Why We Exist

Why do we exist?

· 80% of Black children in special education were male

· 5,000 Black boys were expelled from pre-school

· Black were 13% of the population, but comprised 35% of drug arrests, 55% of

drug convictions, 74% of drug prisoner

· Blacks are 13% of the population, but 50% of those waiting on death row

· Blacks are 13% of the population, but 67% of the juveniles in adult courts and 77% of the

juveniles in adult prisons

· 1 out of every 13 Black babies were born out of wedlock in 1965 but 7 out of 10 today

· Blacks represent 84% of crack cocaine convictions

· 2 of every 3 Black males are projected to be involved in the penal system by 2020.

*US statistical abstract 2000

In Tennessee alone:

· In 2007 59% of juveniles in the state's secure detention centers were African American

· 80% of juveniles transferred to adult court in Tennessee in 2007 were African American

· African American youth under 18 in Tennessee make up only 21% of the population