One of the worst things that institutional racism does is “prove” that Black people are more likely to be criminals using the statistics that more Black people are in prison. They start by harassing Black kids, then arresting them in schools for stuff that white kids do and get nothing more than suspensions for, then using their “criminal records” to justify prison sentences for infractions like a bag of weed or drinking underage (which white kids do at a higher rate) and then crow about all the “Black crime” that is being stopped by the system.

Then, they underfund the prisons and make it impossible for people to re-enter society and complain about “recidivism rates” of Black men who can’t get a job once they get out.

I think about that often when another story of prison massacres gets attention.