How to Help Incarcerated Men of Color

Topic Definition 

Incarceration is the form of punishment to rehabilitate individuals who have committed criminal offenses. The rate of mass incarceration in the US has been increasing over the years. The US has about 5 percent of the global population and about 25 percent of the inmates (American Psychological Association, 2014). The racial groups are most impacted by incarceration within the country. The men of color are more exposed to acute trauma and chronic stressors, which leads to mental and emotional distress (Wright, 2019) . Even after the incarceration period, men of color return to their communities without resources to support their healthy re-integration. Over the decades, men of color’s separations and militarized regulation practices have reinforced the individuals' criminal activities and devious violence. 

For the past years, numerous individuals have been imprisoned as a result of violent crimes and drug trafficking. The incarcerations have mostly affected people from minority races, especially African-Americans. A study conducted by Taylor et al. found that most black American men are possibly discriminated against and experience disproportional contact with the criminal justice system (Taylor et al., 2018). For example, in 2011, around 40% of the people who were behind bars were African American (American Psychological Association, 2014). Additionally, most of them are under life imprisonment or have longer sentences compared to individuals from major races, such as the whites. 

Men of color are disproportionally affected by racial profiling. Racial profiling, especially by police and other criminal justice officials, has played a huge role in locking up many people of color. According to the Human Rights Watch, although many men of color are incarcerated due to drugs, they are not more engaged in drugs compared to whites (Tucker, 2016) . Most of the incarcerated people of color are not even offenders who committed serious crimes like murder and rape cases but are convicted of drugs. Due to these issues, most of the inmates have poor mental health. Mental health issues are often more severe in African Americans due to issues such as racial profiling in the jails. Additionally, they lack access to quality health services, which deteriorates their mental health. 

Forces of Oppression 

Five forces explain why there is racial disparity for people of color, especially in the United States. These forces of oppression help in avoiding individual reductions and exclusions. They act as the criterion for determining whether individuals are being oppressed rather than full oppression theory. The forces will help me persuade the criminal justice system and the public towards the oppression of men of color. The first force is marginalization, which leads to much of the racial oppression in the United States. A large number of people from minority groups, especially the people of color, in the country are marginalized; they lack jobs and are unable to access quality care. Individuals are expelled from taking part in their social life and are subjected to killings and material deprivation. Marginalization causes injustices, especially to men of color. 

The second force is powerlessness. It creates a division between marginalized people and those of the high class. This force creates a social separation between the people without skills and those with skills. Unskilled people are most oppressed and exploited. The people of color, especially men, are denied the power of having authority, status, and a sense of self. They have been denied the power to develop themselves, make decisions, and be exposed to disrespectful treatment due to race. The third force is cultural imperialism. According to this force, male inmates are normally undermined. The male inmates are oppressed due to their race; they are marked by stereotypes and, at the same type, rendered invisible. The people of color are stereotyped and interiorized and are forced to respond to other male white inmates, which develops cultural oppression. 

The fourth force is violence. According to this force, many incarcerated men of color face oppression of systematic violence. The inmates live with fear and unprovoked attacks. They are humiliated and hurt by the other inmates due to their skin color. Due to their color and ethnic background, they experience challenges such as rape, terror, and mistreatment by police officers of duty. The last force is exploitation. This force enacts a structural correlation between the male inmates. Social relations are developed through a systemic process in which the energy of the have nots is expended to maintain and augment power. The project seeks to understand the causes of racial disparities in the incarcerated men of color in the US. Also, it seeks to understand why there is discrimination against the incarcerated male of color in US prisons. 

Volunteer Experience 

To understand my topic better, I will volunteer into groups that deal with incarcerated men of color. I will volunteer with the Civil Survival group. The groups help provide the incarcerated people with primary legal information, life-skills education, and civic engagements. I will volunteer to understand how the incarceration experiences of men of color jeopardize their mental well-being. It will help me understand how the inmates are exposed to violence and identify the forms of discrimination and other risk factors that increase the inmates’ mental problems. Additionally, I will understand how the racial discrimination and violence of the incarcerated men of color relate to their mental struggles. 

Project Goal 

This project's main goal is to investigate the instances of perceived racial discrimination among men of color in the US with the involvement of different levels of the criminal justice system. Also, I will seek to understand how the oppression of men of color in prison affects their mental health. The evaluation will also aim to determine whether the criminal justice system is related to discrimination and racial disparity towards men of color. 

Project Actions 

To achieve my goals, I will conduct an informational campaign action towards the incarcerated men of color. I will first identify the problem, the target audience, the behavior that I am trying to change, and my intended results. I will develop an effective understanding of the problem I will be addressing, why the problem is vital to address, the benefits of solving it, and its characteristics. I will develop a problem statement by asking my respondent questions, such as why do you think there are racial disparities of men of color in the prisons? And how do you think prison experiences affect the mental well-being of inmates? The campaign will ensure that the men of color are treated with equality as the white inmates and ensure no discrimination and oppression towards them. 

