“In the eyes of white America, Black people are criminally suspect. This is especially true for the Black Man. In the fevered mind of white America, he is cosmically guilty. His guilt is universal. For him to be alive is to be suspected, to be stereotypically accused, convicted, and condemned for criminal conspiracy and intent.”-Dr. Amos Wilson
One of every three Black males born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime.
One in every 18 Black women born today can expect to go to jail in her lifetime; this is six times the rate of white women.
In America since the 15th century, Black people have always been considered a criminal class by whites. Since that time, there have always been laws, statutes, amendments, rulings, and overt judicial allowances that have simply kept white people out of prison. American patriotism goes further than just fighting in the U.S. armed forces.
Probation was created for white criminals. Probation essentially means (NO PRISON TIME) or a suspended sentence.
In 1989, there were (2.5) million people on probation, and (70%) of that statistic was white. In 1996, there were (3.7) million people on probation, and (74%) of that number were white.
ORIGIN OF PROBATION
Probation began in the 1840s. During this time, our ancestors were being caught by white slave catchers after escaping from plantations in the south.
Most of the county jails were filled up with white prostitutes, arsonists, drunkards, and whites who had killed one slave too many and couldn’t make restitution. Many white slave owners prosecuted other white men if they were guilty of killing too many Africans that were owned by certain white individuals.
A Caucasian by the name of John Augustus, a Boston shoemaker, advocated alternatives to jails and prisons for whites. In Boston, between 1841 and 1858, he bailed out 2,000 white men, women, and children and offered them supervision. He helped to clean them up and helped them to find employment to help take care of their families.
His efforts encouraged the state of Massachusetts to pass the first probation statute in 1878. By 1900, four more states adopted the new law. In 1907, the first directory of probation officers had 795 volunteers. By 1937, there were 3,800 volunteers. In 1976, over 1,929 state agencies reported adult probation services with over 923,064 probationers.
All across the U.S., probation is controlled by hundreds of agencies that abide by certain rules that govern each state.
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