Aids

American capitalism has always been based on the free labor of blacks and minorities.  What started as slavery has taken many forms through the evolution of this country. While taking on many forms at its core it is the suppression of a group of people for the benefit of another.  In its current state slavery has taken the form of the prison system, specifically private for profit prisons. Though through a different narrative the prison system acts the same way slavery did.

These prisons take poor incarcerated people and sell their labor to corporations.  Originating during the Reagan presidency and his war on drugs, mass incarceration swept the nation placing disproportionate minorities and black men in prison.  These convicts were then used for labor purposes as a form of "re correction". The system and laws worked marvelously in protecting white citizens and punishing black, creating large prison sentences and more free labor.  The system worked so well it formed stigmatization and bias have been created to keep a steady stream of male black bodies flowing into prison.

The system has become so effective in doing its job it has created racial bias and prejudice surrounding black bodies, as criminal and prone to violence.  A majority of poor uneducated black man are given few opportunities and few outlets, leading to path of crime for livelihood. Once incarcerated they are given disproportionate sentences and used as a free labor force.  After they leave jail they are even fewer rights and less opportunities for employment, leading back to poverty and crime. It's a perfect circle created by American capitalism and the American government to continue the act of slavery.  A rift among the races are formed with both fearing and resenting the other, at times wishing the other would just disappear.

A product of this cycle of fear is the tension between police and black people.  This prison system calls for the mass incarceration of black men, which requires a large police force that over polices the targeted groups.  Police have always taken on the role of enforcers against blacks, going back to the earliest years of slavery, so it's not a surprise that they continue the work today.  

If we are to change anything I suspect we must first go about changing the laws on drug related crime, and create laws that don’t disproportionately penalize one group.  A narrative shift must be made to separate blackness and criminality, on top of providing opportunities before and after prison, so that they cycle can be broken.