THE CAUSE: Combatting mass incarceration via the Ohio Justice and Policy Center who work to substantially reduce the size and racial disparity of Ohio’s prison population, protect the rights and dignity of incarcerated people, and remove criminal records-based barriers to employment, housing, education, and full community integration.

THE CHALLENGE: For every 5 miles of distance tracked between 10/16/22 and 10/30/22, we will donate $2 to The Ohio Justice and Policy Center. This challenge ends at 11:59 PM EST on 10/30/22. Submissions will be accepted until 11/1/2022 at 11:59 PM EST. 

THE WHY: Did you know that the US has the highest rate of incarceration than any other country in the world? 1.9 million people nationwide are incarcerated (Sawyer and Wagner, 2022). However, increased incarceration has not resulted in the same proportionate reduction in crime rates.

Research shows that incarceration rates have increased by 500% over the past 4 decades. There are many factors that contributed to this increase such as the war on drugs, longer and harsher sentences, lack of mental health services, mandatory minimum sentencing, etc. (The History, Causes, and Facts on Mass Incarceration, 2022). This increase has disproportionately impacted people of color. “African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whites” and African American women are 2x as likely to be incarcerated as white women (Criminal Justice Fact Sheet, 2022). 

How does mass incarceration impact families and communities of color? African American children are twice as likely to have an incarcerated household member than white children, even when controlling for factors such as socio-economic status, geography, and history of substance abuse or mental health problems. (Maxwell & Solomon, 2018). Children with an incarcerated parent are more likely to experience developmental, emotional, and behavioral challenges as well as increased risk for housing instability, food insecurity, and homelessness. Incarceration removes workers, voters, taxpayers, etc. from communities that are already experiencing disinvestment (Criminal Justice Fact Sheet, 2022).

Sources:

Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. (2022). NAACP. https://naacp.org/resources/criminal-justice-fact-sheet

Maxwell, Conner and Solomon, Danyelle. Mass Incarceration, Stress, and Black Infant Mortality: A Case Study in Structural Racism. (5 June 2018). https://www.americanprogress.org/article/mass-incarceration-stress-black-infant-mortality/

Sawyer, Wendy and Wagner, Peter. Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2022. (14 Mar 2022). Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html

The History, Causes, and Facts on Mass Incarceration. (2022). Fair Fight Initiative. https://www.fairfightinitiative.org/the-history-causes-and-facts-on-mass-incarceration/