One in Five: Ending Mass Incarceration and its Racial Disparities

The Sentencing Project, Berkeley School of Theology, and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation co-hosted a webinar examining the progress made in the 21st century in reducing the U.S. prison population and its racial and ethnic disparities, as well as the ongoing work to achieve justice.

The Sentencing Project’s One in Five series notes that one in five Black men born in 2001 is expected to be imprisoned within their lifetime. This represents progress: twenty years ago, one in three young black men born were expected to be imprisoned. But we have a long way to go to achieve equity. And rather than accelerate the pace of reforms, some policymakers are backtracking.

This webinar highlighted the Congressional Black Caucus’s Criminal Justice Reform Task Force, focused on the systemic reasons behind mass incarceration, the work of the Center for Truth, Racial Healing, and Restorative Justice at Berkeley School of Theology, and how lived experience with incarceration can provide a deeper understanding of research and inform advocacy.

Panelists

• William Underwood, Senior Fellow at The Sentencing Project
• Rev. Dr. Joseph Evans, Director of the Center for Truth, Racial Healing, & Restorative Justice at Berkeley School of Theology
• Nicole Austin-Hillery, President & CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

Moderator: Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Co-Director of Research at The Sentencing Project

Opening remarks by U.S. Representative Barbara Lee