TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Census Says More Latinos, Blacks In Cells Than Dorms

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, The Associated Press

Published: September 30, 2007

WASHINGTON - More than three times as many black people live in prison cells as in college dorms, the government said in a report released last week.

The ratio is only slightly better for Hispanics, at 2.7 inmates for every Latino in college housing. Among non-Hispanic whites, more than twice as many live in college housing as in prison or jail.

The numbers, driven by men, do not include college students who live off campus. Previously released census data show that black and Hispanic college students - commuters and those in dorms - far outnumber black and Hispanic prison inmates.

Nevertheless, civil rights advocates said it is startling that blacks and Hispanics are more likely to live in prison cells than in college dorms.

'It's one of the great social and economic tragedies of our time,' said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the Urban League. 'It points to the signature failure in our education system and how we've been raising our children.'

The Census Bureau released 2006 data Thursday on the social, racial and economic characteristics of people living in adult correctional facilities, college housing and nursing homes. It is the first in-depth look at people living in 'group quarters' since the 1980 census. It shows, for example, that nursing homes had much older residents in 2006 than in 1980.

The new data has limitations. In addition to not including commuter students, it does not provide racial breakdowns by gender or age, though it does show that men make up 90 percent of prison inmates.

Also, most prison inmates are 25 or older, and 96 percent of people in college housing are age 18 to 24.

The data show that big increases in black and Hispanic inmates occurred since 1980. In 1980, the number of blacks living in college dorms was roughly equal to the number in prison. Among Hispanics, those in college dorms outnumbered those in prison in 1980.

There are a lot of reasons why black students do not reach college at the same rate as whites, said Amy Stuart Wells, a professor of sociology and education at Columbia University's Teachers College.

Black students are more likely to attend segregated schools with high concentrations of poverty, less-qualified teachers, lower expectations and a less-demanding curriculum, she said.

'And they are perceived by society as terrible schools, so it is hard to get accepted into college,' Wells said. 'Even if you are a high-achieving kid who beats the odds, you are less likely to have access to the kinds of courses that colleges are looking for.'

Students who don't graduate high school are much more likely to go to prison, said Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA. Nearly 40 percent of inmates lack a high school diploma or the equivalent, according to the census data.

'The criminal economy is one of the only alternatives in some of these places,' Orfield said. 'You basically have the criminalization of a whole community, particularly in some inner cities.'

Blacks made up 41 percent of the nation's 2 million prison and jail inmates in 2006. Non-Hispanic whites made up 37 percent and Hispanics made up 19 percent.

Morial, who is a former mayor of New Orleans, said the political debate over high incarceration rates for minorities hasn't yielded results. He said conservatives blame a lack of family values and liberals blame a lack of government programs, with neither side seeing the whole picture.

'We do, in the African-American community, need to instill a stronger value on education,' Morial said.

NURSING HOME RESIDENTS

Nursing homes had much older residents in 2006 than in 1980, suggesting that seniors are either waiting until they are older to enter nursing homes, or they are living longer once they arrive.

The Census Bureau released the first data since 1980 on the social, demographic and economic characteristics of people living in prisons, college housing and nursing homes.

Among the findings:

•About 43 percent of nursing home residents were 85 or older in 2006, up from 34 percent in 1980.

•Women made up nearly 70 percent of nursing home residents in 2006, about the same as in 1980.

•Prison inmates are more likely than nursing home residents to have finished high school. About 61 percent of prison inmates 25 and older had a high school diploma or equivalent in 2006, up from about half in 1980.

Only 59 percent of people in nursing homes had a high school diploma in 2006, up from 36 percent in 1980.

•Nursing homes are becoming more diverse, though non-Hispanic whites still made up more than 80 percent of nursing home residents in 2006. Blacks made up 13 percent, up from 6 percent in 1980, and Hispanics made up 4 percent, up from 1 percent in 1980.

Source: Census Bureau

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT