Surveys that sell: do more black men go to prison than college?

Surveys are the most powerful sales agents on the planet. They sell not by overtly asking for an order, but by creating the “persuasive facts” that decisions are based on.

Call me skeptical, but having crafted hundreds of surveys that sell, when I hear a "persuasive fact" I want to know who created it, what bias it has, and what its creators are trying to sell me.
Here is one such "fact" I've heard for years, most recently during the 2008 Presidential elections:

 "There are more black men in prison than in college."

Do you think this is true? 
This "fact" was used by several candidates during the 2008 presidential campaign by several candidates and is accepted as as true in many current social discussions. But the "fact" is misleading and should not be used. It first was introduced in 2002 as part of a study created by the "Justice Policy Institute", whose stated mission is “to promote effective solutions to social problems and to be dedicated to ending society’s reliance on incarceration.” A high minded organization, but not one without a bias on the topic. 

 The report compared two government statistics: In 2000, there were 791,600 black men behind bars while only 603,032 were in college. The numbers dramatized the shameful condition of American black men at the time.

But using this "fact" is not appropriate for two reasons:
First off, it is no longer true:
The same government statistics released in 2005 showed 864,000 black men in college and only 802,000 in prison. Still terrible numbers, but progress had been made, and as of 2005, a small majority now go to college.

But the bigger point is that this fact misleads because it is an apples to oranges comparison. Attending college and going to jail are different life experiences that happen in different time frames. A majority of people, black or white, go to college only between ages 18 to 24, whereas the "opportunity” to go to prison can happen throughout adulthood.   

The black male population of 2000 had a very high frequency of incarceration. If you compare their frequency of attending college, which would only happen in a four year window, to their frequency of attending prison, which could happen anytime during a lifetime, the comparison will skew toward prison. Just because the statistics of "going to college" and "going to prison" were gathered in the same year does not mean all comparisons between them are true. 

Take this 2007 quote from then presidential candidate, John Edwards:

“We cannot build enough prisons to solve this problem. And the idea that we can keep incarcerating and keep incarcerating — pretty soon we’re not going to have a young African-American male population in America. They’re all going to be in prison or dead. One of the two.”

Even as the basic statement about more young black men going to prison was accurate back in 2000, Edwards is stretching the comparison to mean things it does not.

Working with the 2005 statistics, the fact checkers at the Washington Post did an “apples to apples” comparison of just college age black men, in college and prison, finding that the number of black men in college is actually, "...five times the number of young black men in federal and state prisons and two and a half times the total number incarcerated.”

If you make the "fact" about black men an apples to apples comparison by limiting the sample to just black males of college age, the remaining fact just doesn’t sell:
"There are two and a half times more college age black males attending college, than there are in prison.”

Yawn.

Think about this: this "fact," about more black men going to jail than college was first presented almost 10 years ago by an advocacy group. The "fact" is still influencing decisions today even though it is not true anymore, and was originally based on a bias most people were not aware of.

Again, I state that surveys are the most powerful sales agents on the planet. If you are not using them to advocate your organization’s ideas and products, well, call me skeptical again.

Read the Washington Post fact check report

Read a review of the original report that shared "the fact" from the Justice Policy Institute 

Read a 2007 NYT article:  A black film maker tries to debunk the myth of more young black men in prison than college

 

Comments

[cheap viagra]

Black can be defined as the visual impression experienced when no visible light reaches the eye. Pigments that absorb light rather than reflect it back to the eye "look black". A black pigment can, however, result from a combination of several pigments that collectively absorb all colors.

[Basil]

Thanks for the read. I agree with the points you made. http://www.rapidmediafire.com also has peoples thoughts on the matter.

[generic viagra online]

Surveys are very good. This is really important in everyone business. This ill definitely increase the sale.

[caverta]

I have always felt that blogging has been an art where people express their experiences in the best manner.This is something that is very informational.I must appreciate your article writing skills.Every time i come here i see something very new.Thanks for sharing the information.I love when you share your views through the best articles.

[viagra online]

In the second instance, the use of force was unjust and inappropriate, but not sufficient to cause significant injury. The words used were hateful and stupid, but alone would not seem sufficiently shocking to mobilize the masses seeking justice.