In the United States, the incarceration rate has increased dramatically in recent years. In 2008, one in 100 adults in the United States was said to be behind bars, which is more than 2.3 million people. Even more striking than this high rate is the fact that African Americans were disproportionately incarcerated, especially low-income, low-educated blacks. This is racialized mass incarceration. There are a few reasons why racialized mass incarceration occurs and how it negatively impacts poor Black communities. Black people are overrepresented in jails and prisons. Bobo and Thompson stated that in 1954, 98,000 African Americans were in jail or prison. In 2002 there was a 900% increase, 884,500 African Americans were in jail or prison. In 2007, blacks made up 39% of males incarcerated in jails or prisons, yet they make up 12% of the total adult male population. White males make up 36.1% of the male prison population, but make up 65.6% of the total male population. These statistics demonstrate that racialized mass incarceration exists in the United States. There are a few reasons why African Americans are discriminated against by the legal system. The main cause is the unequal protection by the law and its unequal application. Unequal protection occurs when the legal system offers less protection to African Americans who are victimized by whites. This is unequal enforcement because discriminatory treatment of African Americans labeled as criminal suspects is more accepted. Another reason why racialized mass incarceration occurs is because of the high rates of poverty and unemployment for inner-city African Americans, particularly those with low education and low skill levels. Urban ghettos have been associated with the problem of social disorganization and crime. The main reason for this is the war on drugs. There is no substantial evidence to show that African Americans are more involved in illegal drug use than other groups. However, they are arrested more than other groups. Bobo and Thompson said nearly 34 percent of blacks are involved in drug-related arrests, although only 14 percent of those are among regular users of illegal drugs. Among drug-related convictions, African Americans account for half of the cases, while only 26% of the white population is convicted. As Bobo and Thompson stated, “Illegal drug use appears to know no race. Incarceration for drug-related charges, however, is something that is applied in a highly biased way to African Americans.” The war on drugs is heavily focused on cocaine and even more so on crack..