The main goal will be to end racial disparity and discrimination among the incarcerated men of color. Also, to ensure that the men of color with mental health conditions are treated like other whites and no violence. To ensure that the awareness campaigns are successful, I will use various resources, such as interviewing the paroles and criminal justice system towards the racial discrimination in the prisons. Also, I will organize focus groups, public opinion surveys and collect the demographic data to comprehensively evaluate the matter. I will listen and observe the public on their views towards the racial disparity and discrimination on the male inmates. I will also consider the internal and external strengths and weaknesses that might come with the project development. Using an informational campaign to address the racial disparity of the incarcerated men of color would be important as they highlight important concerns that people can address regarding men of color. Also, it will motivate the public and the government to take concern towards ending the race and discrimination of men of color. It will also help in bringing to attention the oppressions that the inmates face. 

Currently, the US government has begun to improve the criminal justice system and reduce prison populations. The government is currently eliminating incarceration as penalties to people from the lower-class and non-violent offenses, especially when which lead to mental problems and addiction to drugs (ALCU, 2021) . The government is also strengthening other cost-effective techniques of incarceration and treatment programs. There are also regular and systemic assessments in the criminal justice system to ensure it meets clear operation measures and can withstand racial impact evaluations. 

Project Timeline 

Project Assessment 

Analyzing the project meanings carrying out a rigorous evaluation of the finished goals, objectives to determine whether the project has attained the desired outcomes. The evaluation mainly focuses on understanding how to optimize the design to ensure it meets its desired goals (Levine, 2017) . The evaluation will help ensure the project goals will be met and identify situations that could lead to high and low project success levels. In my project, I will assess the relationship between the project results and the effects of the goals and objectives. I will first identify the impacts and outcomes of my project. Achieving goals creates a short mid-course result of the impacts. Measuring the impacts of my goal will enable me to the extent of goal achievement. I will also select an evaluation method that I will apply in measuring my project impacts and results. The method will help me to determine whether my set goals will be attained. The evaluation technique will focus on the project impacts, results, and benefits. I will use questionnaires on the male inmates and the criminal justice system to understand whether my project was beneficial to them. I will finally develop an evaluation report which will include the project conclusion on whether it has generated desired changes in the criminal justice system and attaining the preset goals. On evaluation, I will determine whether I did the project in a manner consistent with its original plan and whether all the activities I had outlines contributed to its success. 

I will measure my project goals through measuring its impacts on the things such as improved stakeholders' satisfaction and reduced cost. I will also determine whether the project minimized its cost as compared to the value of impact. Also, I will determine whether all the project activities were completed on time. Also, I will determine whether all the team members utilized the project resources efficiently and ensure high-quality output. The evaluation will help me collect data and monitor the progress and testing change, which will help improve project improvement. It will help in pushing for adaptations and middle-term corrections that will help on maximizing its success. 

Project Impacts 

Upon completing the project, it will help improve the living conditions of the men of color in the jails. The project will create awareness of the problems that the incarcerated men of color go through and helps the criminal justice system enforce proper ways of handling awareness. The project will also help the government encounter other issues that make men of color be incarcerated, such as drugs. Also, it helps in enhancing proper treatments of the incarcerated men of color within the cells. The project will educate the inmates on the effects of racial discrimination on their fellow inmates and help them consider the men of color as humans similar to them. The project will help create the awareness that racial discrimination may be rooted in the individual's social and cultural perspectives on other races. 

References 

ALCU. (2021). ALCU: Solutions . https://www.aclu.org/other/solutions 

Association, A. P. (2014). Incarceration nation. American Psychological Association, 45 (9), 56. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/incarceration 

Levine, R. (2017). 5 Reasons Why Evaluation Matters to Your ProjectLevine . NICHQ. https://www.nichq.org/insight/5-reasons-why-evaluation-matters-your-project 

taylor, R. J., Miller, R., Mouzon, D., Keith, V. M., & Chatters, L. M. (2018). Everyday Discrimination among African American Men: The Impact of Criminal Justice Contact. Race Justice., 8 (2), 154-177. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F2153368716661849 

Tucker, R. B. (2016). The color of mass incarceration. Ethnic Studies Review, 37-38 (135), 135-147. 

Wright, D. (2019). Exploring psychological invisibility in formerly incarcerated black men. College of Education Theses and Dissertation , 151. https://via.library.depaul.edu/soe_etd/151?utm_source=via.library.depaul.edu%2Fsoe_etd%2F151&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages