It would be better if we looked into why there is a disparity. (make up of the population vs the make up of the prison population) The disparity has nothing to do with anything inherent in black people . (for example) Black people are not born with some trait that will lead them to a path of crime. We need to understand the root cause and deal with the problem there not adjust laws so the prison population gets adjusted. If a particular group happens to be committing a particular crime more than other groups perhaps we need to understand why. For example, if a particular group commits murder more than their percentage of the population we should not make murder legal; we should investigate why they are committing these crimes. What can we do to decrease that crime (less people murdered) not just arrest fewer or make murder legal.

"liberal" Oregon, my birth state, has a deep history of racism(which you'd expect from a state whose anthem includes the lines "Land of the Empire builders, land of the golden West/conquered and held by free men, FAIREST and the best").

A few lowlights:

1859: the birth of statehood. A voter amendment to the state constitution outlawing slavery is passed-but another provision barring black people from living in the new state passes by a much LARGER margin.

1920: a supporter of the Ku Klux Klan is elected governor.

1940's: A sign at the Salem Greyhound depot reads:
"welcome to Salem, population 25,000. 99.25% white"

late 1940's: Paul Robeson, the great singer and socialist activist, plays a concert in Salem, after which NO HOTEL in the whole town will rent him a room for the night(the young Mark Hatfield, future Oregon U.S. senator, ends up driving him all the way to Portland just to get a place to sleep).

So, no, Oregon's problems with race are nothing new.

We don't need to understand anything but the FACT that "if a person, irrespective of color, commits a felony, they belong in JAIL. Who gives a shit if there are more people of color currently in prison than whites, IF they are committing felonies at a higher rate, then the numbers will naturally reflect that. The premise of the argument is preposterous, what do you think, that the cops are just looking for a black person to lock up, In Oregon???...That dog won't hunt, not here, not now, no way!!! In the criminal justice system, it is hard enough to get a conviction, even with the facts on your side, lets not tie the hands of law enforcement any more than they all ready are tied in an attempt to "feel good about ourselves", unless you want the felons to move in next door to you...

I read the article and I couldn't for the life of me figure out the pro's or con's or even if a historically racist State wanted to go more racist and unjust. Blacks and now more-so Hispanics has always been targeted and imprisoned more than Whites or other groups of people. Now, if Oregon is talking about "even-up" the number of minorities and People of Color with the percentages of Whites incarcerated, that is preposterous and more unjust, particular when speaking per capita! There has always been within our justice System unjust and racist representation and trials under Color of Law versus under the Letter Law!

If Asians would just commit more crimes then could all just be a little more balanced out...

The paradigm case for this sort of thing is the notorious crack vs powder cocaine sentencing disparity.

@downsyndrome: What do your FACTS says about whether the possession of crack warrants a much longer jail sentence than powder cocaine? Never mind, these are questions for citizens, and you just want to shout about JAIL like an ignorant peasant. And yes, sometimes cops do just want to lock somebody up (to maintain the appearance of order and their own effectiveness), and find it's easiest to get a black guy. Time to crawl out from under your rock.

@alaskan: I don't like the way you fail to note that racism and anti-slavery were profoundly intertwined in the North. When the anthem puts "fairest" next to "free men" (as opposed to slaves) that should tell you something. Common Northerners fought so they wouldn't have to compete against slave labor. We should remember this history, it makes us less stupid.