Five years have passed since the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives discovered that 42 percent of African American men ages 18 to 35 in the District of Columbia were under criminal justice supervision -- in prison or jail, on probation or parole, or out on bond or being sought on a warrant. Today the percentage has reached 50 percent. The article examines several possible explanations for this phenomenon, but concludes that, whatever the reason or reasons, Washington does not need to accept high rates of minority involvement in the justice system or high rates of crime. The solutions to both problems are almost identical: (1) Reserve prison for serious or violent offenders (Drug addiction, for example, can be handled far more cheaply and effectively through treatment than prison); (2) Expand intermediate sanctions and supervision in the community; (3) Develop non-criminal justice approaches to social problems; and (4) Demand a racial impact statement of every change in justice policy. Figures, table, references