An estimated 12 percent of African-American men ages 20-34 are in jail or prison.
"An estimated 12 percent of African-American men ages 20-34 are in jail or prison" By comparison, 1.6% of white men in the same age group are incarcerated" The report found that the number of people in US jails and prisons exceeded 2 million for the first time last year, rising to 2.019,234" The Bureau of Justice statistics has calculated that 28 percent of black men will be sent to jail in their lifetime."
Source: Butterfield, Fox, "Prison Rates Among Blacks Reach a Peak, Report Finds," The New York Times, 4/7/03, A11