Mass Incarceration Tee

Mass Incarceration Tee

$50.00

They were never warned…They were never safe…And now fifty years later, nothing has saved black and brown people from America’s new form of slavery.

This Halloween inspired graphic by Elijah Justice is screen printed on heavyweight and durable 6oz, 100% cotton. The shirt is unisex, with a regular boxy fit.

Model is wearing size M and is 5’8” tall.

A portion of this tee’s profit will be donated to The Juvenile Justice Coalition (JJC). JJC is a non-profit organization that focuses on improving Ohio’s juvenile justice system – from prevention through youth in adult court – for youth, families, and communities. It is my goal to one day be able to speak to young children in juvenile detention centers.

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Creative Notes
All of my work generally has some form of deep research that goes into it prior to picking up pencil and paper. I want to use this section as a way to showcase some of that research and decision making behind the Mass Incarceration tee.

Inspiration
The Mass Incarceration tee is heavily inspired by my love for horror movies and black culture. Growing up I loved watching horror movies, I probably started watching them too young honestly. However, around middle school I became heavily interested in prison culture and prison life. I spent many Friday and Saturday nights as a middle schooler watching MSNBC’s Lock Up marathons. Maybe this was to scare me into “being good”, so I would not become a statistic? Idk, but this was honestly the scariest “movie” I could ever watch. So naturally it made most sense to me to make my first halloween tee based on this topic. This is the first of an annual Halloween series where I will be telling the horrors of modern day racism.

Mass Incarceration
The United States of America incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. Not only does the U.S. lead in incarcerating people, they also lead the prison population rate. In the U.S., the term mass incarceration generally refers to America’s disproportionate targeting and imprisonment of African-American men at extreme and unequal rates of others. While imprisoned, many inmates are then used as pawns in for-profit prison labor. This is made possible by a loophole in the 13th amendment. This prison labor is oftentimes either drastically below minimum wage or no pay at all, offer below average or no health care, notoriously unsafe working conditions etc. When you look at the data of who is targeted by mass incarceration the most and who profits from mass incarceration the most, you can put two and two together and see that mass incarceration is America’s new form of slavery.

Starring
Each credit in this section is like the star actor/actress in the movie. Each of them has played a role in starting or continuing mass incarceration today.

Can I get some history on the War on Drugs?
What is the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 aka the 1994 Crime Bill?
What’s so bad about private prisons and how did they start anyways?
American slavery has been reinvented, how?
What is the history of mass incarceration?
What the hell is CoreCivic?
CoreCivic pt 2

Written By
In film and television, the screenwriter is the person who creates the dialogue, the characters and the storyline of a script. They literally create the blueprint for the shows and movies we love. I chose Richard Nixon as the writer of mass incarceration because in 1971 he declared a '“war on drugs” as drugs began to plague neighborhoods and become a symbol of rebellion. He increased the size of and presence of federal drug control agencies, pushed measures like mandatory sentencing, no-knock warrants, etc. His “tough on crime” approach created a blueprint for future leaders to follow.

Wait, so Nixon kickstarted the war on drugs?
Can I get some history on the War on Drugs?

Produced and Directed By
The producer’s role is to initiate, coordinate, supervise and manage the creation and production of movies, television shows, etc. I chose Ronald Reagan as the producer because when he took office in 1980, the prison population was 329,000. After his eight year run, the prison population almost doubled to 627,000. Reagan carried out Nixon’s “war on drugs'‘ and “tough on crime” blueprint by carrying out several new policies that hit communities of color the hardest.

The director’s role is to manage the creative aspects of the production. So while Reagan produced Mass Incarceration, it was Bill Clinton who played a major role visualizing the script and guiding the “starring roles” above throughout the rise of mass incarceration. The biggest thing Bill Clinton did was signing the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 aka the 1994 Crime Bill. A law that was drafted by president candidate, Joe Biden. Mass incarceration was already growing and set in stone by this time, but the 1994 Crime Bill secured mass incarceration’s presence in American life through today. The Bill created tough new criminal sentences, incentivized states to build more prisons, pass truth-in-sentencing laws, and encouraged prosecutors and police to lock more people up for longer periods of time.

What is the history of mass incarceration?
How did Reagan double the prison population and he helped privatize prison systems?
U.S. Growth in Private Prisons
How did the 1994 Crime Bill fuel mass incarceration?

Sponsored By
This section is a brief snapshot of companies that have at some point taken advantage of prison labor or the system overall to increase their profits. Many of these companies create contracts with prisons/jails for work to be done at a severely cheaper rate. Thus making both prison/jail and company happy, and allowing mass incarceration to thrive.

What are some of the jobs prison inmates do that make our lives easier?
OMG! I love Victoria’s Secret & Whole Foods Market, why are they listed as sponsors of mass incarceration?
Why is BP Gas listed as a sponsor of mass incarceration?
What’s so bad about bail bonds?
Is the prison industry really a big business industry and a new form of slavery?
What’s Corizon? Did you mean Verizon?
How are private companies profiting from mass incarceration?
Who are some of the key players in the prison-industrial complex?
How do these corporations and governments get away with using prison slave labor and why?
Who profits the most off the prison-industrial complex?

Distributed by
A film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film. They help get people in the theaters to see your film. They are the company that helps invest into the film’s distribution if they see room for profit. I chose the United States Government as whole because well, they are each playing a role in marketing or distributing mass incarceration lol.