6. The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration
Beginning in the 1970s, the War on Drugs ushered in an era of tough-on-crime policies that dramatically increased the U.S. prison population. Mandatory minimum sentences, aggressive policing, and harsh drug laws disproportionately targeted Black and Brown communities, fueling systemic inequality. These measures solidified the prison system’s role in social control, echoing past patterns of racialized punishment. For a deeper analysis of these policies and their ongoing impact, visit the ACLU.
