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Black Oregonians Are Imprisoned at a Rate Almost Four Times That of White People “Prisons and the criminal legal system are designed to control and dominate certain populations.” UNEVEN: The Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. Updated 6:37 AM Racial disparities are embedded in all aspects of Oregon life, but incarceration rates are particularly jarring: Black Oregonians are imprisoned at a rate almost four times that of white people. State prison data shows that as of April 2020, there were 307 white people imprisoned per 100,000 population. That number for Black people? It’s 1,126 per 100,000, 3.7 times more than their white counterparts.