The Age of Mass Incarceration
More from Ta-Nehisi Coates’s October cover story
The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration
American politicians are now eager to disown a failed criminal-justice system that’s left the U.S. with the largest incarcerated population in the world. But they've failed to reckon with history. Fifty years after Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s report “The Negro Family” tragically helped create this system, it's time to reclaim his original intent.
-
![]()
Bebeto Matthews / AP How a Family Allowance Could End Poverty
An old idea to keep women at home could expand economic opportunities for the nation’s poorest—and middle-class—families.
-
When Black Leaders Were For More Incarceration
A reader replies to Kay Hymowitz’s rebuttal to Ta-Nehisi’s cover story on mass incarceration: I’m sure ACLU…
-
A Host Who Can Pronounce 'Ta-Nehisi Coates'
In case you missed it, Ta-Nehisi went on The Daily Show last night to discuss his latest cover story with…
-
-
'The Breakdown of the Black Family,' Cont'd
In the wake of Ta-Nehisi’s cover story on mass incarceration, The Atlantic last week published a strong dissent from Kay…
-
![]()
Robert Galbraith / Reuters The Breakdown of the Black Family
Any attempt to address mass incarceration has to begin with an effort to tackle crime—and the social conditions linked to its rise.
-
![]()
Jamil Bittar / Reuters Prison: America’s Most Vile Export?
The U.S. incarceration problem is now the world’s to solve.
-
Why Has Crime Declined in the U.S.? Cont'd
The falling crime rate since the early 1990s has a number of documented causes and even more correlations associated with…
-
Is It Immoral to Force Prisoners to Work?
Spotlighting the Atlantic documentary on Angola prison, Whitney Benns made the very provocative argument last week that its work program…
-
How Much Did Lead Contribute to Mass Incarceration? Cont'd
Responding to our request for more evidence related to the lead/crime connection, a reader points to economist Rick Nevin…
-
Why Has Crime Declined in the U.S.?
We’ve had a flood of thoughtful, nuanced questions in response to our call-out about mass incarceration. We asked what our…
-
What Does Rehabilitation Look Like for Lifers?
That’s the question tackled by this short documentary on Angola prison: A reader adds: …
-
Hope in the Face of Mass Incarceration, Cont'd
A reader, Allene Swienckowski, shares an outlook similar to Thabiti Anyabwile, the Anacostia pastor we heard from earlier: …
-
![]()
Reuters Moynihan, Mass Incarceration, and Responsibility
Good intentions and deep sympathies cannot counter corrosive doctrines and destructive policy.
-
How Much Did Lead Contribute to Mass Incarceration?
A reader mentioned something I think is really worth expanding on. He initially shared the sentiments of these readers who…
-
Defending Moynihan's Legacy, Cont'd
An African American psychiatrist, mother, and Atlantic reader emails a nuanced perspective on the themes of gender and family we’ve…
-
Defending Moynihan's Legacy
Atlantic reader Greg Weiner, who teaches political science at Assumption College and wrote American Burke: The Uncommon Liberalism of Daniel…
-
Why Is Murder Spiking in Certain Cities?
As part of our related coverage of mass incarceration, Tressie McMillan Cottom, a sociology professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, wrote…
-
What Do You Want to Know About Mass Incarceration?
Ta-Nehisi Coates’s cover story on the causes and consequences of the age of mass incarceration has produced a massive response…
-
![]()
Brad.K / Flickr A Critique That Misses the Point
Mass incarceration is a complicated problem—and deserves to be treated as such.
-
The Case for Decarceration
It’s interesting. People often ask me if I think reparations will happen and my answer is, “Not in my lifetime…
