“The prison population in Wisconsin has more than tripled since 1990. Wisconsin has the highest black male incarceration rate in the country. Half of African American men in their 30s in Milwaukee County have been in state prison.” – ROC Wisconsin, A Project of WISDOM
Wisconsin has the dubious distinction of incarcerating black men at the highest rate of any state in the nation. What many do not know is that we have the second highest black incarceration rate overall, if you include black women as well. Many of those incarcerated come from Milwaukee.
Many people have stated that 53206 zip code has the highest incarceration rate of any zip code in the country. According to Mark Levine of the UW-Milwaukee’s Center for Economic Development, this is not true. “Although incarceration and ex-offender rates in 53206 are staggeringly high, there is no evidence that these rates are the highest in the nation.”
Once it is said enough times it becomes the truth for many. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously stated, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” The statement about 53206 was never checked by anyone to see if it was indeed the truth.
Source: Reggie Jackson: The growth of mass incarceration in Milwaukee | The Milwaukee Independent