Matthew Desmond's Evicted: An Analysis

But why are minority communities targeted more than their white counterparts? The social construction of race frequently includes framing racial minorities as responsible for (and therefore deserving of) higher poverty and incarceration rates. Many may argue that racial minorities lack appropriate ethics, intellect, motivation, and abilities to succeed. By simply blaming minorities for their own disadvantages, stereotypes suggesting that their disadvantages stem from “presumed lack of education, work ethic, substance abuse, problematic role models, weakened families, etc” persist, rather than stereotypes due to race, racism, or discrimination. (Eastman, 2015). The US was founded on the idea that the white race has an innate “goodness”

and other races or cultures simply needed guidance or salvation. For African Americans, relics of slavery and Jim Crow are still felt today and can be observed in the criminal justice system’s increased targeting of minority communities. Understanding more about the psychological basis for the biases in the criminal justice system can get complicated, but regardless, the impact of a biased system has a huge impact on minority communities.
Because of the lifelong stigma associated with a felony, mass incarceration has a large impact on the 12 million felons in the US after they are released. In Milwaukee County alone, more than half of African-American men in their 30s has served time in a state prison (Pawasarat, 2013). Not only are these men affected, but their families as well. When a family member is incarcerated, it can drastically change the lives of those close to them. According to Megan Comfort “an estimated 1.1 million inmates in the United States are parents to 2.3 million children; 90 percent of these parents are fathers”. Having an inmate parent has been correlated with emotional and behavioral disturbances such as depression, anxiety, and aggressiveness among children (Comfort, 2007). Not only are there effects in term of mental health, but economically, families with member incarcerated face more financial hardships. When the individual incarcerated was the family’s primary breadwinner, families are often forced to change residence. Frequent change in residence becomes another source of instability for families, especially children. Overall, children with incarcerated parents face significantly more economic and residential instability than their counterparts and this instability can play a large role in behaviors and success later in life (Geller, 2009).
Another effect of targeting minority communities is the increased distrust felt between these communities and law enforcement. With issues such as police brutality and racial profiling, it becomes increasing difficult for these communities to view law enforcement as a protection. Rather, they see police as a threat and this relationship becomes dangerous for these communities. Research suggests that negative encounters with law enforcement, as well as cases of police misconduct, contribute to the spread of legal cynicism within black communities. This legal cynicism leading to an overall decrease in reporting crime from these communities and promotes the idea that the police are a threat. When these communities view police as a threat rather than a protection, they turn to other avenues for protection. According to the FBI 2015 National Gang Report, in about half of all jurisdictions, street gang membership and gang-related crime increased and exhibited few indicators of decreasing membership or criminal activity (FBI, 2015). Statistics such as these show us that many member of minority community respond to increased policing by participating in gang-related activities. This leads to a dangerous cycle in which gang-related crimes increase because of a lack a trust felt by these communities towards law enforcement which in turn pushes law enforcement to increase policing in these areas because of the influx in crime. Overall, when these neighborhoods are targeted, they respond with resentment of the police and hostile relations between the two entities emerges.
As incarceration emerges as the most common method of controlling crime in the US, it is important to examine its effectiveness at doing just that. Overall, crime rates in the United States have been in decline and incarceration rates have been increasing. However, looking more closely at this presents a significant issue. Between 1998 and 2003, some states greatly increased their rates of imprisonment while other states did not. The states that increased imprisonment saw a decrease in crime but at the same rates as the states that did not increase imprisonment significantly. This suggests that there are other factors than an increase in incarceration that have led to the decrease in crime. We must also look at who is being incarcerated to understand its effectiveness. Incarcerating repeat violent offenders reduces crime by taking them off the streets, but incarcerating nonviolent offenders has little to no effect on crime. Mass incarceration has been largely targeted towards nonviolent drug offenders, however when these individuals are imprisoned, they are simply replaced with other sellers because the demand for drugs drives the market. It is important to understand that mass incarceration is ineffective in deterring crime and only leads to greater distrust minority communities feel towards the criminal justice system.
While Matthew Desmond’s Evicted focuses primarily on the issues surrounding housing and its relation to poverty, the role of the criminal justice system in the lives of many of the people in his story is very apparent.

In almost all of the character’s stories mentioned in Evicted, nearly all of them (or a family member) have interactions with the criminal justice system. For instance, the story of Lamar and his children feature some conversations of law enforcement in the area. They discuss being stopped by the Milwaukee PD as being part of a routine, with one of Lamar’s sons stating, “The police ain’t protecting us” (p. 21). One of his sons even suggests that trying to change things is not worth it, as he has been arrested himself for his “slick mouth”. Clearly, they have a lack of faith in the police and feel that fighting any injustices only worsen their struggles. It is clear in this interaction that Lamar and his children have a tense relationship with the police and do not trust them with the protection of their neighborhood. In one of Desmond’s most profound statements, he states “If incarceration had come to define the lives of men from impoverished black neighborhoods, eviction was shaping the lives of women. Poor black men were locked up. Poor black woman were locked out” (p. 98). While Evicted focused on the issues of eviction, namely for poor black woman, it is clear from this statement that mass incarceration is responsible for defining the lives of black men in the inner city. As stated before, the incarceration of one person can have detrimental effects on the financial and residential stability of an entire

family.
Mass incarceration as a method of controlling crime has been proven to be ineffective, yet is still enforced because of the deep-seeded and historic relics of the treatment of minorities in America. The criminal justice system was intentionally designed by people in positions of power to suppress minorities. By creating a system that targets minorities, the cycle of poverty that is present in inner cities becomes nearly inescapable. After incarceration, gaining employment and becoming an effective member of society is extremely difficult, often forcing those released back to criminal activity for survival. Incarceration also places an extreme burden on families of inmate, especially children. The increased policing of minority communities creates tension and distrust between said communities and law enforcement as well. In Evicted, many of the characters face the faults of the criminal justice system in their everyday lives, feeling distrust towards police and dealing with incarcerated family members. Poverty becomes inescapable when housing instability and the criminal justice system overlap in the lives of those in the inner city.