Introduction Criminal justice and security is one of the largest industries in the United States. This statistic is (and rightly so) of great concern to African Americans because a disproportionate percentage of individuals under the scrutiny of the U.S. criminal justice system come from the black community. This article will examine the alarming statistics and attempt to trace the roots of the disparity. It will then consider the effects and explore possible solutions to the growing problem. Imprisoned Black Youth Black communities across the United States are witnessing the institutionalization of their youth. Of course, institutionalization is nothing new to African Americans, it is something that Black people have faced for as long as they have existed in this country. At first, blacks were forced into the institution of slavery. After the abolition of slavery, blacks found themselves facing institutional racism, that is, racism legitimized by the entire society and directed against the few members of society. As an aspect of this institutional racism, Black people are now forced to endure the growing trend of control by the U.S. criminal justice system. USCJS oversight includes probation, parole, imprisonment, and death of Blacks. A study conducted by the Sentencing Project in 1989 found that more than a quarter of all blacks between the ages of 20 and 29 are under the control of the USCJS. This alarming fact becomes even more true when you consider that in this age group there are more blacks in prison than all blacks in college. This clearly reveals what is meant by the institutionalization of our black youth. Black communities are legally robbed of their youth by a system that imprisons those who pose a threat to the status quo of institutional racism. The consequences of this are truly harmful. Children are the future, but what future does a community whose children are all locked up have? By robbing the Black community of its youth, the USCJS robs Black communities of their future leaders and role models. With such a condition at hand, entire communities are lost and the woes of urban ghettos increase. To help explain why Black people are locked up and what role confinement plays in institutional racism, it would be helpful to first look at the roots of institutional racism. Institutional Racism and Its Roots Institutional racism was a term first coined by Stokley Carmichael in his book Black Power. . Regarding racism, Carmichael and co-author Charles V. Hamilton made the following observation: Racism is both overt and covert. It takes two closely related forms: individual whites acting against individual blacks and total white action