The Illiteracy-to-Prison Pipeline

Surveys conducted by the Department of Justice have found that 85% of incarcerated youth can’t read. This unsettling link between illiteracy—something that is determined as early as five years old—and one’s likelihood of arrest is shocking. Given the disproportionate representation of black youth in our juvenile justice system, it’s evident that the lack of good schools, adequate funding, and resources in minority communities are the mechanisms by which African-American students are flushed down the school-to-prison pipeline.