shows incarceration rates for different racial groups by wealth.

incarceration by race 3.16

Although race and class are often deeply intertwined, this study suggests, as a researcher of the study said, that “Race trumps class, at least when it comes to incarceration.”

By Karissa Propson

Join us to build a Wisconsin where
every child and family thrives.

Recent

Testimony: Opposing Barriers to Health Care

Testimony: Opposing Barriers to Health Care

Main Takeaways Kids Forward submitted the below testimony opposing Assembly Bill 163. This bill would make it harder for people to stay on Medicaid by adding extra paperwork and hoops to jump through. This bill would especially hurt children, parents, and people with...

State Budget: Mental Health

State Budget: Mental Health

Main Takeaways Everyone in Wisconsin, regardless of their county, age, or profession deserves to live in a community that supports their wellbeing. This means access to quality, affordable mental health and substance use disorder services. Governor Evers’ proposed...

Sign up for Emails

Your address helps us identify your legislators and the most relevant messages to send you.