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FACT BRIEF

Is the percentage of Black inmates in Wisconsin seven times higher than the percentage of Black citizens in the state?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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YES

Black people comprised 42% of incarcerated individuals in Wisconsin state and federal correctional facilities in 2020, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In comparison, Black people made up 6% Of Wisconsin's overall population in the 2020 Census. Reports from earlier years using official data show similar findings.

According to an analysis by The Sentencing Project, Wisconsin has the highest Black imprisonment rate in the nation. One in 36 Black adults in the state is in state prison, compared to one in 81 Black adults nationally. 

A University of Wisconsin study examined how the 53206 ZIP code in Milwaukee has a particularly high rate of Black male incarceration, with 42% of all Black men there between the ages of 25 and 34 in the state corrections system or under active community supervision in 2013.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners in 2020 — statistical tables: Appendix table 2
US Census Wisconsin 2020 census
The Sentencing Project The color of justice: Racial and ethnic disparity in state prisons
Vera Institute of Justice Incarceration trends in Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee The Anatomy of Concentrated Disadvantage in an Inner City Neighborhood 2000-2017
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Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.