African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites.
Together, African American and Hispanics comprised 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population.
According to Unlocking America, if African American and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates of whites, today's prison and jail populations would decline by approximately 50%.

In addition, CNN states that, “Being black in America today is just about the same as having a felony conviction in terms of one’s chances of finding a job." According to The Wall Street Journal, "Prison sentences of black men were nearly 20% longer than those of white men for similar crimes in recent years, an analysis by the U.S. Sentencing Commission found.”

Why do Ethiopian Israelis and African Americans face such high incarceration and poverty rates?

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