Summary: United Shades Of America

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2.2 million. That’s the number of incarcerated people in the United States. 2.2 million prisoners that we pay for with our money. We are now often referred to as the “incarceration nation” and have started to build more prisons than schools. The Vera Institute of Justice discovered in February of 2012 that the 1980s the prison population with have risen by 700%. In the video clip, we watched comedian Kamau Bell travel to San Quentin prison. This prison is different than others because they are creating lots of programs and activities to help reform the inmate’s lives.
This series is titled “United Shades of America”. In these different episodes, he is seen visiting the KKK and unveiling their role in politics, to talking with spring breakers, …show more content…

Thus, there has been more media coverage in recent years. In some ways, it seemed like he just wanted to give some people the chance to do well but, if they don’t have the right tools or mindset, they won’t be able to dwell outside of the prison walls.
Due to overcrowding, there was a push to release the inmates that were low level offenders, some were even granted pardons. Sure, this was great to lower the population by a little bit, but I saw this as a way to make it seem like our prison system is doing well and that these inmates are going to prosper outside of the prison walls. Yes, we see them being released, but you never seem to hear the media talk about how many are returning to prison after reverting to their criminal ways.
When many of us think of prison we automatically, “oh bad people go to prison, they serve their time so stay for their whole lives, then others move on”. In many cases this is nowhere near the truth. The impact of a person’s prison sentence has effects inmates for years to come. This impact is seen when they can’t find housing, get a job, vote, or support their family. These reasons are the leading factors as to why 60% end up returning to prison. When you have no way of providing for yourself, or your family, you go back to ways that gain you fast cash which may be

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