“This system treats us like throw-away people,” says Carolyn Brown, a Seattle volunteer with prison reform group Justice Works! An African American with a record, her effort to find a job is deeply frustrating. Why? Because she and tens of thousands of others are up against systemic racism.

Black unemployment nationally is almost double the rate for whites. Racial disparity among prisoners is even more extreme. Combined, they are a toxic mix decimating people of color communities and widening the racial divide.

Many grassroots organizations around the country are mobilizing against such savage injury, as are national civil rights and labor organizations. To have the most impact, organizers will need to consolidate their offensives and politically pinpoint the cause — the profit system.

Staggering statistics. Joblessness for whites is bad enough at an official rate of 8.6 percent. For Blacks however, the unemployment rate is 15.6 percent. For youth it’s worse. White teens face more than 23 percent unemployment. Black youth confront over 40 percent.

Bigots claim that Blacks are “less qualified” for the job market. In fact, discriminatory unemployment rates among Black workers apply at all education levels. More African Americans with college degrees are unemployed than whites with just a high school education.

Massive Black imprisonment compounds the joblessness. This country is the biggest jailer on earth. The U.S. locks up one quarter of the globe’s prisoners. Over 60 percent of these inmates are racial and ethnic minorities. Blacks, who represent just 13 percent of the U.S. population, are 40 percent of its prisoners...More

To read the complete article by Megan Cornish goto: http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/1452