American Prisons Are the New Factory Farms
The Antiracist White Chick: Episode 3
As I dive into our criminal (in)justice system, I am learning about the racial disparities of BIPOC — not only in arrests, pretrial processes, and convictions, but also in the severity of their sentencing — compared to their White brethren. For example, 70% of the 367 DNA exonerees to date were non-White.
When I went beyond looking at the heavily Black and Brown colors of our correctional system, I saw the horrors of what is going on behind the walls and bars of our prisons and jails. It is hauntingly familiar to the factory farm videos I watched years ago — videos that immediately turned me vegan. This led me to see that American prisons are the new factory farms.
The similarities between factory farms and prisons are many but I start here with the main 3 that I recognize. Just a head’s up, there are some slightly disturbing photos included, but I hope they help you realize the inhumanity that we are creating — and allowing — in our country.
“…the regular civil courts tended to become solely institutions for perpetuating the slavery of blacks. Almost every law and method ingenuity could devise was employed by the legislatures to reduce the Negroes to serfdom, — to make them the slaves of the State…”
— W. E. B. Du Bois from The Souls of Black Folk
Check out more of Nicola Graham’s YouTube videos here!
The Antiracist White Chick Episode 1 on Medium
The Antiracist White Chick Episode 2 on Medium:
The story was previously published on The Good Men Project.
About Nicola Graham
Nicola Graham is an actress, comedian, host, writer, and content creator based in Los Angeles. She has acted in numerous film, television, and new media projects and has hosted multiple internet shows and podcasts. Known for comedy and her sketch projects and characters, Nicola’s passions and creative desires changed dramatically upon the death of George Floyd. Finding new social justice awareness and facing her own racist inactions caused her to reflect on the type of work she wanted to create in the world. She began the series “The Antiracist White Chick” to tell her personal journey of her learnings on how to be an antiracist. Nicola is currently writing a comedy pilot to demystify racism for White folk and further open the dialogue on this important movement.
Follow Nicola on Twitter and Instagram: @Nicola_Graham
For more on Nicola and her work, visit NicolaGraham.net
