A lot of people in the coming days will say, “It’s not about race,” or, “The media is trying to make it about race.”
But look at the data from Missouri’s state government: Black residents of Ferguson are twice as likely to be stopped and/or searched as white residents, and they are far more likely to be arrested. But searches of black residents are much less likely to discover contraband than searches of white residents.
Around the country, when compared to white men, African American men are much more likely to be shot by police. They are more likely to be arrested. They are more likely to be convicted. And for the same crime, African American men will on average serve 20% more time in prison than a white man.
We don’t have a race problem when it comes to policing in the U.S.? The data strongly indicates otherwise.