Thanks, Bobert for mentioning racial inequities in the criminal justice system.

And thanks Brucie for providing a link to an article that gives statistics about the racial composition of prisons in the USA.

Here is an excerpt from another article on this subject:

"As of June 30, 2004, the U.S. incarceration rate was 726 per 100,000 residents. But when you break down the statistics you see that incarceration is not an equal opportunity punishment.

U.S. incarceration rates by race, June 30, 2003:

Whites: 376 per 100,000
Latinos: 997 per 100,000
Blacks: 2,526 per 100,000
Gender is an important "filter" on the who goes to prison or jail, June 30, 2004:

Females: 123 per 100,000
Males: 1,348 per 100,000
Look at just the males by race, and the incarceration rates become even more frightening, June 30, 2004:

White males: 717 per 100,000
Latino males: 1,717 per 100,000
Black males: 4,919 per 100,000
If you look at males aged 25-29 and by race, you can see what is going on even clearer, June 30, 2004:

For White males ages 25-29: 1,666 per 100,000.
For Latino males ages 25-29: 3,606 per 100,000.
For Black males ages 25-29: 12,603 per 100,000. (That's 12.6% of Black men in their late 20s.)"

For more, read:
Prison Racial Statistics

Also those interested can read this next article which cites inequities in the drug laws as one reason so many African Americans are imprisoned:
Race, Prison, and Drug Laws