Denzel Washington Speaks Out About Black Incarceration

Washington on Black Incarceration

Washington gave the following statement regarding the incarceration of black Americans to a group of reporters:

“It starts at the home. It starts at home and starts with how you raise your children. If a young man doesn’t have a father figure, he’ll go find a father figure. So you know I can’t blame the system. It’s unfortunate that we make such easy work for them.”

Washington then divulged into some of the things he witnessed growing up and how they supported his aforementioned remarks:

“I grew up with guys who did decades [in prison], and it had as much to do with their fathers not being in their lives as it did to do with any system. Now I was doing just as much as they were, but they went further.”

“I just didn’t get caught, but they kept going down that road and then they were in the hands of the system. But it’s about the formative years. You’re not born a criminal.”

Controversy Surrounding the Incarceration of Black Americans

The rates of black incarceration have engendered controversial and disagreements for quite some time. While some people attribute the matter to racism and white supremacy, others believe that choices are the ultimate determining factor.