A new study illustrates the racial disparity between Black children from wealthy families and poor White kids when it comes to incarceration. According to a report released by the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, African-American kids from rich families are more likely to go to prison than White kids from underprivileged households. Researchers examined data from 1985, categorizing those who participated in the survey by their household income and their ethnicity. The researchers then sifted through the data to see how many people from the study ended up going to prison. Nearly 2.7 percent of poor White kids ended up behind bars. Approximately 10 percent of African-American children from wealthy families ended up in prison. When it came to the top-tier of the wealthiest Blacks, 2.4 percent were imprisoned. Hispanics who participated in the survey were also less likely than African-Americans to go to prison. “Race trumps class, at least when it comes to incarceration,” said Darrick Hamilton, one of the researchers behind the study. Read more.
Amandla Stenberg to Star in Film Adaptation of #BlackLivesMatter Novel
Actress Amandla Stenberg has used her platform to bring attention to issues like cultural appropriation and the lack of diversity in Hollywood. The 17-year-old’s next project will be a film titled The Hate U Give, which was inspired by a novel surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. The novel, which has yet to be released, was penned by author Angela Thomas and is centered on a 16-year-old girl who tries to find a balance between the impoverished community she lives in and the prestigious prep school she attends. She is forced to put things into perspective when a close friend of hers, an unarmed African-American teen, is shot by a police officer. “What society feeds into youth comes back later and kicks society in the butt,” said Thomas. “These kids who are being blamed for their own deaths are still kids.” The movie’s acronym, T.H.U.G., was inspired by Tupac Shakur. There are no details regarding when the film will be released. Read more.
Black Women Are the Force behind Oprah’s Network Growth
Thanks to Oprah‘s more hands-on approach to the programming on OWN, the network has become top rated amongst Black women. “Executives there say she is more involved in hearing pitches for TV shows, reviewing scripts and sending “notes” on how to improve programming,” read a report from the Wall Street Journal. Tyler Perry currently produces four shows for the network and Ava DuVernay is working on producing a new series inspired by the novel Queen Sugar. OWN is employing more African-American women creatives behind the scenes and their efforts have resulted in a boost in viewership numbers. As far as the competition, other networks geared towards women have seen a decline in viewership, but OWN is continuing to thrive. Read more.