Trap Boys Research Paper

1897 Words8 Pages
"Trap Boys" A block from my house, a 17-year-old boy was arrested for selling crack cocaine to undercover cops. Police on routine patrol noticed the young man dealing, waited, then arrested two of his customers and the boy. The incident makes one wonder how a child ends up selling hard drugs to adults especially when its late on a school evening. Being a high school teacher ,and having worked with young black men like this, I'm going to speculate as to how this particular teenager came to the conclusion that selling drugs in his own neighborhood was the correct "moral" decisions .According to the standard profile, the average drug dealer is black male, between the ages of 17-30 and likely a high school dropout. He is likely poor, likely living in subsidized housing that crowds a large amount marginalized families a very small vicinity. The typical drug dealers usually…show more content…
There are, however, some very important factors that help to influence the numbers. Consider those and a strong case for a much different view unfolds. Since 62% of persons admitted to Federal prison and 31.1% of those admitted to State prison for the first time were sentenced because of drug offenses, let us first take a look at the racial disparity in the war on drugs: The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimated that while 12 percent of drug users are black, they make up nearly 50 percent of all drug possession arrests in the U.S. (The Black and White of Justice, Freedom Magazine, Volume 128) According to the National Drug Strategy Network, although African Americans make up less than one-third of the population in Georgia, the black arrest rate for drugs is five times greater than the white arrest rate. In addition, since 1990, African Americans have accounted for more than 75% of persons incarcerated for drug offenses in Georgia and make up 97.7% of the people in that state who are given life sentences for drug
Open Document